Today in White Sox History: May 8

1912

Pitching most of his career in the dead-ball era, it’s no shock that all-time hurling great Walter Johnson allowed just 97 home runs over his 802 career games and 5,914 1⁄3 innings. But you might be startled to know that in a 7-6 loss to the White Sox, Johnson surrendered two home runs — and they were the only homers he allowed all season!

White Sox third baseman Harry Lord and center fielder Ping Bodie victimized The Big Train in this one.

Because game accounts and box scores from more than a century ago are incomplete, and Washington committed one error in the game, there is no earned run count in the game record for Johnson, who entered action having surrendered just one in the three prior starts with full stats available from 1912. But box score logic dictates that the White Sox slapped at least five earned runs on Johnson in this game, which almost assuredly would place this as one of the worst efforts of his career.

The win powered the White Sox to their 16th win in 21 tries to start the season, and the third win in an eight-game winning streak, as they sat atop the AL by 3 1⁄2 games over second-place Boston. The White Sox pushed their record to a gaudy 21-5 and their league lead to as many as 5 1⁄2 games before tumbling down to an eventual fourth place, 28 games out, at 78-76-4.

1966

New White Sox manager Eddie Stanky gave a real indication that the season was not going to be like any other, and that he was a lot different from former skipper Al Lopez.

On this date, the Sox dropped a 3-1, 11-inning game to the Tigers. Stanky was asked by reporter Watson Spoelstra of the Detroit News what pitch Bob Locker threw to Detroit’s Gates Brown in a key situation (Brown stung a two-run double in the 11th inning off of the pitch.) Stanky, who was preparing to change into his street clothes, went temporarily crazy. He launched an abusive tirade at Spoelstra, while ripping his jersey to shreds. Then he took off his spikes, and threw them crashing against the wall!

1967

White Sox outfielder Ken Berry was part of the cover shot for Sports Illustrated for a story describing “The Tangled American League” race.

2021

How do you hit .000 in a game and match Babe Ruth in the record books? If you’re White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal, you walk four times in a 9-1 win over the Royals in Kansas City. That gave him 13 walks in four games, tying an American League record first set by Ruth in 1930. If you add in the National League, Bryce Harper (2016) is the only other player to accomplish this feat.