1947
Luke Appling Day was celebrated at Comiskey Park. The future Hall of Famer was one of the Sox’s all-time leading players in many categories, winning the batting title in 1936 with an astounding .388 average and again in 1943 with a .328 average. He was 1-for-6 in the first game of a doubleheader against Washington, and the Sox lost 1-0 in 18 innings (tying the 10th longest game in White Sox history).
Appling sat out that night’s game, which the White Sox won 8-2.
1951
Chicago native Marv Rotblat became the first pitcher to appear in a game while batting out of the bullpen in center field. Rotblat replaced starter Ken Holcomb in the eighth inning of Chicago’s 4-2 loss to the Yankees. The Yankees stood in the dugout and watched in amazement as the pitching change took place.
The White Sox picked the perfect time to unveil this innovation: A franchise-record 53,940 fans packed Comiskey Park (though the record was later broken, it remains the third-largest attendance for a White Sox game in Chicago history). The attendance was 4.1% of the team’s full season attendance (1,328,234) for 77 home games. And just two days later, an additional 52,054 fans would attend the same doubleheader against the Yankees.
In the 1960s, Red Sox pitchers traveled to games in golf carts, and in 1966 a modified snowmobile (sponsored by Nikkei Chevrolet) with special skis to avoid damaging the turf did the job.
1969
The White Sox proved to be respectful guests at Yankee Stadium, losing a Mickey Mantle doubleheader (3-1 and 11-2) to a crowd of 60,096 who came to see the retirement of Mantle’s No. 7 jersey.
Also on this day, the White Sox traded relief pitcher Bob Rocker to the Seattle Pilots for Gary Bell. This was the first and only trade between the White Sox and the Pilots. The Pilots moved to Milwaukee in 1970 and became the Brewers. Rocker had a terrible start to the season with a 6.55 ERA and 5.51 FIP in 17 games with the South Side. But he bounced back in Seattle, appearing in 51 games as the Pilots’ closer with a 2.18 ERA, 2.94 FIP and six saves. This revival extended Rocker’s career, and he continued to pitch effectively through 1972. In fact, Rocker never had a worse season ERA than the 3.15 he had as a White Sox rookie in 1965.
Bell, by contrast, performed just as poorly in Chicago as Rocker and never pitched in the major leagues again after 1969.
1981
The new White Sox appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, featuring slugger Greg Ruzinski under the headline “The New White Sox.”
The White Sox defeated Toronto 8-2 that day, 28-22 to start a six-game winning streak.
2001
White Sox outfielder Carlos Lee became the first player to hit a walk-off grand slam in extra innings in an interleague game (including the World Series). His home run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning gave the Cubs a 7-3 victory at Comiskey Park in front of a record crowd of 45,936. The ball was hit by Courtney Duncan. Lee had five RBIs on the night.
It was the fifth walk-off grand slam in White Sox history.
2008
The White Sox tied major league records by getting 15 or more hits and scoring 10 or more runs in three consecutive games. The Sox beat Minnesota three straight games and won four straight games by record scores of 10-6, 11-2, and 12-2. The Sox hit eight home runs in the three games, four of which were hit by Joe Creed. He hit a home run in two consecutive games, tying the team record.
It marked the 24th time in American League history that a team had recorded 15 or more hits and scored 10 or more runs in three consecutive games, a feat the White Sox also accomplished in 1920.
