On Opening Day, George Vico homers on the first pitch he ever sees in the major leagues, becoming only the fifth player to accomplish the feat. The home run, given up by White Sox hurler Joe Haynes, is the first of only a dozen the Tigers rookie first baseman collects in his brief two-year career.
1948 – The Chicago White Sox trade Ed Lopat to the New York Yankees for Aaron Robinson, Bill Wight and Fred Bradley. Lopat will star for seven seasons in pinstripes, winning 21 in 1951 and going 16-4 in 1953. Robinson’s main value to the Sox will come at the end of the season when he’s swapped for another lefty pitcher, Billy Pierce.
On July 6, 1947, Larry Doby makes his first start as a major league player. Doby, the first black player in the history of the American League, plays all nine innings at first base in the Cleveland Indians’ 6-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Doby will bat .326 in 1950, and will lead the…
A bloop single in the 7th inning by former battery-mate Frankie Hayes deprives Bob Feller of a no-hitter against the White Sox. Hayes was traded by Cleveland in June‚ just weeks after hitting a homer in Feller’s April 30thno-hitter. It is the 8th one-hitter of Feller’s career. His 10 games of less than 2 hits betters Addie Joss’s old mark of 9.
The Chicago White Sox hand out the first media guide to beat writers. Just 17 pages long, it is the creation of Marsh Samuel, according to historian Peggy Beck. The project intrigues Bill Veeck, owner of the Cleveland Indians, who hires Samuel away from the Sox to create a guide for the Tribe.
On January 2, 1946 The Chicago White Sox buy pitcher Alex Carrasquel and shortstop Fred Vaughn from the Washington Senators. Carrasquel will make only three appearances for the White Sox before The Venezuelan right-hander rejects the deal and signs a three-year contract to hurl in Jorge Pasquel’s Mexican League, becoming the first major leaguer to jump to a team south of the…
With World War II travel restrictions still in effect, the Brooklyn Dodgers open spring training at Bear Mountain, New York, with 15 players in camp. Seven teams – the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox – are training in Indiana, the most of any state. The Boston Red Sox are at Tufts College while the Boston Braves are prepping at the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut.
On May 11, 1944, Hal Trosky steals home in the 16th inning, helping the Chicago White Sox to a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia A’s. Trosky, not known for his basestealing ability, had missed the previous two seasons with severe migraine headaches. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@ Game ticket & learn more about the players, teams, stadiums and dates…
1943 – Teams agree to start the season later than usual and prepare to train in northern areas because of World War II. Resorts, armories, and university facilities are chosen for training sites. The Boston Red Sox go to Tufts University; the Brooklyn Dodgers will train at Bear Mountain, NY, and the New York Yankees try Atlantic City, NJ. In Chicago, the Cubs and White Sox agree to start the season later than usual and prepare to train in areas north of the so-called Eastman-Landis Line, named after Joseph Bartlett Eastman, head of the United States Department of Transportation, and Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis – an area East of the Mississippi river and North of the Ohio and Potomac rivers. Meanwhile, the St. Louis teams, the Browns and Cardinals are excluded, though they will train in Cape Girardeau, MO.
On June 21, 1942 Ted Lyons wins his 250th career game, 6 – 5, over the Red Sox. A week later, he will beat New York’s Red Ruffing to match the Yankee hurler’s 251 career wins. The White Sox veteran will finish the season with 20 complete games in 20 starts, lead the AL with a 2.10 ERA, then enter the Marine Corps at age 42.
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