THE ALL STAR GAME HISTORY

Since July 6, 1933 in Chicago’s Comiskey Park, the old home of the White Sox, with the exception of 1945, the All-Star game has traveled from city to city.

The idea was that the best of the best at every position would be chosen to play a game, the ultimate game, the dream game so to speak.

In the years 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962, the game was played twice in the same year in different cities! In 1961 and in 2002 there was a tied game. The two game formats were during the time that baseball was reeling. The National League had no presence in New York, and interest in the game was starting to fade. The two game formats was an attempt to juice up interest in the game. Once the Mets came to New York, the idea was finally dropped in favor of the old single game format.

Arch Ward, a sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, had an idea to coincide with the celebration of the city's "Century of Progress" Exposition, the novel idea of a single game made up of the most exciting assemblage of ball-playing talent ever brought together on the diamond at one time. The ‘All-Star’ team was selected by the managers and fans: the National League's manager was John McGraw and the American League's manager, Connie Mack.

And who hit the first home run ever in the first All-Star game? Why none other than Babe Herman Ruth, of course! Attendance that day was 49,200. The starting pitchers

that day were Lefty Gomez for the AL and Bill Hallahan for the NL. The American league won the game in regulation 9-innings, 4-2.

Some of the other stars that appeared that day were: Tony Cuccinello, Frankie Frisch, Gabby Hartnett, Carl Hubbell, Chuck Klein, Pepper Martin, Lefty O’Doul, Bill Terry, Pie Traynor and Paul Waner for the Nationals, and for the Americans: Earl Averill, Ben Chapman, Joe Cronin, Bill Dickey, Jimmy Dykes, Jimmy Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Grove, Tony Lazzeri and Al Simmons.

Six Yankees appeared in that game, the most from any one team.

That’s all I wrote, folks!