As we get closer to the All-Star break, I thought it’d be a good idea to revisit the first All-Star game, played before 49,200 fans at Comiskey Park on July 6, 1933, ninety-one years ago yesterday. The American League won the game 4-2, played in 2:05.
The idea for an All-Star game was the brain-child of Arch Ward, the sports editor of the Chicago Tribune. It was originally Ward’s intention that the game be a one-time event to boost morale during the Great Depression; but, as we know, it soon became the annual Midsummer Classic, the greatest All-Star game of any professional sport.
Because of the intense rivalry between the two leagues, the game grew to hold great significance throughout the baseball world. Ted Williams once remarked that his greatest thrill in baseball was the walk-off home run he hit to win the 1941 All-Star game.
In the featured photo below, we see the American League team photo from the first All-Star game. Player identifications are at the end of the post.
Some interesting bits of information from the first All-Star game:
-The winning pitcher was Yankee Lefty Gomez and the loser was Cardinal Bill Hallahan. Gomez also drove in the first run, a single scoring Jimmy Dykes. Lefty Grove was retroactively credited with a save.
-No surprise, the star of the game was Babe Ruth, hitting the first All-Star home run, a two-run shot in the bottom of the third inning. He also made a great catch in the eighth up against the scoreboard in center. Frankie Frisch also hit a home run for the National League.
-Chick Hafey had the first All-Star hit: a bloop single to center leading off the second.
-The All-Star game was part of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair during the city’s centennial.
-Twenty of the game’s thirty-six All-Stars were later inducted into the Hall of Fame. Other future Hall-of-Famers included the two managers (Connie Mack and John McGraw) and two of the four umpires (Bill Klem and Bill McGowan). Two of the three coaches (Max Carey, Eddie Collins) were future Hall of Famers. The thrid coach was Art Fletcher.
-It was Arch Ward’s idea for the fans to select the starting nine players. The two managers selected the other nine players for each team.
-Special All-Star jerseys were made up for the National League players with “National League” on the front and white “NL” letters on their navy felt caps. The American League players wore their home uniforms.
-In the fifth inning, the game’s official American League baseball was changed to an official National League baseball; the American League home plate umpire was replaced by a National League home plate umpire after the top of the 5th inning.
-Sixty baseballs autographed by All-Star players were given out before the game started.
-The two clubhouse boys in the photo are brothers Art and Ephraim Colledge, but they shared the same nickname, “Sharkey.” According to photographer George Brace, “No one ever called them anything but ‘Sharkey.’ “
1933 American League All-Stars
Top Row, L-R: “Sharkey” (clubhouse boy), Bill Conroy, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Oral Hildebrand, Connie Mack (Mgr.), Joe Cronin, Lefty Grove, Batboy, Bill Dickey, Al Simmons, Lefty Gomez, Wes Ferrell, Jimmy Dykes, clubhouse boy. Bottom Row: L-R: Al Schacht, Eddie Collins (coach), Tony Lazzeri, Alvin Crowder, Jimmy Foxx, Art Fletcher, Earl Averill, Ed Rommel, Ben Chapman, Rick Ferrell, Sam West, Charlie Gehringer, “Sharkey” (clubhouse boy).
Umpires: Bill Dineen, Bill Klem, Bill McGowan, Cy Rigler .
