The 1976 White Sox wore shorts
Posted: July 17, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Baseball, Bill Veeck, Chicago White Sox, Comiskey Park, history, Kansas City Royals, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports, videos 3 CommentsIn August 1976, the Chicago White Sox wore shorts for three games. A friend shared this video with me, wondering if I had known this little tidbit, which I did not (learn something new every day!).
1976 marked the return of owner Bill Veeck, who had previously served as Sox owner from 1959-61. Keeping in line with his reputation as a promoter with wild ideas, on March 9, 1976, Veeck unveiled the new White Sox uniforms. They featured a long pullover top with a garish faux collar. But what really got people’s attentions were the shorts.
About the shorts, Veeck insisted, “They are not garish. Like my wife Mary Frances said, they have understated elegance. … Players should not worry about their vanity, but their comfort. If it’s 95 degrees out, an athlete should be glad to put on short pants and forget his bony knees. Hell, I’ve got a worse looking knee than any of my players. It’s solid wood.”
The shorts debuted on August 8th, in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Royals at Comiskey Park. The White Sox collected seven hits — all singles — and won the game 5-2. They switched back to regular pants for Game 2 of the doubleheader and lost 7-1. The shorts would not appear again until later that month, on August 21-22 against the Orioles. In total, the White Sox won 2 out of 3 games played in the shorts.
The video below shows footage from the game against the Royals, in which the shorts made their infamous debut.
This day in baseball: Reynolds goes long times three
Posted: July 2, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Carl Reynolds, Chicago White Sox, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, sports Leave a commentOn July 2, 1930, Carl Reynolds became just the second player in major league history to homer in three consecutive innings. Reynolds went deep in the first three innings of a contest against the Yankees, leading the White Sox to a 15-4 victory. The Chicago outfielder’s performance included two inside-the-park homers, and he collected 8 RBIs in the game.
The box score for the game can be found here.
Wikipedia
Frank Thomas’s Hall of Fame induction speech
Posted: June 16, 2021 Filed under: 21st Century | Tags: Baseball, Chicago White Sox, Frank Thomas, Major League Baseball, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, sports Leave a commentFrank Thomas spent all but 3 years of his MLB career with the Chicago White Sox. He was a five-time All-Star, and he won the AL batting title in 1997 with a .347 average. He was a two-time American League MVP (1993 and 1994), won the Silver Slugger on four occasions (1991, 1993, 1994, and 2000), and his jersey number 35 was retired by the White Sox.
Frank Thomas was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.
This day in baseball: Dinneen’s no-hitters
Posted: May 12, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Bill Dinneen, Boston Pilgrims, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Chief Bender, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Naps, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, Philadelphia Athletics, Shibe Park, sports 2 CommentsOn May 12, 1910, Athletics right-hander Chief Bender threw a 4-0 no-hitter at Shibe Park against the Cleveland Naps (Indians). Bender issued just one walk, spoiling his shot at a perfect game.
The home plate umpire for the game was Bill Dinneen, who tossed a no-hit game of his own against the White Sox while playing with the Pilgrims (Red Sox) on September 27, 1905. This performance by Chief Bender made Dinneen the only person in big league history to both throw a no-hitter and call one as an umpire. Dinneen served as home plate umpire for five total no-hitters in his career as an umpire.
Bill Dinneen (The Sporting News)
This day in baseball: Raschi balks four times
Posted: May 3, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Bob Shaw, Chicago White Sox, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Phil Rizzuto, sports, Vic Raschi Leave a commentOn May 3, 1950, Vic Raschi of the New York Yankees balked four times in a single game against the Chicago White Sox. Raschi was reportedly bothered by a new rule requiring “a one-second stop before delivery with men on base.” Despite the four balks, not to mention Raschi giving up ten hits and four walks, the Yankees won the game. Raschi somehow kept the White Sox to just three runs, despite all the baserunners. The Yankees scored four runs and won the game 4-3, thanks mostly to three RBIs from Phil Rizzuto.
Raschi’s four balks in one game is part of a seven-way tie for second place. In first place is Bob Shaw, who balked five times in a game in 1963. This one game against the White Sox accounts for four of the eight times Vic Raschi balked in his entire career.
Vic Raschi in 1953 (Wikipedia)
This day in baseball: First White Sox game
Posted: April 21, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Chicago White Sox, history, Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, MLB, Schorling's Park, South Side Park Leave a commentAt Schorling’s Park on Chicago’s south side, the minor league White Sox played their first game in franchise history on April 21, 1900. The Sox ended up losing the contest to Milwaukee, 5-4. The small wooden ballpark, located at 39th and Princeton, was also known as South Side Park, and would continue to be the home stadium for the team when they joined the American League the following season.
South Side Park, 1907 (Chicago Daily News)
RIP Dick Allen
Posted: December 12, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: All-Star Game, American League, Baseball, Chicago White Sox, Dick Allen, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, MLB, National League, Philadelphia Phillies, Rookie of the Year, sports 5 CommentsI am well behind on this one. Dick Allen passed away this past Monday, December 7, 2020 at the age of 78.
Richard Anthony Allen was born March 8, 1942 in Wampum, Pennsylvania. During his fifteen-season Major League Baseball career, he appeared primarily as a first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder, most notably for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. Allen was named to the All-Star team seven times. He won the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year Award and the 1972 AL Most Valuable Player Award. He also led the AL in home runs for two seasons, led the NL in slugging percentage one season and the AL in two seasons, and led each major league in on-base percentage, one season each. He finished his career with a .292 batting average and a .534 slugging percentage.
The Philadelphia Phillies retired Dick Allen’s number 15 on September 3, 2020. He was also inducted into the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals in 2004.
Rest in peace.
Dick Allen, c. 1965 (Wikipedia)
This day in baseball: World tour stop at Keio
Posted: December 6, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Chicago White Sox, history, Keio University, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Giants, sports, Tokyo Leave a commentAs a part of their world tour, on December 6, 1913, the White Sox defeated the Giants, 9-4, at Keio University Stadium in Tokyo. The following day, a combined squad beat the Keio University team, 16-3, before the White Sox went on to best the Giants again, 12-3.
Members of the White Sox, Giants and Keio University baseball teams (Library of Congress)
This day in baseball: Warren Spahn wins Cy Young
Posted: November 28, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Chicago White Sox, Cy Young Award, Dick Donovan, Major League Baseball, Milwaukee Braves, MLB, sports, Warren Spahn Leave a commentThe 1957 Cy Young award was accorded on November 28th to Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves. Spahn was voted the league’s best pitcher almost unanimously, as the only competition for the award that year was White Sox hurler Dick Donovan, who received one vote. Spahn finished the 1957 season with a 21-11 record and a 2.69 ERA.
Warren Spahn (Wikimedia Commons)
This day in baseball: Multiple position players pitching
Posted: September 28, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Chris Davis, Darnell McDonald, history, Jesse Burkett, Major League Baseball, MLB, Sam Mertes, sports, Sportsman's Park, St. Louis Browns 1 CommentSeptember 28th was the last day of the season in 1902, and in apparent celebration, the Browns and the White Sox decided to use an assortment of seven infielders and outfielders on the mound, rather than relying on their pitching staffs. Chicago outfielder Sam Mertes earned the victory, and the Browns’ left fielder Jesse Burkett suffered the loss in the Sox’s 10-4 victory at Sportsman’s Park. This was the last time the winning and losing pitchers were both position players in the same game until 2012, when Chris Davis of the Orioles and Darnell McDonald of the Red Sox also accomplished the feat in Baltimore’s 17-inning victory at Fenway Park.
ballparksofbaseball.com
