5 most memorable White Sox home openers over last 100 seasons
The baseball season doesn't truly begin until a team plays in front of its own fans.
The Chicago White Sox season officially starts on Thursday in the state of Texas against the Houston Astros. Yes, it will bring back fond memories of the White Sox's 2005 World Series title on that very same field on an unforgettable October evening.
But that wonderful 2005 memory will likely only be in the minds of White Sox fans. The Astros, after all, are supposed to raise their 2022 World Series championship banner on Thursday and hand out their fancy rings.
Catcher A.J. Pierzynski will not jump into the arms of closer Bobby Jenks even if the White Sox win.
The White Sox on Thursday will be treated with the same lack of respect and attention the Washington Generals used to get when they took on the Harlem Globetrotters.
The Chicago White Sox have their 2023 home opener to look forward too.
The White Sox's home opener on Monday against the San Francisco Giants, though, will have a very different feel. There won't be a ring celebration but it will be the Sox taking center stage that day.
Home openers are indeed special, no matter how the team fared the previous season. The White Sox on Monday against the Giants, no matter what happens in Houston, will unveil new manager Pedro Grifol and a renewed sense of hope and promise after a disappointing 2022 season.
This is a look back, in chronological order, on five of the most memorable White Sox home openers over the past 100 seasons:
Bob Feller makes history against Chicago White Sox in 1940.
OK, we said memorable. As any White Sox knows, memorable doesn't always equal Sox success.
Cleveland Indians right-hander Bob Feller was just 21 years old when he took the mound at Comiskey Park on April 16, 1940. The 6-foot, 185-pounder from Van Meter, Iowa, was a mystery to the crowd of 14,000 that showed up on Opening Day.
Feller was coming off a 24-7 season and his second All Star appearance in 1939.
He also already had a long history against the White Sox, going 12-5 against Chicago since 1936 over 17 appearances (16 starts, 11 complete games). Feller allowed just 92 hits to the Sox in 139.1 innings with 118 strikeouts, 81 walks, and an earned run average of 2.20.
Feller's best performance against the White Sox before April 16, 1940, was a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts in 1939.
No pitcher in major league history had ever thrown a no-hitter on opening day before 1940. No pitcher has ever done it since.
Feller beat the Sox 1-0 on Opening Day 1940 at Comiskey Park, fanning eight and walking five without allowing a hit. Sitting in the Comiskey stands that day were Feller's father Bill, mother Lena, and sister Marguerite, who drove in from Van Meter.
The closest the White Sox came to a hit was a fly ball that Indians center fielder Roy Weatherly dropped for an error in the second inning. Feller also walked two in that inning, including Sox pitcher Eddie Smith, to load the bases. He then struck out third baseman Bob Kennedy to end the threat.
Luke Appling also lined out to right fielder Ben Chapman in the third inning as did Taffy Wright in the fourth. The only White Sox hitter to reach base after the third inning was Appling, who walked with two outs in the ninth.
Feller would throw two more no-hitters in his career, in 1946 against the New York Yankees and in 1951 against the Detroit Tigers. He also had 12 one-hitters, one against the White Sox in 1946 at Comiskey Park.
Feller's no-hitter was the first against the White Sox since Bob Groom of the St. Louis Browns did it in 1917 in St. Louis. It was also the last against the White Sox until Mel Parnell did it in 1956 at Boston at Fenway Park.
Bill Monbouquette of the Red Sox became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter at Comiskey Park since Feller when he beat the Sox 1-0 on Aug. 1, 1962. Jack Morris of the Detroit Tigers no-hit the Sox in 1984 in the second game of the season at Comiskey Park.
Billy Pierce thrills Chicago White Sox fans in 1953 home opener.
Another Indians pitcher nearly became the second pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter on Opening Day and, again, the victim was the White Sox. Bob Lemon, who would manage the White Sox in 1977, fired a no-hitter in Cleveland to open the 1953 season, beating the Sox 6-0.
A crowd of 56,698 witnessed Lemon's masterpiece. The Sox immediately headed out of Cleveland after the game and hosted the St. Louis Browns in their home opener two days later.
A crowd of just 11,354 showed up at Comiskey to see the home opener, likely because of what Lemon did to their heroes two days before. They were rewarded with arguably the most incredible pitching performance by a White Sox pitcher in the history of Sox home openers.
Billy Pierce was just two weeks past his 26th birthday when he took on the Browns on April 16, 1953. Pierce, in his fifth season in Chicago, was just 52-57 in his career at the start of the 1953 season.
The 5-foot-10 lefty tossed a one-hitter in 1950 at Comiskey Park against a New York Yankees team that had Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Phil Rizzuto. A fifth-inning single by Billy Johnson was the only Yankee hit.
Pierce would come a bit closer to a no-hitter in the White Sox's home opener in 1953.
The White Sox and Browns were in a scoreless tie after six innings and Pierce had yet to allow a hit. He had walked five (two in the first inning and three in the sixth) but was able to keep the game tied.
Browns' second baseman Bobby Young came to the plate with two outs in the seventh and promptly spoiled Pierce's no-hit bid with a double to right. Pierce then struck out Harry Brecheen to keep the game scoreless.
The Sox pushed across the only run they would need in this game in the bottom of the seventh. Jim Rivera walked to start the inning and was bunted to second by Sam Mele.
Chico Carrasquel then reached on an error by St. Louis third baseman Jim Dyck, sending Rivera to third. Rivera scored on a sacrifice fly by Sherm Lollar.
The only hitter to reach base off Pierce in the final two innings was Dyck, who was hit by a pitch in the eighth. Les Moss, a future White Sox player (1955-58), assistant coach 1967-70), and interim manager (1970), grounded out to third baseman Vern Stephens to end the game.
Pierce would throw four one-hitters in his career, including in 1958 when he was one out away from a perfect game against the Washington Senators at Comiskey Park.
Ed FitzGerald singled as a pinch-hitter with two outs in the ninth. Pierce recovered to fan Albie Pearson to preserve the 3-0 Sox win in front of a crowd of just 11,300.
The White Sox began a new era with an exciting win in 1971 home opener.
The White Sox were coming off a demoralizing 56-106 season in 1970. So they fired the manager (Don Gutteridge) and replaced him with Chuck Tanner.
Tanner was a former major league outfielder best known for hitting a home run in his first major league at-bat in 1955 for the Milwaukee Braves off Cincinnati Reds and future Sox pitcher Gerry Staley.
The Sox hired Tanner and general manager Roland Hemond out of the California Angels' organization on Sept. 4, 1970, just three days after firing Gutteridge.
Tanner, though, coached the Triple-A Hawaii Islanders for another two weeks in the Pacific Coast League championship series (he was swept in four games by the Spokane Indians) before making his White Sox debut on Sept. 18.
Tanner then went 3-13 in a White Sox uniform, losing his last seven games to close out the 1970 season. In Tanner's 12 games (nine losses) at Comiskey Park as the Sox manager none of the crowds were larger than 5,403.
All of the apathy and negativity, however, seemed to disappear when the 1971 season began as a crowd of 43,253 showed up for the home opener. It was the largest crowd at Comiskey since 44,659 showed up to see the Yankees for a doubleheader (the Sox lost both games) on Aug. 18, 1963.
The Sox switched to red-and-white uniforms and made numerous acquisitions in the offseason, bringing in new players such as Mike Andrews, Tom Bradley, Vicente Romo, Tom Egan, Jay Johnstone, Pat Kelly, Steve Kealey, and Rick Reichardt and unveiling exciting rookies such as Terry Forster, Rich Gossage, and Lee "Bee Bee" Richard.
The 1970 season seemed like ancient history, thanks to the new players' uniforms and Tanner's positive attitude. Sweeping a season-opening doubleheader in Oakland on April 7 also didn't hurt.
The new-look, unbeaten (2-0) and suddenly interesting White Sox stepped into Comiskey Park for their home opener on April 9 to face the Minnesota Twins. Tom Bradley, who went 11-1 for Tanner at Hawaii in 1970, started for the Sox.
Bradley came to the Sox in a November 1970 trade with Egan and Johnstone for Syd O'Brien, Billy Wynne, and long-time fan favorite Ken Berry. The trade helped transform the Sox.
Bradley was brilliant in the 1971 home opener, going eight innings and allowing just two runs and nine hits while striking out eight. Both runs, though, came in the eighth inning on a two-run single by Rich Reese, wiping out a 2-0 Sox lead.
Bradley began the inning by striking out Cesar Tovar and Rod Carew. But he then gave up a single to Tony Oliva and a double to Harmon Killebrew and was obviously tiring. Tanner, though, kept the right-handed Bradley in to face the left-handed Reese.
Romo pitched the ninth for the Sox, preserving the 2-2 tie, though he had to fan Cesar Tovar and get Carew to fly out to end the inning with two runners on base.
Rich Morales, inserted in the game in the seventh as a pinch runner for Egan, played third base for Bill Melton in the eighth and ninth. The career .195 hitter (eight seasons) then opened the bottom of the ninth with a single to center off Twins reliever Ron Perranoski.
Romo then bunted Morales to second. Perranoski then unleashed a wild pitch with Richard (a .209 career hitter in five seasons) at the plate, moving Morales to third. Perranoski, though, struck out Richard for the second out.
Tanner, now playing the percentages, then sent up righty Rich McKinney as a pinch-hitter for the lefty Johnston to face the lefty Perranoski. McKinney then singled to left, scoring Morales, for the White Sox's first walk-off win in its home opener since a 3-2 win in 14 innings over the Angels in 1966.
The Chicago White Sox stunned the Boston Red Sox in 1978 home opener.
A few seasons in White Sox history have generated as much excitement as the 1977 Southside Hitmen.
Oscar Gamble hit 31 homers, and Richie Zisk slammed 30 and drove in 101 runs. Eric Soderholm hit 25 and six more players hit between 10-19. The team won 90 games after winning just 64 the year before.
Bill Veeck, who bought the team for the second time before the 1976 season, was clearly not equipped to handle the new free-agent era that took over the major leagues. Zisk and Gamble were merely rental players and were gone by 1978.
The lack of Zisk and Gamble, though, did not destroy all of the excitement of 1977 at least when the 1978 season started. An overflow crowd of 50,754 showed up for the season opener on April 7 as the powerful Boston Red Sox came to Comiskey Park.
The Red Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Sox starter Steve Stone in the third inning on a single by Butch Hobson, a triple by Jerry Remy, and a sacrifice fly by Rick Burleson.
The Sox had two hits (a single by Bobby Bonds and a double by Chet Lemon) but failed to score in the second off Red Sox starter Mike Torrez.
The Sox, though, tied the game at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the fourth on a RBI double by Soderholm and a run-scoring single by Don Kessinger. Singles by Jorge Orta and Lamar Johnson and a sacrifie fly by Bonds gave the Sox a 3-2 ead in the fifth.
Boston took a 4-3 lead in the sixth as Carl Yastrzemski singled and scored when Stone tossed Carlton Fisk's ground ball back to the mound down the right field line. Fisk went to third and scored on a single by Fred Lynn.
The Sox, energized by the crowd, came right back to tie it at 4-4 on doubles by Wayne Nordhagen and Orta off Torrez in the sixth.
The game remained tied until the eighth when Yastrzemski singled in Burleson for a 5-4 Red Sox leadoff Sox reliever Lerrin LaGrow.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth when new Sox designated hitter Ron Blomberg walked to the plate with one out against Red Sox reliever Dick Drago. Blomberg then ignited the crowd with a dramatic home run to right, tying the game at 5-5.
Lemon then singled off Drago, who was immediately replaced on the mound by Bill Campbell. Campbell got Spderholm to fly out to right but Wayne Nordhagen followed with a double to deep center field, scoring the speedy Lemon from first with the winning run.
It would be one of the few times in the 1978 season that the Sox recaptured the excitement of 1977. Manager Bob Lemon left after 74 games (34-40) and was replaced by Larry Doby who didn't return in 1979.
The Red Sox? Well, their 1978 season ended with an even more heartbreaking loss, compliments of former White Sox shortstop Bucky Dent.
Torrez was on the mound on Oct. 2, 1978, when Dent, who had just 40 career homers, sent a ball over the left field wall to give the Yankees (Blomberg's former team) a 5-4 victory in a one-game playoff for the American League East title.
The White Sox opened their new stadium with a loss in the1991 home opener.
The White Sox opened the 1991 season with seven straight games on the road, winning six of them.
The Sox beat the Orioles in their home opener in front of 50,123 fans to open the season and a week later did the same to the Yankees in their home opener in front of 50,891.
Excitement was at a fever pitch as the White Sox returned to Chicago for their home opener, their first game ever in the new Comiskey Park across 35th Street from the old Comiskey Park.
It was like christening a boat with a wrecking ball.
The Detroit Tigers, who lost two games at home to the Sox less than a week earlier, made the new Comiskey their home with a demoralizing 16-0 victory. The Tigers scored six runs in the third inning and a stunning 10 runs in the fourth, pounding out 19 hits off six Sox pitchers.
You could almost hear old Comiskey across the street chuckling.
Frank Tanana pitched a complete-game shutout for the Tigers, fanning three and not walking a hitter. The Sox had just six hits, all singles.
The history and the weight of the moment, apparently, overwhelmed the White Sox and sent the home-opening crowd of 42,191 home shaking their heads.
None of what happened on April 18, 1991, made sense when compared to the rest of the season. It simply might have been the ghost of old Comiskey getting one last laugh.
Sox pitcher Jack McDowell, who gave up six runs, three walks, and five hits in 2.2 innings to the Tigers, would go 17-10 in 1991 with a league-leading 15 complete games and finish ninth in the Cy Young voting.
McDowell would go 4-1 in April with the only loss coming in the home opener.
The Sox would win 46 of their final 80 home games that season and outscore the opposition 378-321.
The 16 runs would, of course, be the most allowed by the Sox in a home game in 1991. It would be nine more years before they would do it again (three times in 2000).
The Sox would lose just 13 more games that season by five or more runs, let alone 16.
The 16-0 loss equaled the largest shutout loss at home in White Sox history, set previously in 1928 and 1937 at the original Comiskey Park against the Philadelphia A's both times. The 2014 Sox would lose again 16-0 to the Texas Rangers at the new Comiskey, then called U.S. Cellular Field.
The Tigers' 16-0 win in 1991 in Chicago might have been payback 86 years later for a 15-0 Detroit loss at home on Sept. 6, 1905, when Frank Smith pitched the first no-hitter on the road (second overall) in White Sox history.
Next. The 15 worst contracts in Chicago White Sox history. dark