When The White Sox Were White Hot
This article was written by Art Ahrens
This article was published in Baseball in Chicago (SABR 16, 1986)
In 1955 Davy Crockett caps were the latest fad, Bill Haley and the Comets revolutionized popular music with “Rock Around the Clock,” and Jack Benny was 39 years old. Ike was in the White House and Catholic Mass was in God’s Holy Latin. Indeed, with the world in the shape it is in today, that time almost seems like a long lost, idyllic age, even if it was not necessarily so.
This was also the era of the “Go-Go” Chicago White Sox, who generally won their games on base hits, bunts, stolen bases and wild pitches. But on April 23, 1955 they belied their reputation to the ultimate in a bloody carnage that made the Bolshevik revolution look like a Cub Scout wienie roast. All they did was tie the modern record for runs scored in one game by lacerating the Athletics, 29-6.
In scoring 29 times, the Sox had tied the modern record set on June 8, 1950, when the Red Sox pulverized the Browns, 29-4. The all-time record was set by the Cubs when they pummelled Louisville (then a major league city) 36-7 on June 29, 1897.
The White Sox’ 29 hits were one short of the all-time American League record set by the Yankees on June 28, 1923. Their 55 total bases fell only five less than the record 60 established by the Red Sox in the game mentioned above. The Sox’ seven homers were one short of the record eight set by the Yankees on June 28, 1939, and tied by the Twins on August 29, 1963 and the Red Sox on July 4, 1977. Sherm Lollar tied a record held by only three others (Max Carey, 1925, Urban Hodapp, 1928, and Rennie Stennett, 1975) by hitting safely twice in two different innings.
Walt Dropo, one of the White Sox’ big guns with seven RBI, was also a Red Sox batting hero the day they made brownies out of the Browns. In that game he drove in seven runs with two homers and two singles. Harry Dorish, who mopped up the Athletics in the last two innings, had been the losing pitcher for St. Louis in the 1950 slaughter. For yet more coincidence, two of the umpires of April 23, 1955 — Joe Paparella and Eddie Rommell — were also on duty on June 8, 1950.
Postscript: On the next day, Alex Kellner of the Athletics blanked the Sox on five hits, 5-0. Two of the hits were infield rollers.