Today in White Sox History: September 4

Iron man, chipmunk cheeks: Fox played in more than five seasons' worth of consecutive contests before a virus snapped his streak, just short of 800 games. (Topps)

Sept. 4, 1960 — A viral infection knocked Nellie Fox out of the lineup for the first time since August 1955. He played in 798 consecutive games (still the White Sox record) and 1,072 out of 1,073.

Sept. 4, 1961 — It was a strange start to a good White Sox career for pitcher Joe Horlen. Horlen entered the game at the Minnesota Twins wearing a blank jersey. That’s right … no name, no number, on the back!

(Only one other time in major league history has this happened: Eric Davis of the Cincinnati Reds, on May 19, 1984.)

Horlen allowed two hits in four innings of work, and got the win in the 9-5 decision. An unusual major league debut!

Sept. 4, 1995 — Robin Ventura hit a pair of grand slams in a 14-3 win over the Texas Rangers. He was the eighth player in history at the time to hit a pair in one game. His eight RBIs tied the White Sox franchise record.

Sept. 4, 2016 — And 21 years later in a wild slugfest in Minnesota, won by the Sox 13-11, first baseman José Abreu drove in seven runs. José had a pair of three-run home runs in the game, along with an RBI single. The homers came in the first and seventh innings. The seven RBIs are one off of the franchise record for a single game.