Today in White Sox History: April 23

Q: What record did Marv Owen tie on April 23, 1939?

Marv Owen tied the MLB record for most doubles in a game with four doubles during a rout of the St. Louis Browns.

Q: How many hits did the White Sox have in their 1955 game against the Athletics?

The White Sox collected 29 hits in their 1955 game against the Athletics, setting a major league record that stood until 2007.

Q: Who won their first major league game on April 23, 1949?

Billy Pierce won his first major league game on April 23, 1949, in a 12-5 victory over the St. Louis Browns.

Q: What unique feat did Steve Lyons achieve during the 1990 Crosstown Classic?

Steve Lyons played all nine positions for the White Sox during the 1990 Crosstown Classic against the Cubs.

On this day 87 years ago, Marv Owen tied a White Sox and MLB mark during a rout of the St. Louis Browns. **1919** Perhaps the most talented White Sox team ever opened the season in St. Louis and destroyed the Browns, 13-4. The offense pounded out 21 hits, which remains tied for 40th-most ever by the White Sox in a game. **Lefty Williams** got the win, throwing a complete game. Six months later, after winning the American League pennant, the ‘‘Black Sox’’ threw the series and lost to the Cincinnati Reds. Eight players would be banned the following year, including Williams, and the only franchise capable of stopping the emerging New York Yankees juggernaut was decimated. **1939** **Marv Owen** rapped out four doubles in a 17-4 rout over the Browns, tying **Mike Kreevich**’s club record as well as the major league mark. Kreevich’s achievement had come two seasons earlier, on Sept. 4, 1937. Owen led off for the White Sox in the win, going 4-for-6 and scoring four times — but with zero RBIs! Kreevich was also in the lineup for the game and had a big one, tripling and homering as part of a 2-for-5, four-RBI game. The Sox clubbed seven doubles and 11 XBH of their 19 hits in the game. Sadly, though, this blowout performance was a rare highlight of 1939 for Owen, as he hit only five other doubles all season (slashing .237/.302/.284) and clocked in with a miserable -0.8 WAR for the season. **1949** White Sox lefthander **Billy Pierce** won his first major league game. Pierce threw almost four innings in relief of starter **Al Gettel** and got the decision in a 12-5 win over the Browns at Comiskey Park. Billy would win 186 games with the Sox, make the All-Star team seven times, throw four one-hitters and finish with 211 wins overall in his brilliant career. **1955** The White Sox collected 29 hits and hammered , 29-6, at . Every starter had at least one hit, including starting pitcher **Jack Harshman**. The 29 runs were a major league record that stood until 2007, and remains tied with three other teams for second-most ever. The 23-run margin of victory remains the biggest in White Sox history, and the 29 runs and hits both remain team records. The Sox hit seven home runs that night, which remains tied for the franchise-most in a game. **Bob Nieman** went 3-for-4 with two homers and seven RBIs. **Sherm Lollar** and**Minnie Miñoso** added five RBIs apiece. Perhaps most unique of all, with two hits in both the second and sixth innings, Lollar became the only player in MLB history with two hits in two separate innings of a single game. **1981** The White Sox erupted with 21 singles and 26 hits in an 18-5 doubleheader opener win. The Sox scored in every inning but the seventh and eighth, and put up seven-spots in the fourth and sixth. The top of the order (**Bill Almon, Tony Bernazard, Carlton Fisk**) went 10-for-17 with nine singles. **Richard Dotson** threw a complete-game win. The White Sox also took the nightcap, 5-3, improving to 7-3 on the season. The 21 singles and 26 hits remain tied for the second-most in White Sox history. That hit and run total also were the most record in the American League during the 1981 season. One oddity, this doubleheader was supposed to be on an off-day, but games earlier in the series postponed due to cold and snow forced this busy day. **1990** It was an unusual event, even for an exhibition game. Utility player **Steve Lyons** played all nine positions for the White Sox during the annual “Crosstown Classic” game against the at Wrigley Field. Manager **Jeff Torborg** moved him all over the field during the contest, won by the Sox, 6-5. It was an incredibly exciting finish, as outfielder **Dave Gallagher** threw out the potential tying run at home plate to end the game. **1991** A silly citation, perhaps, but when hurler Dave Johnson hit **Carlton Fisk** with a pitch leading off the second inning of a 10-4 White Sox win, it was the first hit-by-pitch at new Sox Park.