Today in White Sox History: July 21
Pumpsie Green accomplishes a last “first,” on the South Side
1917
After splitting the first two of a five-game series at Comiskey Park, the AL-leading White Sox battled the second-place Red Sox over 15 innings, with the game declared a 5-5 tie on account of darkness. The game was so close, that aside from a 1-0 Boston lead in the second and third innings, no full inning ended without the score tied.
Red Faber started but went “only” six innings, with Dave Danforth then coming on for eight and Lefty Williams in for the final frame before darkness. On the Boston side, it was a full nine innings for Dutch Leonard and then, in his first relief appearance of 1917, Babe Ruth finished the last six innings (Ruth led the majors with 35 complete games in 1917).
There is no existing play-by-play to confirm, but it appears that Boston took the lead in the top of the 14th on an Everett Scott double, with the White Sox answering in the bottom half with a Happy Felsch single off of Ruth.
The White Sox managed to eke out a tie in spite of committing six errors (none for Boston), with Faber, Joe Jackson, Swede Risberg, Eddie Collins and Buck Weaver (twice) the offending parties.
The South Siders, 2 1⁄2 games up on Boston, would win the next two contests to send the Red Sox leaving town 4 1⁄2 games in what was shaping up to be a two-team fight for the pennant.
1959
In a game at Comiskey Park against the White Sox, Boston became the last MLB team to integrate, sending Pumpsie Green in as a pinch-runner in the eighth inning and finishing the game at shortstop (no chances).
Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey’s racism — supported for 14 years by GM Eddie Collins — ensured his club waited more than 12 years after Jackie Robinson first integrated baseball in 1947. (A voice ascribed to either Yawkey or Collins screamed the n-word at Robinson and fellow Negro Leaguers Sam Jethroe and Marvin Williams during their tryout at Fenway Park in 1945.)
Thus the White Sox were the opponent when the first Black American League player, Larry Doby, made his debut in 1947, as well as when the final team integrated, in 1959. The White Sox themselves had integrated in 1951, with Sam Hairston and Bob Boyd initially signed but Minnie Miñoso becoming the first active Black player for the club.
The White Sox won this game, 2-1.
1997
In the seventh inning of a 3-0 win over the Tigers, Wilson Álvarez became the first White Sox pitcher ever to strike out four batters in an inning (Phil Nevin was safe at first on a wild-pitch K). Alvarez struck out Tony Clark, Nevin, Melvin Nieves and Orlando Miller. The southpaw would strike out nine Tigers over 7 1⁄3 innings.
2004
For the first of three times he’d do so in his career, Mark Buehrle got a complete-game win while facing just 27 batters, winning, 14-0.
Buehrle took a no-hitter into the seventh at Cleveland, when it was broken up by Omar Vizquel with the White Sox leading, 12-0. Vizquel was erased on a double-play grounder by Matt Lawton to end the seventh. Tim Laker led off the eighth with another single, and was erased one out later on a Travis Hafner GIDP.
Buehrle then extinguished the bottom third of the Cleveland order in the ninth to take home a complete-game, 87 game score win. (By game score, it was the fifth-best game of Buehrle’s White Sox career.)
Buehrle would later duplicate his 27-batters faced wins in his no-hitter over Texas in 2007 and perfect game against Tampa in 2009.
2019
Voted in via the Veterans’ Committee with Lee Smith in one of the more controversial Hall of Fame elections of all time, Harold Baines achieved immortality in Cooperstown. Baines and Smith were joined by Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera in the Class of 2019.
Baines was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1977 draft by the White Sox and had made his way to the majors by 1980. He spent more than 12 years with the franchise, starting in right field before a knee injury moved him permanently to the DH role.
He was a key member of the 1983 “Winnin’ Ugly” White Sox, who won the Western Division with 99 victories, and represented the organization in four All-Star Games.
He is among the all-time franchise leaders in games played, at-bats, home runs, walks, runs scored, RBIs, hits, extra base hits, total bases, doubles and 20+ home-run seasons.