April 17

1953 Bowman Color #39 - Paul Richards

On this day in 1951, Paul Richards managed his first MLB game, debuting with the Chicago White Sox against the St. Louis Browns. The Sox trampled the Browns 17-3.

Richards brought a new strategy to the South Side as manager. His style of game emphasized pitching, defense and speed, rather than relying on home runs for run production. The new method worked and began a string of seventeen consecutive seasons above .500, which is the third longest streak in MLB history.

Paul spent 1951 through 1954 as manager of the White Sox. The team would be competitive, but always come up short of the New York Yankees. He moved on to manage the Baltimore Orioles in 1955 and stayed there through 1961. Bill Veeck asked Richards to return to managing in 1976 and he took over the White Sox once again. After a losing record in 1976, Paul retired from managing.



White Sox April 17th birthdays:

1987 - Dan Jennings