The White Sox are enjoying their final scheduled off day of the season today.
The next time the Sox take a regular-season breather will be March 30, a day after the opener in Kansas City.
It will be the first regular-season off day on that day after the first game on March 29 before the first non-opener on March 31 in White Sox history.
Whew!
To commemorate aaaaaaaaaaaalllllll of that, here’s a look at some memorable White Sox moments that occurred on this date:
*1908, GETTING CLOSER: Ed Walsh outdueled Walter Johnson as the White Sox closed to within 2.5-games of first place by beating Washington 1-0 at South Side Park. The Sox managed just three hits off Johnson but it was enough to win.
*1920, ROUTING THE YANKS: Buck Weaver, Hap Felsch and Shano Collins each had four hits as the Sox ripped the Yankees 15-9 before 38,000 at Comiskey Park. Collins had three doubles and drove in five in helping the Sox finish off a 3-game sweep of the Yanks. Ed Cicotte earned his 19th win as the Sox moved into second place.
*1922, GETTING THE MOST(IL) OUT OF JOHNNY: Johnny Mostil doubled, tripled and drove in three in the White Sox 7-0 win over Boston at Comiskey Park. Dixie Leverett fashioned a five hitter with one walk and one strikeout to improve to 12-9. Leverett was among four Sox starters who had two hits. Every Sox starter had at least one hit with Earl Sheely doubling and driving in two.
*1923, BESTING BOSTON: Johnny Mostil and Willie Kamm combined to go 5-for-8 with a double, triple and three RBIs in the White Sox 6-2 win at Boston. Ted Blankenship gave up one earned run in the complete game effort for his seventh win.
*1924, FABULOUS FIRST: Eddie Collins had five hits as the White Sox used a five-run first to whip Boston 7-3 at Comiskey Park. Boston starter Curt Fullerton did not retire a batter before being lifted. Earl Sheely drove in three in making things easy for Ted Lyons, who turned in a complete game for his 12th win.
*1925, LAST HURRAH FOR DICKIE: Dickie Kerr absorbed the loss in the White Sox 10-5 defeat at Washington in what would be the final start of his short and short-circuited career. Kerr, a left-hander, won 13 games as a rookie for the 1919 White Sox and was untouched by the scandal that befell team in the World Series that year. In two starts in that fixed Fall Classic, Kerr was 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA and one shutout. The St. Louis native won 21 games in 1920 and 19 games in 1921 before a contract squabble essentially ended his career. Following the 1921 season, Kerr asked Charles Comiskey for a $500 raise but was turned down. Kerr then left the Sox to play “outlaw ball” and for that he was suspended by Commissioner Kensaw Landis. The suspension was lifted after four years and after Kerr had played one season with an “accredited” minor league team, he returned to the White Sox on Aug. 15, 1925. The loss on this day was part of 12 mostly ineffective appearances. After the season, Kerr was sold to a minor league career and then embarked on a coaching career where he crossed paths with Stan Musial.
*1926, PITCHERS A HIT: Pitchers Sarge Connally and Sloppy Thurston combined to go 2-for-3 with a run, a double and an RBI in the White Sox 6-3 win over Boston at Comiskey Park. Thurston threw 5.2 innings of scoreless relief for his eighth win.
*1933, LES IS MORE: Making his big league debut, starter Les Tietje earned the win in the White Sox 4-3 win in Game 2 of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. Tietje joined Leo Mangum as the only Sox pitchers to debut with a start at Yankee Stadium. The feat would not be duplicated until Erik Johnson debuted on Sept. 43, 2013.
*1951, NICE WORK, BUD: Bud Stewart’s homer in the fourth and lead-providing two-run single in the eighth got the White Sox past the Yankees 7-1 in New York. Billy Pierce went the distance for his 14th win.
*1954, NO. 1 FOR MARTY: Marty Marion earned his first victory as White Sox manager in a 6-2 win over Baltimore before 2,529 at Comiskey Park. Marion succeeded Paul Richards as Sox manager four days earlier when Richards took a promotion with the Baltimore Orioles.
*1957, THAT’S RON, NOT REGGIE, JACKSON: Ron Jackson’s three-run homer in the fifth gave the White Sox some breathing room in a 7-5 win at Baltimore. Jim Landis’ two-run single in the first gave the Sox the lead for good as the team posted their 85th win.
*1958, A BARRY GOOD RELIEF OUTING: Barry Latman fired 7.2 innings of scoreless relief for the victory in the White Sox 6-2 win over Baltimore before 734 in a Thursday afternoon get-away day affair at Comiskey Park. Latman took over for starter Ray Moore with one out in the first and the Sox trailing 2-0. He held the O’s scoreless while his offense got him the lead with three in the fifth in a rally which started when Latman walked. Ray Boone led the Sox offense with a home run an RBI in the decisive fifth.
*1959, THE SHERM AND SHAW SHOW: Sherm Lollar’s fifth inning home run off future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning catapulted the first-place White Sox to a 1-0 win over Detroit before 37,352 at Comiskey Park. Bob Shaw threw a five-hitter with one walk and two strikeouts for his 17th win as the Sox held their 5.5-game lead atop the American League.
*1963: A “SWEEP” VICTORY IN GAME 2: Joe Cunningham’s walkoff single delivered the White Sox a 4-3 win in Game 2 and a doubleheader sweep of the Red Sox before 6,677 at Comiskey Park. Pete Ward hit a three-run homer in an 8-3 victory Game 1 as the Sox stretched their winning streak to six.
1965, MARV-ELOUS: Marv Staehle’s two-run pinch-single in the eighth fronted the White Sox for good in an 8-6 win at Cleveland. Eddie Fisher picked up his 15th win as the Sox won for the second straight day.
*1966, MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE: Moose Skowron’s two-run double in the fifth enabled the White Sox to overcome the Orioles 4-3 in Baltimore. Hoyt Wilhelm earned the save with 2.2 innings of shutout work as the Sox finished off a three-game sweep.
*1971, A LAST FOR CARLOS: Carlos May recorded the final inside-the-park grand slam by a White Sox player at Comiskey Park in a 5-1 win over the Angels before 4,612 at 35th and Shields. May victimized the Angels’ Tom Murphy in the first inning for the fourth in-the-park grand slam by a Sox player at Comiskey Park. He joined Bill Barrett (Aug. 4, 1926), Bud Clancy (July 15, 1927) and Ferris Fain (June 16, 1954) as the Sox players to accomplish the feat at home.
*1974, QUICK AS A KAAT: Jim Kaat picked up his 18th win in a snappy 1 hour and 49 minutes in the White Sox 3-1 victory at Minnesota. The left-hander gave up seven hits and one walk while fanning eight in going the distance in victimizing the team he pitched for from 1959 to 1973.
*1977, A WINNING SEASON: The White Sox clinched their first winning season since 1972 by sweeping a doubleheader from California for their 82nd and 83rd triumphs of the season before 22,215 at Comiskey Park. With Oscar Gamble hitting his 31st homer, the Sox took the first game 6-3 followed by a 7-3 win in the nightcap.
*1979, A GEM BY KEN: Ken Kravec pitched 10 shutout innings and was rewarded with a win when Thad Bosley’s single scored Alan Bannister to give the White Sox a 1-0 victory before 5,196 at Comiskey Park. Kravec took a no-hitter into the eighth and wound up giving up just three hits for his 13th win.
*1983, CHAMPS KEEP ROLLLING: A day after they clinched their first American League West title, Richard Dotson earned his 20th win as the Sox whitewashed Seattle 6-0 before a crowd of 40,984 at Comiskey Park. Prior to the game, White Sox veteran Mike Squires helped hoist the American League West title flag above Comiskey Park. The victory made the 24-year-old Dotson the second youngest pitcher in Sox history to win 20 games in a season and the youngest to reach that plateau in 70 years.
*1986, HAROLD 5-FOR-5: Harold Baines went 5-for-5 with a double, a run and three RBIs in the White Sox 6-4 win at Seattle. The five hits tied Baines’ career high, first set on Aug. 17, 1985.
*1988, POWERFUL PASQUA 4-FOR-4: Dan Pasqua was 4-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs in the White Sox 8-5 win at Minnesota. Dave Gallagher doubled and homered as Bobby Thipgen earned his 31st save, one behind Bob James’ 1985 club record.
*1990, EXCELLENCE IN OAKLAND: Rookie Alex Fernandez earned his fourth win with seven strong innings in the White Sox 8-2 win at Oakland. Sammy Sosa broke a 2-2 tie with a homer in the fourth Scott Fletcher and Ivan Calderon also homered in the win.
*1991, BLACK JACK BACK-TO-BACK: Jack McDowell fired his second consecutive shutout in the White Sox 6-0 win over Oakland before 32,998 at Comiskey Park. McDowell became the first Sox pitcher to twirl consecutive shutouts since Neil Allen accomplished the feat in 1986. The complete game was McDowell’s league-leading 15th of the year.
*1997, A DANDY BY DRABEK: Winning pitcher Doug Drabek held the Royals hitless for six innings in the White Sox 9-2 victory at Kansas City. Robin Ventura hit his 150th career home run and drove in four runs and Ray Durham was 4-for-5 as the Sox completed first season sweep at Kansas City.
*1998, A LOT GOING ON: Frank Thomas’ two-run homer in the fourth inning fronted the White Sox for good in an 11-9 win over the Red Sox before 17,767 at Comiskey Park. Thomas’ blast gave him 101 RBI and enabled Thomas to reach the century mark in ribbies, walks and runs for the eighth consecutive season. Albert Belle went 3-for-3 and posted his 46th double in the fourth inning which tied Thomas’ 1992 club record. … After the game, the Sox traded catcher Chad Kreuter to the Angels for cash considerations.
*1999, MR. LEE!: Carlos Lee’s three-run homer in the ninth muscled the White Sox past the Blue Jays 7-4 in Toronto. Lee finished with a career-best five RBI.
*2001, AN EMOTIONAL GATHERING: In the first game after the Sept. 11 attacks, the White Sox fell to the New York Yankees 11-3 before an emotional gathering of 22,785 at Comiskey Park. Many of the fans on hand carried or displayed American flags and they were treated to a pregame ceremony that included members of the Chicago Fire Department and a color guard with representatives from each wing of the Armed Forces. The attacks forced postponement of the Sox three game series in New York (Sept. 11-13) and Minnesota (Sept. 14-16).
*2002, GAR THE STAR: Jon Garland pitched into the sixth inning for his 12th win in the White Sox 3-1 victory over the Royals before 10,246 at Comiskey Park. Garland got relief help from Mike Porzio, Antonio Osuna and Damaso Marte, who combined to throw 2.2 shutout frames with Marte earning his his 10th save.
*2004, WORKING OT: Aaron Rowand and Joe Borchard each hit two-run homers in the 10th to keep the Sox alive in a 9-8 win over Detroit before 23,533 at U.S. Cellular Field. Two innings later, Rowand’s infield single scored Borchard with the game-winner.
*2005, A LITTLE HELP FROM TWINS: Pinch-runner Ross Gload scored on an error in the eighth to hand the first-place White Sox a much-needed 2-1 win at Minnesota. Jose Contreras earned his 13th win with eight strong innings and Bobby Jenks notched his third save as the Sox held their 3.5-game lead in the A.L. Central. A little over a month later, the White Sox would win the World Series.
*2011, ATTA WAY, A.J.: A.J. Pierzynski was 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBI as the White Sox halted a seven-game losing streak with a 10-5 win at Kansas City. Paul Konerko also homered as part of a 15-hit outburst.
*2012, ONE AT A TIME: The first-place White Sox used solo home runs from Alejandro De Aza, Gordon Beckham and Alex Rios in winning 3-2 at Kansas City. Rios’ blast in the seventh fronted the Sox for good as the team held its three-game lead atop the A.L. Central.
