Today in White Sox History: June 16

1989

At 37, former Tigers farmhand Rick Wolff (drafted out of Harvard in 1972) makes a one-series comeback with the South Bend White Sox of the Midwest League (Single-A) for the purposes of a Sports Illustrated article. Wolff pinch-hit at the end of his first game, then starts the next two, batting ninth and then creeping up to eighth — and finishes the series 4-for-7 with a ground-rule double, three RBIs and a .571/.556/.714 slash line. His one error at second base comes when a pickoff throw travels through the pocket of his 20-year-old glove. Wolff himself was 15.1 years older than league average.

This was no end-of-season stunt in a lost season, a la Minnie Miñoso two decades earlier. South Bend won its division in 1989 with an 85-47 record, and featured such future White Sox as Scott Radinsky and Roberto Hernández, along with four other future major leaguers.

1997

After numerous charity and exhibition games, the White Sox and Cubs played for real for the first time in the regular season.

Since then, the two teams have played each other every season multiple times. After taking three of four from the ivy bumblers in 2022, the White Sox currently hold a 73-65 advantage in regular season interleague meetings.