Two Days in White Sox History: July 9-10
July 9, 1919
In a twin bill in Chicago against the Philadelphia Athletics, Red Faber won both games, the first one coming in relief of starter Dickie Kerr. The scores were 8-7 and 6-2.
July 9, 1972
With the White Sox desperately needing a third baseman to replace the injured Bill Melton, GM Roland Hemond acquired Ed Spiezio from San Diego for pitcher Don Eddy. Spiezio did a yeoman's job holding down the fort the rest of the year as the Sox stalked the A’s. His dramatic home run against Oakland on August 12 off of Rollie Fingers in the Coliseum put the White Sox into first place. It was the latest the Sox had been in first place in a season since 1967.
July 9, 2002
In the infamous tied All-Star Game in Milwaukee, Paul Konerko tied the record for most doubles in the game with two. His teammate Mark Buehrle (P) joined him in the game.
July 9, 2006
Tadahito Iguchi’s single in the last of the 19th inning gave the White Sox a dramatic 6-5 win over Boston at U.S. Cellular Field. Jermaine Dye’s two-out, ninth-inning home run tied the game, 3-3. Both teams scored two runs in the 11th, and the score stayed that way until the 19th. The game took six hours and 19 minutes. It also appeared to take something out of the World Champions ... the White Sox weren’t the same for the rest of the season.
July 10, 1912
Looking for more pitching, White Sox owner Charles Comiskey acquired Eddie Cicotte from the Red Sox after the pitcher argued with his manager and owner John Taylor. Cicotte, of course, would pitch well for the Sox but then would be banned from baseball in 1920 because of his involvement in fixing the 1919 World Series.
July 10, 1956
For the third and final time, Billy Pierce was pegged to start for the American League in the All-Star Game. The game, in Washington D.C., saw Billy get tagged with the loss, despite only allowing one run in three innings of work. The N.L. would go on to win, 7-3.
Pierce would represent the Sox in seven All-Star affairs. Joining him on the team in 1956 were Nellie Fox (2B), Sherm Lollar (C) and Jim Wilson (P).
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.