Today in White Sox History: July 2
RBIs by the bushel!
1909
The White Sox ran wild in an unusual 15-3 romp over St. Louis, stealing 11 bases including three steals of home and three double-steals. White Sox third baseman Bill Purtell led the way, with three swipes. Eight different Sox players stole a base in the game!
1910
The White Sox won their first game in the original Comiskey Park, besting the St. Louis Browns, 3-2. Doc White went the distance — making it the first complete game thrown in the new park — allowing one earned run for the win. (White was called “Doc” because he graduated from Georgetown University dental school.)
1923
Future Hall-of-Famer Ted Lyons made his White Sox and major league debut, throwing a perfect inning in a 7-2 loss at St. Louis. That season, in nine games, Lyon had a 2-1 record and got his first MLB start.
1930
Outfielder Carl Reynolds became the first White Sox player to homer three times in a game — and he did it on the biggest stage in baseball, at Yankee Stadium! It came in the second game of a twin bill that the Sox won, 15-4. Reynolds went 5-for-6 and scored four runs. He also became the first player in team history to drive home eight runs in a game (and scroll down, it’s happened just six times in White Sox history, and twice on this day).
Reynolds homered in the first three innings of the game, and his first and third home runs on the day were both inside the park home runs to left field!
The Sox had lost the first game, 5-1.
1943
Rookie left fielder Guy Curtwright’s 26-game hit streak was snapped when he went 0-for-4 with a walk in a 3-2, 10-inning loss vs. the Senators. Had Curtwright achieved at least one safety, he would have tied Luke Appling for the longest hitting streak in White Sox history.
Over the 26 games, Curtwright slapped out 43 hits, striking out just 13 times against 11 walks, slashing .410/.466/.524 and raising his batting average from .255 to .362.
The 26-game streak was not only a White Sox record, but a major-league mark, only broken in 1997 by Nomar Garciaparra. Curtwright still owns the fourth-longest hitting streak in franchise history.
After a brief, wartime, four-year career with the White Sox, Curtwright became the athletic director of both Woodstock and North Chicago High Schools.
1977
With first place at stake, the White Sox beat the Twins, 13-8. Jim Spencer, the Gold Glove-winning first baseman, became the first White Sox player to ever drive in eight runs twice — and he did it twice in the 1977 season alone! He drove in eight for the first time on May 14, in an 18-2 slaughter of Cleveland. On this day, Spencer went 3-for-5 including a grand slam, a three-run home run and an RBI single.
1980
White Sox radio announcer Jimmy Piersall attacked Daily Herald sportswriter Rob Gallas after Gallas wrote a story speculating why Piersall was fired as a part-time outfield coach for the team. Bystanders, including White Sox historian/author Rich Lindberg, had to physically jump in and pull Piersall away as Piersall was choking Gallas.
Yes, this is the same Rob Gallas who later would become the team’s marketing director.
Later on, that same day, Ross Baumgarten one-hit the Angels, squeaking out a 1-0 win. Rod Carew got California’s only hit, with a single leading off the seventh inning. It was the second straight season Baumgarten had thrown a one-hitter at the Angels.
2016
The White Sox tied a franchise record that had stood for almost 51 years. When J.B. Shuck pounded a home run in the fourth inning of a game in Houston, it marked the 15th consecutive solo home run hit by the team. That tied the original mark, set between Sept. 2-25, 1965. The individual breakdown of the home runs saw Brett Lawrie with three, Shuck with three, Tim Anderson and Todd Frazier with two apiece and Tyler Saladino, Dioner Navarro, Alex Avila, Adam Eaton and Melky Cabrera each with one.
The Sox beat the Astros, 7-6.
2021
It was a nice way to start a major league career. Gavin Sheets, son of former major leaguer Larry Sheets, started off his White Sox career by setting a franchise record.
Sheets became the first player ever to have both a hit and an RBI in each of his first four games with the team. His impressive start came against the Twins at home, and the Tigers in Detroit.
In those first four games, Sheets went 6-for-15, with eight RBIs and two home runs.