Today in White Sox History: August 25
Another case of a misspelled jersey
1913
The White Sox purchased the contract of a future Hall-of-Famer, pitcher Urban “Red” Faber, from Des Moines for $3,500. Faber would go on to win 254 games, with four seasons of 20 or more wins with Chicago. In the 1917 World Series win over the Giants Faber went 3-1, throwing 27 innings, with two complete games and a 2.33 ERA.
1959
The White Sox acquired first baseman Ted Kluszewski from the Pirates for Harry Simpson and minor-leaguer Bob Sagers. “Big Klu” helped provide hitting down the stretch (.297 in 31 games) for the pennant, and hit .391 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in the six-game World Series loss to the Dodgers, with five of those RBIs coming in an 11-0 Game 1 rout.
1967
After criticizing A’s owner Charlie Finley, power hitter Ken “Hawk” Harrelson was waived by Oakland, making him a free agent — an utter rarity for the era.
With the White Sox in the middle of a four-team race for the pennant, later that same day White Sox GM Ed Short called Harrelson in his Baltimore hotel room and offered him a one-time contract for $100,000. Short said it was a “take it or leave it” offer because he did not want to get into a bidding war. Manager Eddie Stanky also got on the phone, trying to talk Harrelson into joining the White Sox.
Harrelson turned down the offer, saying in his autobiography that he just wanted more time to consider his situation. He would later agree to a deal with the Red Sox for $118,000, officially signing on August 28. Boston would go on to win the pennant and lose the World Series in seven games to the Cardinals.
Harrelson eventually made his way to the White Sox, joining their broadcasting team for the 1982 campaign and spending almost 40 straight years in some capacity on the South Side.
1968
The tensions surrounding the Democratic National Convention in Chicago spilled over to Comiskey Park. During a game against the Twins, supporters of Alabama Governor George Wallace and Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy got into an altercation in the lower left-field seats after some of the Wallace supporters were accused of shouting racial slurs at White Sox left fielder Tommy Davis. Security quickly separated the groups and averted a larger brawl.
1981
White Sox pitcher Dennis Lamp carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning of a night game against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Robin Yount led off that inning with a bloop double to left, breaking it up. The Sox won the game, 5-1, as Lamp settled for a one-hitter, punching out six and walking one.
1986
Jack Perconte was a sold second baseman/utility player for six years before coming to the White Sox in the 1986 season. His debut with the team came on this night at Comiskey Park, in a 2-0 loss to the Royals.
It was a memorable one in one respect … the name on the back of his jersey was spelled wrong: “Preconte,” instead of the proper spelling!
Jack went 0-for-2 on the night with a walk. For the year, he hit .219 in 24 games for the White Sox before being released at season’s end. He played the full year of 1987 at Triple-A in the Dodgers system, but Perconte would never again play in the majors.
2013
It was a feat that hadn’t been achieved since 1947: Jordan Danks homered in a game his brother, John, won. John went six innings in a 5-2 win over the Texas Rangers to improve his record to 4-10 on the season. Younger by just 16 months, John cracked his third home run of the season, in the fourth inning of the win.
It wasn’t even set up to happen this way. Avisaíl García started the game in right field, but was injured crashing into the wall as he tracked Jeff Baker’s home run in the fourth inning. Jordan entered the game as a defensive replacement, and in the bottom half of the same frame, cracked a massive home run to right. In his next at-bat, Jordan singled, and finished the day 2-for-3 with bragging rights, for once, over his big brother.
2020
In surreal surroundings — no fans at Guaranteed Rate Field due to the pandemic — White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito no-hit the Pirates, 4-0. Giolito allowed only one base runner, on a walk in the fourth inning. He struck out 13 hitters on 101 pitches, one of the most dominating performances in no-hitter history.
Tim Anderson (seventh inning) and Adam Engel (two outs in the ninth inning) made terrific defensive plays to save the no-hitter.
It was the 19th no-hitter in franchise history, making the White Sox the all-time American League leader in that category.
2022
Over the decades the most incredible, strange, bizarre things seem to happen to the White Sox in Baltimore. Case in point once again, a night game in Baltimore on this date.
The Sox led the Orioles, 3-2, with two out and the bases empty in the last of the ninth inning. Sox closer Liam Hendriks was working on his 20th consecutive save. Baltimore outfielder Kyle Stowers sliced a fly ball that drifted into foul ground in left field, apparently ending the game.
White Sox outfielder Adam Engel ran to the area, put his glove up … and dropped the ball.
The error gave Stowers a second chance, and he promptly hammered a flat curve from Hendriks into the seats for a game-tying home run. Baltimore wound up winning the game, 4-3, in 11 innings.