March 15

1983 Fleer #240 Jim Kern

On this day in 1949, Jim Kern was born.

Jim came to the White Sox through a trade with the Cincinnati Reds on August 23, 1982. Kern showed enough promise with the Sox that he was back the next season, but one angry pitch on April 5, 1983, against the Texas Rangers, resulted in a season ending elbow injury.

"The doctor (White Sox physician Richard Corzatt)," Kern said, "told me I did some unusual things. I tore a couple tendons right off the bone. Usually, that takes some bone with it, but that didn't happen with me. I also tore one ligament right in half. From my shoulder to my wrist there was nothing but blood clots. It was scary to look at. He performed some radical surgery, and he told me, 'You're either going to wind up stronger than you ever were, or it just won't work.' Now I'm about ready to go out and see if it works. If it doesn't, there's nothing I can do about it. I made up my mind that if I couldn't throw 88, I'd hang it up." - Jim Kern (June 1984)



White Sox March 15th birthdays:

1876 - Bill Hallman
1885 - Rube Peters
1889 - Charlie Mullen
1938 - Bob Locker
1944 - Wayne Granger
1946 - Bobby Bonds
1949 - Jim Kern
1959 - Harold Baines
1979 - Kevin Youkilis
1991 - Trayce Thompson

March 14

1993 Conlon #851 - Jack Rothrock

On this day in 1905, Jack Rothrock was born.

Jack was traded by the Boston Red Sox with Charlie Berry to the Chicago White Sox for Smead Jolley, Bennie Tate, Johnny Watwood and $7,500 on April 29, 1932. Rothrock only played thirty-nine games with the Pale Hose, but he managed to play each outfield position and the infield corners. This was not new to him, as he played all nine positions previously for the Boston Red Sox in 1928.

Part of the reason for his short tenure in Chicago was his .188 batting average. After the 1932 season, the White Sox traded Jack to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he eventually became part of the 1934 World Champion team.



White Sox March 14th birthdays:

1905 - Jack Rothrock
1921 - Bill Kennedy
1960 - Jerry Willard
1981 - Bobby Jenks

March 13

1973 Topps #604 - Dennis O'Toole

On this day in 1949, Dennis O'Toole was born.

His brother Jim actually came to the White Sox first, in 1967, but only lasted a few months at the tail end of his career. While Jim was with the team, the Sox took his brother, Dennis, in the 1967 amateur draft. Dennis made his debut in 1969 and pitched a handful of innings each year until 1973 with the South Siders, when he made his longest contribution to the majors with sixteen innings, which was over triple his previous season high innings pitched.

Even though Dennis was taken in the 1967 draft and played in each season since 1969, his first card was in the 1973 set, which marked his last in the majors. O'Toole's only existing cards, according to Beckett's master list, are in the 1973 Topps and O-Pee-Chee sets.


White Sox March 13th birthdays:

1885 - Bruno Block
1889 - Byrd Lynn
1942 - Marv Staehle
1949 - Dennis O'Toole
1954 - Terry Leach
1970 - Jorge Fabregas
1971 - Scott Sullivan

March 12

1960 Topps #17 - Johnny Callison

Johnny was drafted out of high school by the Chicago White Sox in 1957. Callison spent 1958 and 1959 splitting time between the majors and minors. He was left off of the roster, when the White Sox went to the World Series against the Dodgers in 1959. While Johnny's small sample size showed promise in 1958, his numbers had dipped with more exposure to major league pitching. After the 1959 season, Callison was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Gene Freese. Gene would spend only one year in Chicago, while Johnny went on to achieve cult status in Philadelphia.

The 1960 Topps card features an annoying habit used by card companies to rush product, but usually keeps the team collectors on their toes and pretty busy. In the effort to get the players on their new teams as quickly as possibly, sometimes a blatantly obvious attempt is made by using a picture of the player in his former team's uniform, with all the logos visible, even though the player is listed with his new team. Another example of this is on Ted Kluszewski's 1961 Topps card, where he is still in his Chicago White Sox hat and uniform, but is listed on the newly formed Los Angeles Angels. This was excusable back then, but it is just lazy when done in today's hobby landscape.


White Sox March 12th birthdays:

1880 - Babe Towne
1882 - Johnny Beall
1887 - Wally Mattick
1889 - Reb Russell
1939 - Johnny Callison

March 11

1991 Topps #717 - Phil Bradley

On this day in 1959, Phil Bradley was born.

Consider this card Phil Bradley's last taste of the majors. The White Sox acquired Phil from the Baltimore Orioles on July 30, 1990 for fan favorite Ron Kittle. While the Sox got Kitty back the next year, Bradley was off to Japan to play with the Yomiuri Giants. He spent 1992 in the minors with the California Angels and the Chicago Cubs, but never made it back to the majors.

Phil's low batting average and spotty fielding with the Sox assured he wouldn't be back in 1991. On a side note, Bradley finished first in one category in 1990; hit by pitch, with eleven.




White Sox March 11th birthdays:

1870 - Herm McFarland
1900 - Rusty Pence
1918 - Ed Fernandes
1959 - Phil Bradley
1982 - Brian Anderson

March 10

On this day in 1924, John Perkovich was born.

"Perky" made his debut with the White Sox during a blowout game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on May 6, 1950. The Red Sox already up 7-1, John entered the game in the bottom of the fourth inning and did what Ken Holcombe and Luis Aloma could not; escape from an inning without giving up a run. Perkovich finished the game, which covered the last five innings. He gave up seven hits and four runs but also struck out three and walked only one.

That was the one and only time Perky played in a major league game. Signed by the Chicago White Sox in 1946, he played in their minor league system until the 1951 season. John split time with the Washington Senators and the Boston Braves AA teams in 1952 before disappearing off the map.

White Sox March 10th birthdays:

1894 - Jack Wieneke
1906 - Art Herring
1924 - John Perkovich
1939 - Bill Heath
1963 - John Cangelosi
1977 - Ben Davis
1987 - Charlie Leesman
1989 - Dayan Viciedo

March 9

1972 Topps #685 - Joe Horlen

Joe Horlen was the White Sox player representative on this day in 1972, when the team voted 31-0, in favor to strike while the union and owners were in negotiations. The issues were mainly conflicts with the health and pension benefits of the players.

Two weeks after presenting the team's vote, Horlen was released, after spending parts of eleven seasons with the South Siders. This may have been in the best interests of Joe, as he obtained his only World Series ring in 1972, while a member of the Oakland Athletics. 1972 would be Horlen's last year in the majors. Proving that he could still play almost two decades later, in 1989, Horlen played for the St. Lucie Legends of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.




White Sox March 9th birthdays:

1893 - Lefty Wiliams
1908 - Myril Hoag
1934 - Jim Landis
1948 - Dan Neumeier
1987 - Daniel Hudson

March 8

1989 Score #542 - Mark Salas

On this day in 1961, catcher Mark Salas was born.

It seems hard to believe, but Mark Salas only played for the Chicago White Sox during the 1988 season. After his playing career ended in the early nineties, Mark became the bullpen catcher for the Sox from 1996 until 1999. He spent two years as a scout for the Pale Hose, after that. In 2007, Salas started his second stint as the White Sox bullpen catcher. In 2012, he survived the coaching shakeup, after the 2011 season, and is still the Sox bullpen catcher.





White Sox March 8th birthdays:

1882 - Harry Lord
1917 - Bill Salkeld
1942 - Dick Allen
1961 - Mark Salas
1975 - Jesus Pena

March 7

1975 TCMA 1919 Chicago White Sox - Dave Danforth

On this day in 1890, Dave Danforth was born.

Dave was a left handed pitcher from Granger, Texas, who was with the White Sox from 1916 until 1919. The White Sox drafted Dave out of the minors on September 15, 1915. During 1916 spring training, Danforth taught his signature shineball to two other pitchers, Eddie Cicotte and Hod Eller. Dave went on to participate in the 1917 World Series, pitching one inning and giving up two runs while striking out two, but wasn't around when his two disciples met in the 1919 World Series. Hod became one of the aces of the 1919 Cincinnati Reds World Series staff and Eddie became one of the eight player banned for life shortly after that series.

Danforth led the American League in pickoffs in 1916, with 15. He had a move that bordered on balking.


White Sox March 7th birthdays:

1890 - Dave Danforth
1929 - Red Wilson
1954 - Nyls Nyman
1964 - Wayne Edwards

March 6

1994 Score Select #404 - Joe Hall

On this day in 1966, Joe Hall was born.

Joe was traded to the White Sox by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1991, while still in the minors. It wouldn't be until 1994 before Joe saw MLB action with the Sox. Hall managed to play in seventeen games for the South Siders that season and hit .393 during that span. The luster had worn off of Joe's play by early 1995, when he was released by the Sox.

Hall did play in to different seasons with the Detroit Tigers, but his time was even more limited there than with the Sox.






White Sox March 6th birthdays:

1966 - Joe Hall

March 5

1985 Fleer #529 - Mike Squires

On this day in 1952, Mike Squires was born.

In 1975, and then from 1977 until 1985, Mike Squires played any and every role the White Sox asked of him. Primarily a first baseman, Mike defined himself as a late inning defensive wizard. Squires' finest accomplishment may have been his Gold Glove in 1981.

As the longest tenured player on the 1983 White Sox team, Mike raised the AL West pennant from the roof of old Comiskey Park.





White Sox March 5th birthdays:

1897 - Lu Blue
1903 - Chick Autry
1904 - Lou Rosenberg
1941 - Phil Roof
1952 - Mike Squires
1971 - Chad Fonville
1976 - Paul Konerko
1977 - Mike MacDougal

March 4

1984 Topps #163 - Lorenzo Gray

On this day in 1958, Lorenzo Gray was born.

Lorenzo was a third baseman for the White Sox during the 1982 and 1983 seasons. Gray played a total of fifty-eight games between the two partial seasons.

Lorenzo only had one major league home run and it was a case of "when it rains, it pours". On May 24, 1983, at Comiskey Park, in the bottom of the third inning, Gray hit a home run off of Doug Bird of the Boston Red Sox, to bring the score to 10-4. Lorenzo's home run may have gotten lost in a flurry of scoring early on in the game, but I'm sure he remembers it fondly.






White Sox March 4th birthdays:

1891 - Jose Acosta
1926 - Cass Michaels
1939 - Jack Fisher
1958 - Lorenzo Gray

March 3

1993 Fleer #208 - Scott Radinsky

On this day in 1968, pitcher Scott Radinsky was born.

Debuting for the White Sox in 1990, Scott was one of the hard throwing youngsters that made up a surprising team that would have gone from worst to first in the AL west, if it had not been for those pesky Oakland A's, led by former Sox manager Tony LaRussa and future Sox DH Jose Canseco. In 1991, Radinsky had his best year with the White Sox, going 5–5 with a 2.02 ERA. Scott held batters to a .116 batting average with runners in scoring position, in sixty-seven appearances that season.

After the 1993 season, Radinsky was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, which sidelined him for the entire strike shortened 1994 season. He was back with the White Sox for the 1995 season, but his ERA ballooned to 5.45, so the Sox chose not to re-sign Scott. Radinsky continued with his career, posting better ERAs with the Dodgers, before finishing up his MLB career with the Cardinals and the Indians.

Radinsky's second career was singing in a punk band. Scott enjoyed success with Scared Straight and with Pulley, who opened up for Green Day.



White Sox March 3rd birthdays:

1919 - Bud Souchock
1949 - Jesse Jefferson
1960 - Chuck Cary
1968 - Scott Radinsky
1994 - Jose Rondon

March 2

2003 Jewish Major Leaguers #36 - Moe Berg

On this day in 1902, catcher Moe Berg was born.

From 1926 until 1930, Moe Berg roamed the diamond for the Chicago White Sox. He started out as a solid utility infielder, but was moved to backup catcher in 1928 after a series of injuries to Sox catchers forced the team's hand, a role which he would fill for various teams until his retirement in 1939.

While playing for the White Sox, Berg earned his Bachelor of Laws from Columbia University and passed the New York State bar exam. Moe's biggest accomplishment was being a spy for the U.S. government. He determined that the Germans were not close to developing a nuclear bomb during World War II and received the Medal of Freedom for his efforts.

After the war, Berg turned down numerous MLB coaching jobs, including one for the Chicago White Sox, in order to pursue his dream of working with the CIA. Moe was hired by the CIA again in 1952, but came up empty. When his contract expired, the CIA chose not to renew it. Berg spent the rest of his life trying to work as a spy again for the CIA.


White Sox March 2nd birthdays:

1902 - Moe Berg
1907 - Jack Knott
1924 - Cal Abrams
1960 - Mike Woodward

March 1

1994 Leaf #406 - Scott Sanderson

On this day in 1994, the Chicago White Sox signed Scott Sanderson through free agency.

Growing up near Chicago, Scott had the luxury, as a player, to play on both sides of town. First he played with the Cubs from 1984 until 1989 and he played for the White Sox in 1994. Basically, Sanderson bookended his time with the Cubs with postseason appearances. He was on his way to a third postseason appearance with a Chicago team in 1994, this time for the South Side, when the strike occurred and shut down the season for good.

Scott compiled an 8-4 record in 1994, making the majority of his appearances as starts. He had a nice 3 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio, but gave up twenty long balls. Sanderson was granted free agency during the long offseason and signed with the California Angels for the last two years of his career.


White Sox March 1st birthdays:

1888 - Howard Baker
1891 - Roy Elsh
1917 - Ike Pearson
1932 - Dom Zanni
1963 - Tony Castillo
1976 - Ramon Castro