Today in White Sox History: July 21

1917

After splitting the first two of a five-game series at Comiskey Park, the AL-leading White Sox battled the second-place Red Sox over 15 innings, with the game declared a 5-5 tie on account of darkness. The game was so close, that aside from a 1-0 Boston lead in the second and third innings, no full inning ended without the score tied.

Red Faber started but went “only” six innings, with Dave Danforth then coming on for eight and Lefty Williams in for the final frame before darkness. On the Boston side, it was a full nine innings for Dutch Leonard and then, in his first relief appearance of 1917, Babe Ruth finished the last six innings (Ruth led the majors with 35 complete games in 1917).

There is no existing play-by-play to confirm, but it appears that Boston took the lead in the top of the 14th on an Everett Scott double, with the White Sox answering in the bottom half with a Happy Felsch single off of Ruth.

The White Sox managed to eke out a tie in spite of committing an astounding six errors (none for Boston), with Faber, Joe Jackson, Swede Risberg, Eddie Collins and Buck Weaver (twice) the offending parties.

The South Siders, 2 ¹⁄₂ games up on Boston, would win the next two contests to send the Red Sox leaving town 4 ¹⁄₂ games in what was shaping up to be a two-team fight for the pennant.

1997

En route to a 3-0 win over the Tigers, Wilson Alvarez became the first White Sox player ever to strike out four batters in an inning (Phil Nevin was safe at first on a wild-pitch K). Alvarez was the 28th player ever to achieve the feat.

2019

Voted in via the Veterans’ Committee with Lee Smith in one of the more controversial Hall of Fame elections of all time, Harold Baines achieved immortality in Cooperstown. Baines and Smith were joined by Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera in the Class of 2019.