The Chicago Mustangs whinny their last
1903
Doc White of the White Sox hurled a one-hitter in beating Cleveland, 1-0, in 10 innings in Chicago. It would be the first of five one-hitters thrown by White between 1903 and 1908 without ever throwing a no-hitter. Cleveland’s only hit was by third baseman Bill Bradley, a double.
White also threw one-hitters against the Browns in 1904, the Athletics and Browns in 1906, and the Senators in 1908. In addition to being a great pitcher, White graduated from Georgetown University and was a dentist and evangelist.
And in what had to have been a baseball rarity then and certainly now, while being an active player in 1902 with the Philadelphia Phillies and in 1903 with the White Sox, White worked as a major league umpire!
1905
White Sox pitcher Frank Smith tossed a no-hitter in a nightcap at Detroit. The Sox won easily, 15-0, and swept a twin bill, both games by shutouts. In the game, Smith allowed three walks.
The 15-0 win stood as the biggest margin of victory in any no-hitter ever thrown in the majors — until 111 years later when Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs no-hit the Cincinnati Reds, 16-0. Smith’s game remains the AL mark for biggest margin.
Smith would throw a second no-hitter in 1908, and also had three one-hitters between 1905 and 1910.
The no-hitter was the second of two shutouts on the day; glancing up at the item above, it was Doc White who threw the first shutout of the day, beating the Tigers, 2-0.
1919
During ninth-inning garbage time of an 11-2 loss to Cleveland, Buck Weaver tied a major league mark by stealing second, third and home. The White Sox, who had 14 singles in the game but no other hits, remain six games in first place, in pursuit of their second AL pennant in three seasons.
Weaver went 1-for-4, making the most of his one time on base to circle them with thefts and score Chicago’s final run.
1967
The White Sox hadn’t been alone in first place in the AL since August 23, but after a 3-2 win in the 13th inning to walk off the California Angels, the South Siders climbed back into a four-way tie for first with Boston, Minnesota and Detroit (the Twins and White Sox were actually one percentage point better than the Red Sox and Tigers). However, from there Chicago would finish 11-12 on the year, falling to fourth place, three games from the pennant.
1968
The Chicago Mustangs defeated the Detroit Cougars at Comiskey Park in their final game ever, 2-1. The Mustangs were Chicago’s initial National American Soccer League (NASL) club, prior to the more well-known Chicago Sting, which was founded in 1974 and also played some games at Comiskey Park.
The Mustangs lasted just two seasons in the NASL, with an all-time record of 16-12-16. In neither 1967 nor 1968 did the Mustangs — who were run by future White Sox GM Stu Holcomb — make the postseason.
1971
White Sox pitcher Steve Kealey belted a three-run, eighth inning home run at Comiskey Park off of Minnesota’s Ray Corbin in the opener of a twin bill. It helped the Sox to a 6-3 win. It would be the last time a Sox pitcher homered in a game at home. Kealey also picked up the save in the same game, throwing almost three innings. The Sox split the day’s contests.
1981
It was the beginning of the end for broadcaster Jimmy Piersall in connection with the White Sox. Piersall and Harry Caray appeared on The Mike Royko Show on WLS-TV, and Royko asked the duo how they handle baseball wives who disliked the comments they made about their husbands. Caray said, “You know what, Mike, I would love to call all the wives together someday and tell them what their husbands say about them across the ball field.” Piersall’s answer was more controversial, to say the least. “First of all, they were horny broads that wanted to get married, and they wanted a little money, a little security and a big, strong ballplayer. I traveled, I played. I got a load of those broads, too.”
1999
In a doubleheader at Texas, manager Jerry Manuel and star DH Frank Thomas got into an argument after Thomas refused to pinch-hit in the nightcap, claiming he was hurt. Manuel was livid, and sent Thomas back to Chicago. (Thomas had pinch-hit in the first game and struck out.)
It was discovered after examination by team doctors that Thomas truly was injured; they found a bone spur the size of a walnut on the outside of his ankle, which required surgery and ended his season.
2008
The White Sox and Angels battled at U.S. Cellular Field for almost four hours in the middle of a pennant race, and played 15 innings to boot. That’s when Jim Thome blasted a monstrous home run, deep into the right-field bleachers to end the game with a 7-6 White Sox win. The contest set the record for the longest game innings-wise ever played in September by two teams that were both in first place at the time. The home run was Thome’s 30th on the season.