March 20 — Five Chicago pitchers qualified for the ERA title and finished with an ERA of 3.20. Zip Zabel of the Cubs in 1915, Rich Nye of the Cubs in 1967, Fergie Jenkins of the Cubs in 1972, Kerry Wood of the Cubs in 2003 & José Quintana of the White Sox in 2016.
Let’s dig in to March 20 in Chicago sports history!
Today’s Birthdays
George Altman turns 87.
He was an All-Star for the Cubs in 1961 and 1962, and was one of three players ever to homer off of Sandy Koufax twice in a game. The others were Ernie Banks and Felipe Alou.
Bobby Orr turns 72.
The Hall of Fame defenseman played the final 26 games of his NHL career with the Blackhawks. He had over a dozen knee surgeries in his career and was limited to 20 games in the 1976-77 season, and 6 games in 1978-79.
It’s Rick Hahn’s Birthday, too.
Fun with dates: Rick Hahn was named White Sox Senior VP and GM on Oct. 26, 2012. The White Sox won the World Series on Oct. 26, 2005. Original White Sox owner Charles Comiskey died on Oct. 26, 1931. Former Sox GM Roland Hemond was born Oct. 26, 1929. 1919 White Sox manager Kid Gleason was born on Oct. 26, 1866...
Jamal Crawford turns 40.
He is one of four players in Bulls history to score 50 points in a game.
The four Bulls to score 50 points in a game, along with their career points per game with the Bulls:
Michael Jordan 31.5
Chet Walker 20.6
Jimmy Butler 15.6
Jamal Crawford 11.2
JaKarr Sampson turns 27.
If you put the minimum at four games, Sampson (who played four games with the Bulls) is one of eight players in Bulls history to average 20 points per game.
Michael Jordan 31.5
Zach LaVine 23.3
Jalen Rose 21.4
Bob Love 21.3
Chet Walker 20.6
Bob Boozer 20.4
Elton Brand 20.1
JaKarr Sampson 20.0
This day in Chicago Sports
This Day in 1983: Secord Se-cores!
37 years ago today, Al Secord bagged his 50th and 51st goals of the season against the Maple Leafs. He became the second player in Blackhawks history (joining Bobby Hull, who did it five times) to score 50-plus goals in a season. Only Jeremy Roenick (twice) has done it since.
This day in 2006: Bring Me the Lefty!
The White Sox and Mariners swapped former first round draft picks when the Sox shipped former top prospect Joe Borchard (read about him here) to Seattle for lefty reliever Matt Thornton. It was one of the more underappreciated trades in recent White Sox history. Thornton went on to set a White Sox record (which still stands) with 512 career relief appearances.