5 FACTS ON BIRTHDAY BOY AND SOX LEGEND LUKE APPLING

Here are five fast facts on White Sox legend Luke Appling, who was born on this date in 1907:

*The member of the White Sox All-20th Century team set a franchise record by hitting a league-leading .388 in 1936

*The 1964 Hall of Fame inductee is the Sox all-time leader with 2749 hits, 2422 games, 8856 at bats and 2162 singles

*The first player to have his number (No. 4) retired by the White Sox is the only player in franchise history to win two A.L. batting titles (1936, 1943)

*Named to seven American League All-Star teams, the right-handed hitting shortstop batted .444 with a double and two RBIs in the Mid-Summer Classic

*At age 75, “Old Aches and Pains” launched a home run off Warren Spahn in the 1982 Cracker Jack Old-Timer’s Game at RFK Stadium in Washington DC https://youtu.be/9z7T-iaDzmA

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REVIEWING LA RUSSA’S FIRST OPENER AS WHITE SOX MANAGER

A look back at Tony La Russa’s first Opening Day as White Sox manager:

*Date: Thursday, April 10, 1980

*Location: Comiskey Park

*Attendance: 35,539

*Score: Orioles 5, White Sox 3

*First pitch: 1:15 p.m.

*Time of game: 2 hours, 22 minutes

*Weather: Temperature barely reached 40. Tribune referred to the fans as chilled.

*Winning pitcher: Jim Palmer

*Save: Tim Stoddard

*Losing pitcher: Steve Trout

*Baltimore manager Earl Weaver’s lineup: Bumbry cf; Belanger ss; Singleton rf; Murray 1b; DeCinces 3b; May dh; Roenicke lf; Dauer 2b; Dempsey c; Palmer p

*La Russa’s Sox lineup: Molinaro dh; Bannister 3b; Washington lf; Johnson 1b; Lemon cf; Baines rf, Morrison 2b, Foley c, Pryor ss, Trout p

*First Sox hit: Alan Bannister first inning double

*First Sox RBI: Bannister single in the seventh scored Greg Pryor

*How the Sox lost: Trout gave up four in the first to the defending American League champions

*Close call: Jim Morrison and Marv Foley both came to bat in the eighth as the tying run but were retired by Stoddard

*Unsung hero: Richard “Tex” Wortham threw four shutout innings in relief of Trout

*New guy: Future Hall-of-Famer Harold Baines was 0-for-4 with a strikeout in his MLB debut … He flew out against Palmer in his first at bat leading off the second

*Magnificent 7: Bobby Molinaro (2-for-3), Bannister (3-for-5) and Lamar Johnson (2-for-3) had all of the Sox hits

*Tough day: Claudell Washington was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and was booed lustily by the Sox faithful. “It’s not easy to play this game when your own fans disapprove of you,” La Russa said in the Tribune. “I hope our fans will give our players the benefit of the doubt. I hope they will give them a chance.”

WHITE SOX OPENING DAY: THE LAST TIME

White Sox Opening Day lasts:

*Last win: 2018, Sox 14, at Kansas City 7

*Last loss: 2020, Minnesota 10, Sox 5

*Last homer: Yoan Moncada, 3-run shot, 2020

*Last solo homer: Matt Davidson, eighth inning, 2018

*Last 2-run homer: Tim Anderson, fifth inning, 2018

*Last multi-homer game; Matt Davidson (3), Tim Anderson (2), 2018

*Last (only) grand slam: Minnie Minoso, 1960 vs KC A’s

*Last 4-RBI game: Matt Davidson (5), 2018

*Last 6-RBI game: Minnie Minoso, 1960 vs KC A’s

*Last 4-run game: Matt Davidson, 2018

*Last (only) 5-hit game: Nellie Fox, 5-for-7, in a 9-7 win in 14 innings at Detroit in 1959

*Last 4-hit game: Harold Baines, 4-for-5 in a 5-3 loss to Milwaukee in 1986

*Last (only) 3-double game: Carey Selph, 1932 vs. St. Louis

*Last 2-double game: Melky Cabrera, 2017 vs. Detroit

*Last triple: Adam Eaton, 2016 at Oakland (no multi-triple games)

*Last walkoff hit: Wayne Nordhagen, 1978 (double scored Chet Lemon in the ninth)

*Last (only) walkoff homer: Minnie Minoso, 1960 vs KC A’s (led off the ninth)

*Last walkoff single: Tommy McCraw, 14th inning in 1966 vs. Angels (no walkoff triples)

*Last 3-walk game: Mike Hershberger, 1962 (no four walk games)

*Last 4-strikeout game: Brent Morel, 2012

*Last 5-strikeout game: Ron Karkovice, 1996

*Last (only) 4-walk game: Eddie Robinson, 1951

*Last double-digit runs: 2018, Sox 14, at KC 7

*Last 15+-run game: 1951 at St. Louis (17-3 win)

*Last extra-inning game: 1997, Sox 6, at Toronto 5 (10 innings)

*Last extra-inning game at home: 1967, Sox 3, California 2 (14 innings)

*Last position player to make his MLB debut: Luis Robert, 2020 vs. Twins

*Last player to make his MLB debut as a pinch-hitter: Jorge Orta, 1972 vs. KC (0-for-1)

*Last pinch-hit: Brian Anderson, double, 2007 vs. Cleveland

*Last pinch-single: Pat Kelly, 1975 at Oakland

*Last pinch-triple: Jack Fournier, 1915 at St. Louis

*Last (only) pinch-homer: Paco Martin, 1997 at Toronto

*Last complete game: Jack McDowell, 1991 at Baltimore

*Last complete game shutout: Wilbur Wood, 1976 vs. Kansas City

*Last one-hitter: Frank Smith, 1910 vs. St.Louis

*Last (only) 10-strikeout game: Jack McDowell, 1991

*Last righty to start back-to-back Openers:: Jaime Navarro 1997-1998

*Last starter to win: James Shields, 2018 at KC

*Last starter to pitch 7 innings on Opening Day: Chris Sale, 2016 at Oakland

*Last starter to pitch 8 innings on Opening Day: Mark Buehrle, 2005 vs. Cleveland

*Last starter to pitch 11 innings on Opening Day: Billy Pierce, 1957

*Last starter to pitch fewer than 4 innings on Opening Day: Lucas Giolito, 2020 vs. Minnesota (3.2)

*Last starter to pitch fewer than 3 innings on Opening Day: Mark Buehrle, 2008 at Cleveland (1.2)

*Last starter to pitch fewer than 2 innings on Opening Day: Jose Contreras, 2007 vs. Cleveland (1 inning)

*Last starter with no walks on Opening Day: John Danks, 2012 at Texas (6 innings)

*Last (only) reliever to strikeout 5: Dennis Higgins, 1966 vs. California

*Last reliever to strikeout 4: Nick Masset, 2008 at Cleveland

*Last reliever to pitch at least 3 innings: Nick Masset, 2007 vs. Cleveland

*Last reliever to pitch 4 innings: Nick Masset, 2008 at Cleveland

*Last pitcher to make a MLB debut: Codi Heuer, 2020 vs. Minnesota

*Last (only) win in an MLB debut: Roy Patterson, 1901 vs. Cleveland

*Last save in an MLB debut: Salome Barojas, 1982 at New York

*Last save: David Robertson, 2016 at Oakland

*Last save of more than 1 inning: Terry Leach, 3 innings at Minnesota 1992

*Last save of less than 1 inning: Bobby Thigpen, 1990 vs. Milwaukee (0.2 innings)

*Last 1-out save: Bob James, 1987 at Kansas City

*Last 1-0 win: 2013 vs. Kansas City

*Last (only) HR-only 1-0 win: 2013 vs. Kansas City (Tyler Flowers)

*Last Opener at Angels: 1992, Sox win 10-4

COUNTDOWN TO SOX OPENING DAY: 1 DAY (THE 1s HAVE IT)

1 day to Opening Day White Sox fans!

Players wearing No. 1 have led off the season 14 times for the White Sox.

This stat was displayed by me at the 2014 opener — seven years ago today — and does not reflect Adam Eaton’s season-starting at bats in 2015 and 2016.

This season, Eaton will be batting second wearing No. 12.

Wearing No. 7, Tim Anderson will leadoff the season for the second year in a row on Thursday in Anaheim.

COUNTDOWN TO WHITE SOX OPENING DAY: 2 DAYS (NELLIE!)

2 days to Opening Day White Sox fans.

Wearing the to-be-retired in his honor No. 2, Nellie Fox finished No. 2 in White Sox history with 2,470 hits (Luke Appling is first at 2,749) and 1,996 singles (Appling first at 2.162).