Today in White Sox History: June 12
1966
The White Sox traded relief pitcher Eddie Fisher to the Orioles for infielder Jerry Adair. Fisher was an All-Star in 1965 and the Fireman of the Year, but the Sox had incredible bullpen depth thanks to the anchor, Hoyt Wilhelm, up-and-coming Bob Locker, and Dennis Higgins.
1967
The White Sox played the longest loss in their history, dropping a 6-5 decision to the Senators in Washington. The game went 22 innings. Both teams scored a run in the 10th, then didn’t score again until Washington's Paul Casanova drove home the winner in the last of the 22nd. Chicago's Johnny Buzhardt tossed eight innings in relief before giving up the run that cost the game. Sox outfielder Walt Williams had 10 at-bats in the contest.
The night game took six hours, 38 minutes. Both teams went the entire game without an error, which remains the American League record. The contest was played in temperatures around 90 degrees, which prompted angry Sox manager Eddie Stanky after the game to demand implementation of a league curfew.
1972
White Sox slugger Dick Allen appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The cover read, “Season of Surprises. Chicago’s Dick Allen Juggles His Image.”
1981
A player's strike began, wiping out almost two months of the baseball season. When both sides agreed to resume the year, the owners came up with a bizarre "split season" format. White Sox manager Tony La Russa, who passed the Florida bar exam and was an exceptional thinker, quickly found a major flaw in the plan and suggested that if it would help the Sox get the second-best record and a spot in the postseason, he would throw a late-season series to the A’s to guarantee that Oakland would “win” both halves.
Later, Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said he would do the same thing for his club. The owners then quickly changed the format to eliminate the potential for teams having to lose games to make the postseason.
2018
The White Sox opened up their game at Guaranteed Rate Field with Yoán Moncada blasting a home run to center field. The next hitter, Yolmer Sánchez, then hit another home run … again to center field. It was a great way to start a game, as the Sox went on to beat Cleveland, 5-1. Both home runs came off of starting pitcher Adam Plutko. It was the fourth time in franchise history the Sox would led off a game with back-to-back home runs.