Today in White Sox History: May 15
The long and sad slide out of first place begins begins all-too-soon for the 2006 club
Scott Podsednik starred in another win, but this day 2006 marked the last day the White Sox would sit alone in first place. | (Photo by Chuck Rydlewski/Getty Images) 1929 White Sox outfielder Art “The Great” Shires (Shires, by the way, gave himself that nickname) and manager Lena Blackburne got into a fistfight in the clubhouse over Shires choosing to wear a red felt hat during pregame warmups. Blackburne knocked Shires out cold.
1941 In a game in New York, White Sox pitcher Eddie Smith allowed a hit to Yankee great Joe DiMaggio. It would be the first hit in DiMaggio’s record-setting, 56-game hitting streak. Chicago won the game, 13-1.
1951 As a testament to the managerial genius of Sox skipper Paul Richards , it had been 30 years since the league saw a move like this. In the ninth inning of a game in Boston with the White Sox winning, 7-6, relief pitcher Harry Dorish was removed in favor of Billy Pierce to face the left-handed hitting Ted Williams — only Dorish wasn’t removed from the game, he was moved to third base! Pierce retired Williams on a pop-up, then was taken out of the game to return Dorish back to the mound.
Boston eventually tied the game, but the White Sox would have the last laugh, winning 9-7 in 11 innings. The victory marked the start of a 14-game win streak, with 11 of the wins coming on the road. By May 30, after sweeping the St.