This Day In Sox History...April 7

[Lip Man 1]

April 7, 1970 - The worst White Sox team in history began their forgettable season getting pounded 12-0 at home by the Twins before less than 12-thousand fans. Sox starting pitcher Tommy John only lasted into the fifth inning giving up six runs, five earned. The Sox would go on to lose a franchise record 106 games and before the season ended saw the G.M., field manager and a number of front office people on the baseball side fired by owner John Allyn.  

 

April 7, 1971 - Charlie Finley, the A’s owner, got the first regularly scheduled opening day double header in history but was stunned when the Sox under manager Chuck Tanner beat them twice 6-5 and 12-4 at the Oakland Coliseum.

Tommy John and Bart Johnson were the winning pitchers. The Sox clubbed five home runs on the day, including a grand slam by Bill Melton. It should have been six homers except that Carlos May somehow missed touching home plate on his blast. A’s catcher Gene Tenace picked up on it and tagged him out when he was sitting in the dugout. It went as a triple in the scorebook and two RBI’s.

This was also Harry Caray’s first regular season game as Sox announcer although at the time not a whole lot of folks could hear him. Three straight awful years caused the Sox to lose their radio contract with any mainstream Chicago station. For the next two years Sox games were broadcast on WTAQ (LaGrange) and WEAW (Evanston), two low powered stations along with other smaller stations throughout the area.

    

April 7, 1973 - On opening day in Texas, Mike Andrews became the first White Sox designated hitter. He hit sixth in the lineup for manager Chuck Tanner. He went 1 for 3 in the Sox 3-1 win behind Wilbur Wood.

Andrews got off to such a blazing start that Sports Illustrated wound up doing a story on him in his role as DH. He was hitting over .300 through mid-May but then reality set in.

He was released by the team in July after refusing to sign a contract offer made by then vice president Stu Holcomb. He’d wind up with the A’s for the remainder of the season including the World Series where A’s owner Charlie Finley tried to say he was injured and get him replaced with another player after his errors led to a loss to the Mets. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn did not fall for the deception.

 

April 7, 1977 - The White Sox introduced American League baseball to Canada as they played the first ever game in Toronto Blue Jays history. The Jays outslugged the Sox in a driving snowstorm to win 9-5. But it was the start of something much bigger; the “South Side Hitmen” were born. Richie Zisk hit the first Sox home run of the season in the first inning. The club would blast 191 more of them that year.   

 

April 7, 1984 - The Tigers Jack Morris threw the last no-hitter at the original Comiskey Park when he shut down the Sox 4-0 on the NBC Saturday “Game of the Week.” The Sox had their chances; including loading the bases on walks in the fourth inning with no out, but could never get the key hit as he retired Greg Luzinski on a double play and then got Ron Kittle to strike out.  

 

April 7, 1993 - On his first swing of the season, future Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk would blast his final Major League home run. It would come off the Twins Jim Deshaies in the third inning and be the only run scored by the Sox in a 6-1 loss. Fisk would be released by the Sox in June. He’d finish with 376 home runs, 214 in a White Sox uniform at the time both the club and Major League record for a catcher.

 

April 7, 1994 - In the annual “Crosstown Classic” charity game between the Sox and Cubs, Michael Jordan wrote his name into Sox lore. His double in the late innings tied the game and prevented the Sox from losing for the first time in this series. He’d have two hits and drive in two runs in the game which ended in a 4-4 tie at Wrigley Field. The Sox would go 10-0-2 in this affair that lasted from 1985 through 1995. (Two games were played in 1995.)