Lou Gehrig welcomes Comiskey Park’s upper deck with a bang
1927
The Comiskey Park upper deck officially opened to fans, as 37,000 fans streamed in to watch the New York Yankees crush the home team, 8-0. The upper deck added 23,200 seats to the ballpark’s capacity. It was a tight contest until the ninth inning, when Lou Gehrig capped a six-run frame for the Bronx Bombers by christening the upper deck with a grand slam to mark the first-ever home run in the new seats.
The crowd of 37,000 set a new White Sox and Chicago city record for attendance for a game. That record wouldn’t last long.
1941
For the sixth time in Comiskey Park history, a player homered over the roof. Again, as the first five, it was an opponent: Ted Williams. And in a rarity, the clout made a big difference in the game: Williams clubbed his homer with one out in the top of the 11th, giving the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 lead and eventual win.
1975
After Dick Allen refused to report to Atlanta after the White Sox traded him there prior to the 1975 season, the Braves shipped the slugger and Johnny Oates to Philadelphia for Jim Essian, Barry Bonnell, and cash. Eight days later, without having played a game for the Braves, Essian was sent to the White Sox as a player to be named later in a prior deal.
What was the prior deal? Why, it was the Allen-to-Atlanta deal back on Dec. 3, 1974, which yielded the White Sox cash and a PTBNL.
While not unheard of, this trade was odd in that the player received by the White Sox from Atlanta for Allen (Essian) wasn’t even on the Braves at the time of the original deal!
1989
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the start of construction on the new Comiskey Park, across the street from the original stadium built in 1910. Dignitaries from the state, city and White Sox franchise were on hand for the occasion.
1991
Sammy Sosa became the first Sox player with a “walk-off” home run at new Comiskey Park, when he beat Milwaukee with a blast leading off the 12th inning. The final score was 2-1. Sosa hit his game-winner off of Brewers relief pitcher Mark Lee.
1999
White Sox outfielder Carlos Lee homered in his first at-bat in the majors, becoming the first player in team history to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat.
Lee connected off of Oakland’s Tom Candiotti, in the second inning of a 7-1 White Sox home win.
2023
The White Sox scored 11 runs in the second inning of a 17-4 romp in Cincinnati, triggered by a two-run homer from Hanser Alberto. The White Sox sent 14 batters to the plate and rang up three walks, five singles, a triple and two homers in the assault. In the inning the Sox went 5-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Gavin Sheets’ three-run homer bookended the scoring in the frame.
It was the most runs ever scored in a second inning in White Sox history, and tied for the second-most runs ever by the White Sox in a single inning.
Only a 13-run outburst in the fourth inning at Washington on Sept. 26, 1943 beat this day’s output.
Backed by that kind of support, Michael Kopech pitched six innings and got the easy win.
The 17-run game is tied for 32nd-most in White Sox history. Despite playing relatively few games in their history in Cincinnati (interleague play being a mostly-21st Century concept), the Pale Hose also put up 17 runs at the Reds in a 17-12 win on June 6, 2000.