September 12, 1976: The Chicago White Sox sweep a doubleheader from the California Angels at Comiskey Park, 2-1 and 5-1.
In the 10th inning of the opener, Sid Monge walked future Yankee Jim Spencer, and gave up a game-winning double to Brian Downing, making a winning pitcher out of future Yankee Rich "Goose" Gossage.
Minnie Miñoso, age 53, batted 9th as the designated hitter, and went 1-for-3, singling off Monge in the 2nd inning. He got the 2nd game off. A longtime player for the White Sox, he was coaching for them, and team owner Bill Veeck, seeing yet another opportunity to perk up publicity for his team, activated him. At the time, Miñoso was believed to be the oldest player ever to get a hit in a major league game.
This is because Charlie O'Leary, another coach briefly reactivated for a late-season game, in his case in 1934, was believed to have been born in 1882, so Miñoso got credit for breaking his record. Later, it was discovered that O'Leary was born in 1875, so he was just short of turning 59. So, while Miñoso's achievement was remarkable, it was not unprecedented.
In 1980, Veeck sent him up to bat again, making him a 5-decade player (1940s to 1980s), but he did not get a hit. So O'Leary remains the oldest player to come to bat, the oldest to get a hit, and the oldest to score a run.
Mexican lefthander Francisco Barrios went the distance for the win in the 2nd game. But his career would end tragically: In 1981, while still an active player, he injured his elbow, then, during the strike that season, he was arrested for cocaine possession in a Chicago bar owned by Chicago Bears player Doug Buffone.
He entered a rehab program, but the White Sox released him before the season ended. He signed with a team in the Mexican Pacific League, and pitched for them in 1982. The Milwaukee Brewers were interested in him. But he died of a heart attack, probably brought on by cocaine use. He was 28 years old.
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September 12, 1976 was a Sunday. These other Major League Baseball games were played:
* A doubleheader was split at Yankee Stadium. The Detroit Tigers won the opener, 6-0. Mark Fidrych, the season's rookie sensation, allowed 9 hits, but kept the shutout, outpitching another player known for unusual activities, Dock Ellis. Ben Oglivie hit a home run. The New York Yankees won the nightcap, 3-1. Ed Figueroa outpitched Ed Glynn. In the 1st inning, Mickey Rivers reached on an error, was doubled home by Elliott Maddox, and he was singled home by Lou Piniella.
* The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Ted Simmons doubled Garry Templeton and future Met Keith Hernandez home in the bottom of the 8th inning to win the game. Hernandez and Héctor Cruz had homered for the Cards.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Luis Tiant went the distance for the win, allowing just 6 hits, but 2 of them were home runs by George Hendrick. Carlton Fisk and Jim Rice homered for the Sox. Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Indians manager Frank Robinson did not put himself into the game, and made his last appearance as a player 6 days later.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Larry Christenson allowed 6 hits over 7 innings, and Tug McGraw finished the 6-hit shutout. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 6-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell did not play. Richie Zisk went 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Jim Palmer outpitched Jerry Augustine. Reggie Jackson, in his only season as an Oriole, went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk. Brooks Robinson did not play. Robin Yount went 0-for-4. 2nd baseman Tim Johnson got 3 of the Brew Carew's 6 hits. Hank Aaron, in his last month as an active player, did not play.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 16-6 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of
Bloomington, Minnesota. The Royals scored 9 runs in the top of the 6th. Frank White went 1-for-4 with 4 RBIs, on a triple and a sacrifice fly. Hal McRae and Bob Stinson each had 3 hits. George Brett went 2-for-5. Rod Carew went 1-for-4.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 9-6 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* A doubleheader was split at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Atlanta Braves won the 1st game, 3-2. In the top of the 10th inning, Dave May reached on an error by Bill Russell, allowing Rod Gilbreath to score the winning run. This allowed Adrian Devine to become the winning pitcher, in relief of Phil Niekro. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2nd game, 2-0. Don Sutton pitched a 4-hit shutout.
* And a doubleheader was split at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The San Francisco Giants won the 1st game, 3-1. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4, and got the 2nd game off. The Cincinnati Reds won the 2nd game, 9-8. Dave Concepción hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Joel Youngblood with the winning run in the top of the 11th. Over the 2 games, Pete Rose went 4-for-10 with 3 RBIs.
And the NFL season opened, with these games:
* The New York Giants lost to the Washington Redskins, 19-17 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.
* The New York Jets lost to the Cleveland Browns, 38-17 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Baltimore Colts beat the New England Patriots, 27-13 at Schaefer Stadium (later Sullivan Stadium and Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-7 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas. This was Dick Vermeil's 1st game as Eagles head coach. The Cowboys had dominated the NFC Eastern Division, and would continue to. Vermeil would focus on Dallas, starting each practice with the words, "What's it going to take to beat the Dallas Cowboys?" It would take until 1979 for him to find an answer. The Eagles beat the Cowboys in the 1980 NFC Championship Game.
* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Atlanta Falcons, 30-14 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
* The Minnesota Vikings beat the New Orleans Saints, 40-9 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Denver Broncos, 17-7 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions, 10-3 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers, 26-14 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
* The San Diego Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 30-16 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
* The expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers made their regular-season debut, losing to the Houston Oilers, 20-0 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Oakland Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-28 at the Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders would beat the 2-time defending Champion Steelers again in the AFC Championship Game.
* The expansion Seattle Seahawks also made their regular-season debut, losing to the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 30-24 at the Kingdome in Seattle.
* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills, 30-21 at Rich Stadium (later Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
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