Today in White Sox History: May 25
A marathon game at Comiskey Park
1912
In an example of will never be again, the White Sox won a 17-inning game against Detroit, 5-4: Harry Lord led off the 17th with a double, was sacrificed to third by Walt Kuhn, and trotted home to end the nearly four-hour game on a fly ball to the wall/single from Ping Bodie. A massive Saturday crowd of 28,000 witnessed the game at Comiskey Park. Shano Collins was the hitting star for the Sox, with four singles in seven at-bats, although it was Lord who supplied the power, with his double and an earlier triple being the only Chicago extra-base hits of the day. Ed Walsh started the game and lasted “only” seven innings (to be fair, it was Walsh’s sixth start in 17 days!), with Frank Lange relieving and throwing 10 scoreless to earn his sixth win.
The contest remains, likely forever, tied for the 15th-longest game in White Sox history.
The victory improved the White Sox to 26-8-1, the best 35-game start in club history. Chicago was four games up in the American League, although a 10-16 June would drop the team 7 ½ games out of first and torpedo the season.
1924
In a game at Washington that the White Sox won, 10-9, Ray Schalk caught his 1,500th career game. At the time of his retirement in 1929, Schalk had the third-most games caught all-time and second-most games caught in AL history.
1952
White Sox pitchers Joe Dobson and Marv Grissom both fired shutouts in beating the Tigers in a doubleheader at Comiskey Park, 3-0 and 1-0. For the afternoon, Detroit only had eight total hits. Grissom would later become the White Sox pitching coach under manager Eddie Stanky.
1957
White Sox pitcher Dick Donovan hurled a one-hitter at Cleveland, striking out four. Donovan allowed only a second-inning double to right field by former White Sox infielder Eddie Robinson in winning, 4-0. Donovan beat future teammate Early Wynn.
1973
It was the beginning of the end for what was expected to be a stellar season. In the second inning of a game with Cleveland, White Sox outfielder Ken Henderson tore up his knee in a collision at home plate, trying to slide through future White Sox pitching coach Dave Duncan. At the time, the White Sox were 24-14, with a 2 1⁄2-game lead in the AL West.
This injury started a run that saw the Sox use the injured list 38 times in 1973. Making matters worse is that for some reason, the Sox refused to allow Henderson to have his knee operated on until September, meaning he was lost for the season — not that it would have made much difference, considering all the other injuries to come.
The White Sox ended 1973 with a record of 77-85. Remarkably, Henderson came back to play all 162 games in 1974, and blasted 20 home runs with 95 RBIs.
2008
It was another storybook moment in what was a magical season for the White Sox and Carlos Quentin. The slugger cinched a 3-2, walk-off win on a Sunday night game vs. the Angels with a solo homer leading off the bottom of the ninth inning.
Quentin homered against John Lackey twice, driving in all three White Sox runs. The slugger went 3-for-3 and had half of the White Sox hits in a pitcher’s duel between Lackey and José Contreras.
The win kept the White Sox two games up in the AL Central, having just begun a run of 2 1⁄2 months in first place before sputtering late and setting up their most dramatic division win in team history.
2009
Jim Thome homered in a 17-3 pasting of the Angels — his 549th career home run, moving him past Mike Schmidt for 13th all-time.
Also in the game, Alexei Ramírez had four hits in the first four innings, becoming the first White Sox player to do that since Sherm Lollar in a doubleheader nightcap vs. Boston on June 26, 1960.
And also, on the same day, the Pirates beat the Cubs, 10-8, becoming the first team in MLB history to play consecutive series against the White Sox and Cubs in Chicago.