The 1933 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the first edition of the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

known as the "Midsummer Classic". This was the first official playing of the midseason exhibition

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

game between

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's (MLB's)

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL) and

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) All-Star teams. The game was held on July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, the home of the AL's

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. The game resulted in the AL defeating the NL, 4–2, in two hours and five minutes. The first official All-Star Game came 22 years after the Addie Joss Benefit Game of July 24, 1911, when the American League's

Cleveland Naps The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

faced a team of all-stars from other American League teams at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio; the game was won by the all-star squad, 5–3.

History

The first official MLB All-Star exhibition game on July 6, 1933, was held at Comiskey Park (1910–1990) and was part of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair during the city's centennial. The 1933 MLB All-Star Game was the idea of

Arch Ward Archie Burdette Ward (December 27, 1896 – July 9, 1955) was an American journalist who served as sports editor for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He was the creator of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the Golden Gloves amateur boxing tourna ...

, the sports editor of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'', after the Mayor of Chicago,

Edward J. Kelly Edward Joseph Kelly (May 1, 1876October 20, 1950) was an American politician who served as the 46th Mayor of Chicago from April 17, 1933 until April 15, 1947. Prior to being mayor of Chicago, Kelly served as chief engineer of the Chicago Sani ...

, had first approached the ''Tribune's'' publisher for a major sport event. The game was intended to be a one-time event to boost morale during the Great Depression. Ward decided that the fans would select the starting nine players and the managers the other nine players for each of the NL and AL All-Star teams. The ''Tribune'' called it the "Game of the Century", and 55 newspapers across the country printed the fans' ballots in their papers. The ''Tribune'' estimated the game's attendance on July 6, 1933, at 49,000. The proceeds ($45,000, net gate receipts) from the game went to a charity for disabled and needy major league players. The All-Star Game would afterwards be known as MLB's "Midsummer Classic". The legendary baseball player

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

of the

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

highlighted the game by hitting a two-run home run to right field in the bottom of the third inning and catching a fly ball up against the scoreboard in right-center field in the top of the eighth inning. Ruth was greeted at home plate by the AL/Chicago White Sox batboy John McBride and teammate

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

. Twenty of the game's thirty-six All-Stars including Ruth would later be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. Both the game's managers, five out of six coaches, and two out of the four umpires on the field that day would also be future Hall of Famers. Two AL All-Stars were White Sox players, starting third baseman

Jimmy Dykes James Joseph Dykes (November 10, 1896 – June 15, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...

and starting center fielder

Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...

. Yankee

Lefty Gomez Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washingt ...

was the winning pitcher for the American League. The NL team wore specially made gray uniforms and navy blue caps with "National League" in navy blue felt letters on the front of the jersey, a large navy blue felt number on the back and "NL" in white letters printed on the navy caps. The AL team members each wore their home uniform. The NL members were allowed to keep their All-Star uniforms and caps. In 1934, each NL member used their home uniform and cap. The game's official AL baseball was changed to an official NL baseball and the AL

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

umpire was replaced by a NL home plate umpire after the top of the 5th inning.''Baseball Chronology''
1933 Baseball All-Star Game
Retrieved August 2, 2015 60 baseballs autographed by All-Star players were given out before the game started.

1933 All-Star Game rosters

Personnel in ''italics'' have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

National League

American League

1933 All-Star Game

Umpires

The umpires rotated positions clockwise in the middle of the fifth inning, with Klem moving behind the plate.

Starting lineups

Game summary

Chick Hafey of the National League had the first hit, a bloop single to center field to lead off the second inning. The American League got on the board first in the bottom of the second. NL pitcher

Bill Hallahan William Anthony Hallahan (August 4, 1902 – July 8, 1981) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 1920s and 1930s. Nicknamed "Wild Bill" because of his lack of control on the mound—he twice led the National Leag ...

issued one-out walks to

and

Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Cronin spe ...

. Two batters later, the game's winning pitcher

, singled home Dykes for the AL's first run. In the bottom of the third, after a walk to Charlie Gehringer,

famously hit the first home run in All-Star Game history, putting the AL up 3–0. Hallahan was chased from the game after walking

immediately afterward, and was replaced by

Lon Warneke Lonnie Warneke (March 28, 1909 – June 23, 1976) (pronounced WARN-a-key), nicknamed "The Arkansas Hummingbird", was a Major League Baseball player, Major League umpire, county judge, and businessman from Montgomery County, Arkansas, whose caree ...

General Crowder Alvin Floyd Crowder (January 11, 1899 – April 3, 1972), nicknamed "General", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played eleven seasons in the American League with the Washington Senators, the St. Louis Browns, an ...

replaced Gomez to start the fourth inning. In the sixth, Warneke hit a one-out triple and scored on a

Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...

groundout.

Frankie Frisch Frank Francis Frisch (September 9, 1898—March 12, 1973), nicknamed "The Fordham Flash" or "The Old Flash", was an American Major League Baseball player and manager of the first half of the twentieth century. Frisch was a switch-hitting seco ...

followed with a home run to bring the NL to within a run, but after a

Chuck Klein Charles Herbert Klein (October 7, 1904 – March 28, 1958), nicknamed the "Hoosier Hammer", was an American professional baseball outfielder. Klein played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–, –, –), Chicago Cubs ...

single, Crowder would escape the inning without giving up any more damage. Cronin led off the bottom of the sixth with a single. After advancing on a bunt, he scored on an

Earl Averill Howard Earl Averill (May 21, 1902 – August 16, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1929 to 1941, including 11 seasons for the Cleveland Indians. He was a six-ti ...

single to extend the lead to 4–2. Crowder would be replaced by

Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...

in the top of the seventh, while Warneke was replaced by Carl Hubbell in the bottom of the inning. The NL looked to have a chance in the top of the eighth. With Frisch on first with two outs, Hafey lined a shot to right field that looked like it could be a home run, but Ruth reached over the wall to catch it, denying the NL a chance to tie the game. Grove retired the side in order in the ninth to secure the American League's victory.

References

External links

Baseball Almanac
{{Major League Baseball on NBC Radio Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Major League Baseball All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

Baseball in Chicago Century of Progress Major League Baseball All Star Game

Major League Baseball All-Star Game, 1933 Sports competitions in Chicago