Today in White Sox History: June 28

An unceremonious end for a legend

1941

White Sox infielder Don Kolloway became the last major league player to steal second, third and home in the same inning! Kolloway pulled this off in Cleveland in the ninth inning of a 6-4 Sox win. He also homered twice.

1973

The ill fortunes of the team really came into focus, and by the time the summer ended, a team that had been in first place for two months wound up placing 38 names on the injured list. Among the key injuries were Ken Henderson tearing up his knee sliding into home plate, Bill Melton suffering a groin injury, Carlos May's bad hamstring, Brian Downing wrenching his knee on his first major league play and Pat Kelly's bad back.

But the most damming injury occurred in Anaheim on June 28. Dick Allen suffered a broken leg when Mike Epstein crashed into him on a play at first. Allen was stretching to grab a wild throw from third baseman Melton. Here’s where it really got strange ... the injury took place just a little more than 10 years after Sox first baseman Joe Cunningham suffered a broken collarbone against the same team on the same type of play (a wild throw), with the Sox in first place!

1993

In the first of what would become a series of major public relations disasters, the White Sox released Carlton Fisk on the road in Cleveland. Fisk accompanied the team to Ohio, only to be told of his release before the game.

No question, Fisk was finished as a player, but the fans and media were outraged at the way the Sox handled the situation. In fact, the Sox sent faxes to the media announcing the move, not even having the courtesy to hold a press conference. Fisk, the future Hall-of-Famer, had to say goodbye to his former teammates from the stands at Municipal Stadium during that evening’s game before returning to Chicago.