1903
Future White Sox coach and manager Kid Gleason was involved in the first intraleague (American-National) league trade ever, after the 1902 peace treaty is struck. Second baseman Gleason went from the Detroit Tigers to New York Giants, in exchange for second baseman-manager Heinie Smith. New York flipped Gleason to Philadelphia, where he was a regular for four more years, until the age of 40.
Gleason coached for the Phillies upon retirement, then had two stints with the White Sox (1912-14, 1916-17). He managed the club from 1919-23, having the unfortunate timing of being a rookie manager overseeing the Black Sox scandal.
Coincidentally, 21 years after this trade and just five after the Black Sox scandal, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds club that upended the White Sox in 1919, Pat Moran, died from Bright’s disease, at the age of 48 and while still Cincinnati’s active manager.
1953
The White Sox brought back pitcher Earl Harrist for a second tour on the South Side, and it turned out to be significantly less successful than his first.
Harrist had a mildly-successful season back in 1947, pitching to a 3.56 ERA (103 ERA+), going 3-8 but earning five saves. He was traded to Washington during the 1948 season.
After then moving to the Yankees and Browns organizations, the White Sox bought Harrist from St. Louis with the intent of using him late in games (he’d matched his 1947 career high of five saves with the Browns in 1952). However, Harrist was simply awful this time around with the White Sox, ballooning to a 7.56 ERA in just seven appearances before the club cut him loose on May 23.
Detroit grabbed him and gave Harrist another eight games, but despite laboring until 1958 in the minors, the righty would never see the major leagues again.
1959
Bill Veeck and his partners (including Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg), officially announced they had bought the White Sox. Veeck owned 54% of the team, with Chuck Comiskey retaining his 46%.
At the introductory press conference, Veeck jokingly told the media that “you can have 54% of the coffee!”
It was remarkable timing for the new owners, who steered the White Sox to their first AL pennant in 40 years, finishing 94-60-2.
2011
The Arizona Diamondbacks hosted the White Sox in their old spring training ballpark (Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson), with the proceeds benefiting a fund in memory of Christina Taylor Green, the granddaughter of baseball executive Dallas Green. Christina was one of six murdered in a shooting spree on January 8, at a town hall meeting with U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords at a supermarket near Tucson.
The young Green, born on Sept. 11, 2001, was a Little League player (following the footsteps of her minor league pitcher father and ex-MLB pitcher grandpa) and a student leader. She was at the Giffords gathering to observe government in action.
The result of the game hardly mattered, but the White Sox won, 12-1, with Edwin Jackson earning the decision.