This Day In Sox History...August 21

[Lip Man 1]

August 21, 1926 - Ted Lyons fired a no-hitter in beating Boston 6-0 at Fenway Park. The Red Sox would only get two baserunners in the game, one came on a walk and the other on an error by shortstop Bill Hunnefield who fumbled a ground ball and then threw high to first base.

Lyons, a future Hall of Famer, would win 260 games in a 21-year career, all with the Sox. His number #16 would be retired by the club in 1987.

 

August 21, 1959 – It was Nellie Fox night at Comiskey Park.

In the midst of a pennant race the Sox honored their second baseman and future Hall of Famer. Fox was given a new boat, shotgun and other presents and teared up when he spoke to the home crowd. He’d go on to become the American League’s M.V.P. that season hitting .306 with 70 RBI’s.

On this night he went 0-3 with a run scored in the 5-4 win over Washington before almost 38-thousand fans.

 

August 21, 1973 - Sox pitcher Stan Bahnsen took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against Cleveland. After getting the first two outs, former Sox outfielder Walt Williams got a ground single to left past third baseman Bill Melton. Melton inexplicably, was playing in, anticipating a possible bunt from Williams who later said under no circumstances would he try to break up a no-hitter by bunting late in the game.

Stan then got the final out finishing with a one-hitter, striking out four, in the 4-0 win.

 

August 21, 2005 - The Sox tied the club record by hitting four home runs in a single inning. It happened off the Yankees Randy Johnson in a 6-2 win at U.S. Cellular Field. The four who went deep were Tadahito Iguchi, Aaron Rowand, Paul Konerko and Chris Widger. The home runs came in the fourth inning.

Iguchi, Rowand and Konerko went back-to-back-to-back.

   

 

[Melton1972]

I missed that 1973 game as a kid but my friend (Cub fan) gleefully told me about it the next day. He claimed that Bahnsen glared at Melton for a long time after that play.

[Lip Man 1]

16 minutes ago, Melton1972 said:

I missed that 1973 game as a kid but my friend (Cub fan) gleefully told me about it the next day. He claimed that Bahnsen glared at Melton for a long time after that play.

I have the radio broadcast of that 9th inning and Harry Caray said Bahnsen just stood on the mound with his hands on his hips and then Ed Herrmann came out to talk to him.

From my interview with Stan:

ML: Then on August 21, 1973 at Cleveland you came within a few feet of a no-hitter. I have the audio of the last of the 9^th inning and I’d like to know what goes through a pitchers mind when he in the process of doing this, then what were you feeling when you lost out on it. (Author’s Note: The Sox won the game 4-0 but Bahnsen lost the no-hitter when with two out, ex-White Sox outfielder Walt Williams rolled a ground ball just to the left of Bill Melton on a 2-1 count.)   

SB: “Well I knew what was happening, that they hadn’t gotten any hits off me. That night I was warming up in the bullpen and just wasn’t feeling good, my stuff wasn’t working and I remember thinking ‘oh, no…’ because Cleveland had knocked me out the week before in Chicago. But when the game started it was one of those nights where if I’d miss on a pitch, they’d pop it up or hit it right at somebody.”

“In the 9^th inning, I knew that Bill (Melton) wanted to play in on the grass in case Walt Williams was going to try to bunt for a hit. I threw a breaking ball and he got on top of it and I thought I had it. He hit a two bouncer that I was sure Bill was going to get to but with him playing in, it got past him. I really wanted it, and naturally I was disappointed when it didn’t happen.” 

“A few years ago I saw Walt at a BAT convention and he told me something I didn’t know, that when he got to his car after the game, the fans had trashed it! They dumped garbage on it and everything. I guess they wanted to see me get the no-hitter too.”