This Day In Sox History 7/10...

Five factoids today:

July 10, 1916 - The White Sox swept Boston at Fenway Park in a doubleheader, 4-0 and 3-0, with Claude “Lefty” Williams and Ewell “Reb” Russell earning the shutouts. Russell’s effort was a one-hitter with the only Boston safety coming on a single in the sixth inning by Clarence “Tilly” Walker.

The Boston sweep came at the start of what would become a 15-day, 18-game road trip odyssey, with the White Sox playing in seven straight doubleheaders starting on this day, through July 20 — seven doubleheaders in 11 days!

The White Sox had a series in Boston in mid-May completely washed out by rain, so the July doubleheaders all wedged May and July games together. Then, traveling to Philadelphia for the next leg of the trip, the White Sox were deluged by rain to force additional doubling-up of games. The Sox then traveled to Washington where they played six games and ended the trip in Detroit with a two-game set.

The White Sox only split one of the seven doubleheaders, otherwise sweeping three and getting swept in three. After this leadoff sweep in Boston, the White Sox dropped four straight, then took five straight, and finished the doubleheader marathon by losing three straight. They then swept the Tigers twice in solo games on consecutive days.

In late August 1938 the Sox also had to play six double headers in six consecutive days!

July 10, 1956 - For the third and final time Billy Pierce was pegged to start for the American League in the All-Star Game. This year with the game in Washington D.C., Billy was tagged with the loss, despite only allowing one run in three innings of work. The N.L. would go on to win 7-3.

Pierce would represent the Sox in seven All-Star affairs. Joining him on the team that year were Nellie Fox (2B), Sherm Lollar (C) and Jim Wilson (P).

Pierce also was the starting pitcher for the American League in the 1953 game in Cincinnati and the 1955 game at Milwaukee. In four appearances Pierce threw almost 11 innings with 12 strikeouts.

July 10-11, 1995 - At the All-Star Game in Texas, first baseman Frank Thomas turned a special double play. Thomas won the home run hitting contest the day before the actual game, and then became the first Sox player to ever homer in the game itself, when he connected off the Reds John Smiley in the fourth inning with a man on base. The N.L. would win the game 3-2. Thomas was the only member of the Sox on the team.

July 10, 2001 - Magglio Ordonez (OF) homered off the Cubs John Lieber at the All-Star Game in Seattle. He became the second Sox player to ever homer in the annual classic. It was a solo shot to center field. The A.L. would win the game 4-1. Ordonez was the only Sox player on the team.

July 10, 2024 – Nobody ever doubted his talent, after all Michael Kopech could throw a baseball over 100 miles an hour. But the issue was his consistency and mental approach to the game which resulted in a very mediocre career. But on this afternoon in the first game of a double header against the Twins, he was perfect throwing an “Immaculate Inning.”

That’s the term for when a pitcher throws only nine pitches, all strikes and records three outs. 

In the ninth inning of the Sox 3-1-win Kopech blew pitches past Minnesota’s Brooks Lee, Matt Wallner and Max Kepler. Those hitters were just able to foul some off but never had any good swings.

The only other Sox pitcher to record an “Immaculate Inning” was Hollis “Sloppy” Thurston against the Philadelphia A’s on  August 22, 1923. It came in the 12^th inning of a game he’d lose 3-2.