Today in White Sox History: June 27
1922
Catcher and future Hall-of-Famer Ray Schalk became the first White Sox player to hit for the cycle when he did it against the Tigers in Detroit. The Sox would win, 9-5, with Ray going 4-for-4.
1958
He came so close to perfection; White Sox lefthander Billy Pierce fired four one-hitters in his brilliant career, but he never came closer to baseball immortality than on this night.
With two out in the ninth inning, Pierce lost a perfect game as Washington's Ed Fitz Gerald, a pinch-hitter, doubled down the first-base line. The hit was fair by a foot, off a low and outside breaking ball. The crowd at Comiskey Park stared in disbelief. The Sox won, 3-0, but Pierce never came closer to pitching the ultimate masterpiece.
Another historical oddity … Fitz Gerald’s grandfather was an important businessman in Milwaukee, including business in the shipping industry. Years later, a ship would be named after him. The name of the ship? The Edmund Fitz Gerald. (Cue the song from Gordon Lightfoot!)
1967
It was one of the most bizarre individual plays in White Sox history. The Sox were at Baltimore and in the last of the fourth inning of a scoreless game, the O’s Frank Robinson slid hard into second baseman Al Weis trying to break up a potential double play. Robinson’s head slammed into Weis' knee, knocking him out cold. (The next day, he woke up with double vision.) Weis, meanwhile, had his knee torn up and his season ended because of the contact.
While both players were lying on the ground, Sox right fielder Ken Berry noticed that time had never been called and Frank wasn’t on the base! He ran in, picked up the baseball, and tagged Robinson. Second base umpire Nestor Chylak called Robinson out. Officially, it went into the books as a force out: third to second to first to right field. The Sox, behind Joe Horlen, would win the game, 5-0.
2004
The first of the on-field steps that would eventually lead to a World Series title came together, as the Sox acquired starting pitcher Freddy García from the Mariners for catcher Miguel Olivo and outfielder Jeremy Reed. Some fans anguished over the loss of five-tool prospect Reed, but no one was complaining after García helped close out the Astros the following October to clinch Chicago's first championship in 88 seasons. Freddy would go on to win 55 games for the Sox in two different stints.