1940
Ted Lyons Day was held at Comiskey Park. The “Baylor Bearcat” won 260 games with the club and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955. His No. 16 would be retired in 1987.
This was the second time Lyons was honored this way, the first time coming in 1933.
1964
In his first at-bat in the American League after many seasons in the NL, pinch-hitter deluxe Forrest “Smoky” Burgess belted a game-tying home run at Detroit. The White Sox would eventually win the game, 3-2, in 10 innings, keeping their pennant hopes alive. Burgess would lead the league in pinch-hits in 1965 and 1966.
1970
Shortly after taking over as the new director of player personnel, Roland Hemond targeted the man who’d eventually (in his words) “save” the franchise. Hemond called Cardinals GM “Bing” Devine to see what the chances were of making a deal for slugger Dick Allen. Devine turned him down — but 15 months later Hemond would get his man from the Dodgers.
1983
The White Sox set the franchise record for most runs scored in the sixth inning of a game when they tallied 11 in a 12-0 win over the Mariners at Comiskey Park. LaMarr Hoyt got the win, his 21st on the season. The game only lasted seven innings due to rain.
Harold Baines had a grand slam, as the Sox cut their magic number down to two for winning the division. The Sox sent 17 men to the plate in the sixth, which saw them get nine hits.
1990
Owner Jerry Reinsdorf fired GM Larry Himes, citing “personality differences.” Himes drafted and signed White Sox future stars like Frank Thomas, Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura and Alex Fernandez.
During the press conference announcing the hiring of Ron Schueler as the new GM, Reinsdorf issued his famous “Point A to Point B to Point C” comment. Later, in a rare radio appearance, he was candid on the subject with host Chet Coppock” “The fact is, Larry Himes cannot get along with anybody. You can hardly find anybody in the Sox organization who wasn’t happy when Larry Himes left.”
1996
Frank Thomas slugged his 215th home run in a White Sox uniform, breaking Carlton Fisk’s team record. Thomas homered three times at Fenway Park, off of Boston’s Tim Wakefield, yet the White Sox lost the game, 9-8.
1997
In an 11-10 loss in Milwaukee, White Sox rookies Mario Valdez and Jeff Abbott both hit their first big-league home runs. Valdez got his in the fifth inning, Abbott an inning later.