Today in White Sox History: July 28-29
July 28, 1963
White Sox second baseman Nellie Fox banged out his 2,500th career hit, a single to center off of Baltimore's Dave McNally. It came in the sixth inning of Chicago's 4-1 road win.
July 28, 1976
John "Blue Moon" Odom and Francisco Barrios combined to throw a no-hitter against the A’s in Oakland. The Sox won, 2-1. It was one of the strangest no-hitters in history. Odom and Barrios combined to walk 11 Oakland hitters!
July 29, 1942
The White Sox staged the first twi-night double header in club history as they beat the Yankees, 7-5 and 7-2. Over 27,000 fans showed up at Comiskey Park for the wartime promotion, which became a regular attraction for the next 30 years.
July 29, 1962
In a doubleheader vs. the Yankees, Sox outfielder/first baseman Charlie “Paw Paw” Maxwell hit three home runs and knocked home five runs in the split. Maxwell had a curious history of doing his best hitting on a Sunday.
When acquired from the Tigers, it was discovered that 25 of his 70 career homers (to that point) were hit on the Sabbath. Of his 10 in 1962, five came on Sunday. On July 8, Maxwell got six hits in a doubleheader against Cleveland and on August 19, Maxwell hit a grand slam and knocked in six against Detroit. Yes, all of those games were on Sunday.
July 29, 1963
Facing the Senators in Washington, White Sox pitcher Joe Horlen took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. Only leading 1-0 and under incredible pressure, Horlen not only lost the no-hitter but the game, 2-1, as Chuck Hinton grounded a roller up the middle with one out for a hit and then Don Lock belted a curveball for a two-run homer with two outs. Horlen looked ready to cry on the postgame show talking with announcer Jack Brickhouse on WGN-TV.
July 29, 1989
At the time it was an unpopular deal, but in the long term it worked out very well for the White Sox: GM Larry Himes sent All- Star outfielder/DH Harold Baines and infielder Fred Manrique to the Rangers for infielder Scott Fletcher, outfielder Sammy Sosa and pitching prospect Wilson Alvarez. Fans hated to lose Baines, but the Sox weren’t going anywhere and he was expendable. Fletcher and the pre-steroid Sosa played important roles in the franchise's revival in 1990, and Alvarez would become a very solid starter beginning in 1993. In 1990, Sosa was the only player in baseball to have double figures in doubles, triples, home runs, stolen bases and outfield assists.
July 29, 1998
It was a small move at the time that would turn out to have major implications: GM Ron Schueler shipped inconsistent relief pitcher Matt Karchner to the Cubs for former a No. 1 draft pick, pitcher Jon Garland. It took time, but Garland finally realized his potential in the 2005 season, when he helped lead the club to the World Series title with 18 wins and an All-Star appearance.
July 29, 2000
With the White Sox badly in need of pitching at the trade deadline due to injuries to starters Cal Eldred and James Baldwin, GM Ron Schueler (a former pitcher with the team in the 1970s) went in another direction, acquiring catcher Charles Johnson and DH Harold Baines. It was Baines' third stint with the Sox, and while he and Johnson helped offensively, the trades did nothing to lighten the load on the pitching staff.
Mark Liptak is originally from Chicago and has been a White Sox fan since 1960. He and his wife Zoe reside in Pocatello, Idaho where he is the radio voice as part of Idaho State athletics in volleyball, football, women's basketball and softball.