Tag: South Side Park

This day in baseball: Cunningham’s wild pitch record

September 15, 2023

In a Players’ League game between the Buffalo Bison and the Chicago Pirates on September 15, 1890, Bison pitcher Bert Cunningham threw five wild pitches in the first inning at South Side Park. This performance established a dubious regular-season record, which would later be matched by Cardinals pitcher Rick Ankiel during a 2000 playoff game against the Mets.

Cunningham was nevertheless inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 1996.

Bert Cunningham with the Louisville Colonels, 1897 (public domain)

This day in baseball: Intentionally walking Nap Lajoie

May 23, 2022

Going into the ninth inning against the White Sox on May 23, 1901, the Athletics were trailing 11-7, but managed to load the bases with nobody out. White Sox player-manager Clark Griffith put himself into the game and intentionally walked cleanup hitter Napoleon Lajoie, forcing in a run and cutting the lead to three.  The strategy proved successful when he induced the next three batters to ground out, thereby completing the 11-9 victory at Chicago’s South Side Park.

South_Side_Park_1907 - Wikipedia
South Side Park, 1907 (Chicago Daily News)

This day in baseball: First White Sox game

April 21, 2021

At 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 - Wikipedia
South Side Park, 1907 (Chicago Daily News)