Go-Go All the Way in '59: April 11, Nellie sets the tone

Nellie Fox's 14th-inning homer gave the Chicago White Sox a 9-7 opening-day victory over the Detroit Tigers on April 10, 1959. It was Fox's first homer since Sept. 19, 1957, and he only had one more the rest of 1959.
 
By Phil Ellenbecker
  The Chicago White Sox opened the 1959 season on Friday, April 10, in truly momentous style with a 9-7, 14-inning victory over the Detroit Tigers before 38,322 at Briggs Stadium.
  The Sox won the game on Nellie Fox's two-run homer with two outs in the top of the 14th. While Fox's blow was dramatic enough, what made it magic — and perhaps signaled magic to come — was the fact it was the first homer since Sept. 19, 1957, for Chicago's "Mighty Might" at second base. Fox hit one more the rest of the season.
  Fox's homer capped a 5-for-7 day at the plate with two runs scored and three RBIs.
  Bubba Phillips and Earl Torgeson each flied out starting the 14th, but Sammy Esposito kept the White Sox alive with a single and Fox followed with his circuit clout for a two-run cushion, the first runs the Tigers' Don Mossi had given up in four innings of work. Jim Landis ended the inning with a ground out.
  Gerry Staley retired two of the first three batters he faced in the bottom of the 14th, issuing a walk to Gail Harris, before Don Rudolph was brought in. Neil Chrisley flied out to center fielder Landis to nail down the victory and get the save.
  Staley threw 4 2/3 innings of shutout ball in earning the victory.
  Staley, Bob Shaw and Rudy Arias combined to hold the Tigers in check and matched zeroes with Mossi after Detroit tied the game at 7 in the eighth.
  Till then the folks at Briggs were treated to one roller coaster of an opener.
  The Tigers broke out on top on Al Kaline's solo homer in the first off Billy Pierce. Chicago tied the game in the fourth when future Tigers mainstay Norm Cash scored on Pierce's bases-loaded fielder's choice grounder. The Sox went ahead 3-1 in the fifth on Landis' two-run homer off Tigers starter Jim Bunning after Fox led off with a single.
  Detroit nudged ahead in its half of the fifth with a three-run surge highlighted by Harvey Kuenn's two-run single. The Pale Hose took a 7-4 lead in the sixth when they scored four unearned runs with two outs, needing only two hits, including a single by Fox that capped the latest momentum swing. Three runs crossed when Larry Doby committed an error in left.
  (Doby, the first black player in the American League, would later be sold to the White Sox that year after playing 18 games in Detroit, and Chicago in 1959 turned out to be Doby's final major league stop in a 13-year Hall of Fame career.)
  Charlie Maxwell set the stage for the extra-innings relief pitchers' duel and Fox's climactic homer when he connected for a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth off Ray Moore.
  Others with notable days at the plate besides Fox were Sherm Lollar (3 for 7) for the White Sox, and Kaline (3 for 6) and Rocky Bridges (3 for 5) for Detroit.
  Fox's big day launched what would be an MVP season in his 13th year in the major leagues, and 10th as a regular since coming to the White Sox. The Sox's No. 2 hitter in the lineup, he batted .306 with 84 runs scored and 70 RBIs in '59 while winning the AL Gold Glove award at second base. He hit .383 with runners in scoring position.
  The year also proved to be a high-water mark since becoming a full-time reliever for Staley, who led the AL in appearances (67) and saves (15) in '59 while finishing with an 8-5 record and 2.24 ERA.
  While the White Sox went on to win the pennant by five games over Cleveland with a 94-60 record, Detroit finished fourth, 18 games out at 76-78.