Go-Go Sox

On the morning of Sunday, July 26, 1959, the White Sox were in first place in the American League, half a game ahead of Cleveland. That day, the Sox split a doubleheader with Baltimore, and Cleveland took two from Washington to reclaim first place by a half game. There were no games Monday, so the Indians spent the off day atop the standings.   

A throng of 43,829 packed Comiskey Park on Tuesday night for the opener of a three-game series with the hated Yankees. Al Smith’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth gave the Sox a seemingly safe 4-1 edge heading into the ninth. But New York battled back, scoring twice and putting the tying run on base before veteran lefty Billy Pierce fanned Bobby Richardson to end the threat and the game. It was a gutsy effort by Pierce, who allowed 10 hits but walked none and struck out eight. He received a lengthy ovation after the final out. The Sox were back in first place.

Rain terminated the next day’s game with the Sox and New York tied 4-4. The day after that, Chicago’s popgun offense produced three decidedly unimpressive runs. The first came on a single, stolen base, safe bunt, and infield out; the second on a misjudged fly ball which fell for a double, followed by a single; and the third on a two-base error, an infield out, another error, and an infield single. It was enough, as Early Wynn limited the Yankees to six hits and one unearned run for a 3-1 decision.

It was Yankee manager Casey Stengel’s 69th birthday, and not a very happy one for the “Old Perfessor.” White Sox fans mockingly sang “Happy Birthday to You” as Stengel and his charges trudged slowly to the clubhouse entrance. The Yankees left town with a malodorous record of 48-51; they were 10½ games behind the Sox, who led the Indians by one game.

The Yankees were done. By August, there was no question that the pennant would be won by either Chicago or Cleveland—two teams that could hardly have been more different. Cleveland’s attack featured sluggers Rocky Colavito, Tito Francona, Woodie Held, and Minnie Minoso (the former Sox star and fan favorite who’d been traded for Wynn and Al Smith prior to the 1958 season). Cleveland would lead the league in home runs and finish last in stolen bases, Chicago would finish last in home runs and first in stolen bases. If the Indians were a steamroller, the White Sox were a motor scooter. “A typical White Sox rally,” owner Bill Veeck, Jr., wrote, “consisted of two bloopers, an error, a passed ball, a couple of bases on balls, and, as a final crusher, a hit batsman.”  

Throughout August, fans looked forward to the White Sox’ four-game showdown with the Indians on the last weekend of the month. Neither team let up in the weeks preceding the fateful series; the Indians went 17-9, while the Sox went 18-9.

The Sox brought a one-and-a-half-game lead into Cleveland’s colossal Municipal Stadium on the muggy evening of August 28. They were greeted by a hostile crowd of 70,398 and a virtual quagmire in the infield. Several days before, Cleveland groundskeeper Emil Bossard had begun watering the basepaths more than usual; when he was through, he had made them as soft and spongy as possible. The slow track made no difference to the plodding Indians, of course, but it was supposed to hinder the Go-Go Sox. “Chicago won’t steal any bases against us this weekend,” Bossard chortled.

Bossard’s handiwork had little effect on Friday night’s game, in which Sherm Lollar, a tower of strength all season, cracked a three-run homer in the seventh inning to snap a 3-3 tie and provide the unheralded righthander Bob Shaw his 14th victory against just four defeats. Jim Landis collected three hits, Nellie Fox and Ted Kluszewski two each.

Dick Donovan was called to emergency duty when projected starter Ken McBride came down with tonsillitis on Saturday. Donovan responded by tossing a five-hit shutout as the Sox won 2-0. Employing a variety of slow curves, sliders, and change-ups, he kept the Indians off balance all day.

      Sox skipper Al Lopez remained cautious. “We’re still going to keep playing like hell,” he said. “Nothing has been easy for us this year. We’ve won the hard way and we’ll have to keep doing it that way.” On Sunday, 66,586 Cleveland fans turned out (pushing the total for the series to almost 190,000) to see if the Indians could arrest the White Sox’ momentum. Most had long since departed by the end of the doubleheader, in which the Sox captured both games to complete a stunning sweep of the series. In the first game, Chicago trailed 2-0 in the sixth when Wynn’s home run triggered a five-run rally that paved the way to a 6-3 win. In the second game, Smith and Billy Goodman combined for five hits and five runs batted in. The game was effectively over when Turk Lown entered the fray in the sixth. He shut out the Indians for the final four innings, and the Sox triumphed 9-4.

The Indians had come into the series riding an eight-game winning streak. After leading for exactly one half inning of the 36 played, they left as a thoroughly beaten ballclub. For the White Sox, the series had been almost too good to be believed. Their record now stood at 80-49. Their advantage in the standings was five and a half games. When the Sox touched down at Midway Airport that night, they were met by a welcoming committee of thousands.

The raucous reception of August 30 was a dress rehearsal for the celebration that now seemed inevitable—and was. It was both ironic and fitting that the coup de grace was delivered in Cleveland. On September 22, Smith and Jim Rivera smashed back-to-back homers in the sixth inning, putting the Sox ahead 4-1. Wynn was touched for a run in the bottom of the sixth. Bob Shaw relieved him and carried the 4-2 margin into the ninth, when the Indians loaded the bases with one out.

Gerry Staley came on to replace Shaw. The tying and winning runs were aboard, and Vic Power was at bat for the Indians. Staley’s first offering was a sinker, low and a tad outside. Power swung and pounded a grounder up the middle. Shortstop Luis Aparicio flashed to his left, speared the ball in his glove, started to flip it to Fox covering second but changed his mind, then glided across the bag himself and fired to Kluszewski to complete the double play.

Staley’s one pitch had saved the game and wrapped up the pennant. “This was the perfect example of the way we’ve played all year,” said Veeck, “and a typical way to end it.” The clincher was Wynn’s 21st victory of the season; he wound up with a log of 22-10 and received the Cy Young Award as the finest pitcher in the major leagues (in those days, there was one award covering both leagues). The Sox’ five-game margin over the Indians was neatly accounted for by Wynn’s 6-1 mark against his former teammates.

NOTE: Emil Bossard, referred to above, was head groundskeeper for the Cleveland Indians from 1936 through 1961. His son Gene was head groundskeeper for the White Sox from 1940 through 1983, and his grandson Roger (a.k.a. “the Sodfather”) has been head groundskeeper for the Sox since 1983.