1947
In a game played later in the year than any NFL game ever, the Chicago Cardinals won the NFL title 28-21 over time. Philadelphia Eagles in Comiskey Park. The club went 9-3 this season, one in which they remained unbeaten at home 5-0 (yes, only five home games, seven away, including the final four weeks of the season). This powerful team, with the “Million Dollar Backfield” (Elmer Angsman, Paul Christman, Pat Harder, Charley Trippi) won those five home games in Comiskey with an impressive total score of 141-65.
In the title game, both Angsman and Trippi scored two touchdowns each, all on big plays: Trippi had a 44-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Angsman a 70-yard scamper in the second, Trippi a 75-yard punt return in the third (fallen twice while running on the slick field), and Angsman another 70-yard TD in the fourth. The Cardinals never trailed in the game, in front of a small title crowd of 30,759 in the frigid ballpark.
It was the weather and the lack of sail over the field that night that helped the Cardinals in their game-changing play; the frozen field irritated the Eagles, who had illegally sharpened their cleats for better footing, and were penalized for doing so during the game. The Cardinals had custom sneakers with cork cleats to wear on the frozen field. During the game, Philadelphia had to resort to regular sneakers for better grip.
It was Chicago’s second NFL championship, although the 1925 title is controversial because it was awarded after the Cardinals lost the “title game” at Comiskey Park.
1993
As part of an effort to replace the free agent Ellis Burksthe White Sox inked journeyman outfielder Darrin Jackson to a contract. DJ would fill a fine role for the White Sox, with 10 home runs, 51 RBIs, seven stolen bases and a .312 average in the shortened 1994 season.
Jackson moved into the team’s broadcast booth years later, first on TV and then on radio, where he remains to this day.
Also on this day, the White Sox dealt infielder Ron Coomer to the Dodgers for reliever Isidro Marquez.
Coomer had been signed by the White Sox as a minor league free agent in 1991 after the Lockport native was dropped by the team that drafted him, Oakland. Coomer was coming off a stellar season at Double-A Birmingham/Triple-A Nashville (26 home runs, 101 RBIs, .914 OPS) and looked on the cusp of the majors. He never made it in LA, but ended up with a nine-season MLB career, mostly in Minnesota.
Márquez saw his only MLB action ever in 1995, pitching in seven games (6 2/3 innings) with the White Sox. After hitting free agency at the end of the 1995 season, the Mexican native sat out three seasons before returning to pitch for the Mexico City Tigers of the Mexican League; he would spend fourteen seasons in Mexico, with his last match in 2022… at the age of 56! His 300 career saves in Mexico make him the Mexican League’s all-time leader.
1995
Five years and five days after the takeover Tim Raines in one of his best professions as GM, Ron Schuler flopped by sending Rock to the Yankees for a player to be named later (pitcher Blaise Kozeniewski, shipped to the Sox in February).
Raines played seven more years (good for 3.6 WAR over 402 games ages 36-42) and won World series in the Bronx in 1996 and 1998. Kozeniewski chose to retire at age 26 rather than sign with the White Sox.
2005
The White Sox extended starter Jon Garland with a three-year, $29 million deal. Garland was already owed an estimated $7 million in arbitration and agreed to a team-friendly contract. It’s amazing what a World Series win can do for team camaraderie and overall attractiveness.
The 2005 season was Garland’s fourth as a regular starter for the White Sox and in the majors, and was his best to date (and in the future), with an 18–10 record, 3.50 ERA, 4.6 WAR, an All-Star appearance and a sixth-place finish in Cy Young voting. The righthander would be brilliant in his final two seasons on the South Side, totaling 28 wins and 7.6 WAR. He was dealt to the Angels before the final year of this extension and never came close to his White Sox heights.
Garland’s 18.4 WAR ranks him 24th all-time among White Sox pitchers and 58th among all players.
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