Here’s what happened on this date (Jan. 15) in White Sox history:
*1927, FORMER MVP IN THE FOLD? ROGER THAT: The White Sox acquired former American League Most Valuable Player Roger Peckinpaugh in a three-player swap with the Washington Senators.
In exchange for Peckinpaugh, a shortstop, the Sox gave up pitchers Hollis “Sloppy” Thurston and Leo Mangum.
The 36-year-old Peckinpaugh didn’t have much gas in the tank when he arrived. In his only season with the Sox (and the last of his 17-year career), Peckinpaugh played in just 68 games and hit .295.
This dropoff all a year removed from Peckinpaugh’s MVP season of 1925 when hit .294 for the American League champion Washington Senators.
*1981, HALL VOTING UNKIND TO NELLIE, LOOIE: Nellie Fox failed to gain any ground and Luis Aparicio lost ground in their quests to make the Hall of Fame.
For the second consecutive year, Fox received 41.9 percent of the vote in balloting for the Hall, which was released on this date by the Baseball Writers Association of America which were released on this date.
In his 11th year on the ballot, Fox received 168 votes, well short of the 301 needed for the 75 percent to gain induction. After coming maddening close with 74.7 percent of the vote in his last year on the ballot in 1985, Fox was ultimately put into the Hall by the Veterans Committee in 1997.
Aparicio, in his third year on the ballot, lost a considerable amount of ground after getting a career-best 124 votes (32.2 percent) in 1980. Aparicio received only 48 votes or 12 percent in 1981. Hard to believe but the likes of Maury Wills, Harvey Kuenn, and Ted Kluszewski got more support than Aparicio in this election. “Looie” would eventually make the Hall via the BWAA vote in 1984.
Hoyt Wilhelm was the Sox product who received the most votes in this election. Wilhelm was listed on 59.4 percent of the ballots – well short of the 75 percent needed for induction. The knuckleballer, who pitched for the Sox from 1963 to 1968, would eventually be voted into the Hall in 1985.
Other Sox graduates receiving votes Orlando Cepeda (19.2 percent), Kluszewski (14 percent), Don Larsen (8.2 percent), Vada Pinson (4.5 percent) and Claude Osteen (0.2 percent). Osteen, Pinson, Ken Berry (0 votes) and Bob Locker (0 votes) were among those dropped from future BWAA ballots because they did not garner at least five percent of the vote.
*2003, ONE BUSY DAY NETS AN ACE: White Sox general manager Ken Williams executed two trades and ended up with one of the game’s best starting pitchers in Bartolo Colon.
Williams first dealt pitchers Antonio Osuna and minor leaguer Delvis Lantigua to the Yankees for pitcher Orlando Hernandez.
Williams then sent Hernandez, pitcher Rocky Biddle and outfielder-first baseman Jeff Liefer to Montreal for Colon and a minor leaguer.
Colon, in the final year of his contract, was a workhorse for the 2003 White Sox. He led the A.L. with nine complete games and went 15-13 with a 3.87 ERA with 173 strikeouts.
The Sox tried to re-sign after the season Colon but the Angels offered a more lucrative pact which he accepted.