The East–West All-Star Game was an annual all-star game for

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

players. The game was the brainchild of Gus Greenlee, owner of the

Pittsburgh Crawfords The Pittsburgh Crawfords, popularly known as the Craws, were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team, previously known as the Crawford Colored Giants, was named after the Crawford Bath House, a recr ...

. In

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

he decided to emulate the

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 Nationa ...

, using

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

players. Newspaper balloting was set up to allow the fans to choose the starting lineups for that first game, a tradition that continued through the series' end in 1962. Unlike the white All-Star game which is played near the middle of the season, the Negro All-Star game was held toward the end of the season. Because league structures were shaky during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and also because certain teams (notably the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930 ...

and the Homestead Grays) sometimes played entirely independent of the leagues, votes were not counted by league, but by geographical location. Hence, the games were known as the ''East-West All-Star Games''. Votes were tallied by two of the major African-American weekly newspapers of the day, the ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against J ...

'' and the '' Pittsburgh Courier''.

The Games

All games were held at

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Bui ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

unless otherwise noted.

1933–1939

Batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

: **East: Sam Streeter (Pittsburgh Crawfords) (L), Bertrum Hunter (Pittsburgh Crawfords), George Britt (Homestead Grays) and Biz Mackey ( Philadelphia Stars), Josh Gibson (Pittsburgh Crawfords) **West: Bill Foster (

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" ...

) (W) and Larry Brown (Chicago American Giants) *Notes: **Bill Foster pitched a complete game for the West and Mule Suttles hit the first home run in East-West history. **The West squad used only its nine starters for the entire game. **The starting lineups reflected an imbalance in voting, as seven West starters came from the American Giants while five East starters were from either the Crawfords or Grays. **East first baseman Oscar Charleston (Pittsburgh Crawfords) received the most votes, with 43,793. *Batteries: **East:

Slim Jones Stuart "Slim" Jones (May 6, 1913 – November 19, 1938) was an American professional baseball pitcher from Baltimore, Maryland. He played for the Baltimore Black Sox and the Philadelphia Stars of the East-West League and Negro National League ...

(Philadelphia Stars),

Harry Kincannon Harry Kincannon (July 26, 1909 – October 21, 1965), nicknamed "Tin Can", was an American Negro league pitcher in the 1930s. A native of Northfork, West Virginia, Kincannon made his Negro leagues debut in 1931 with the Pittsburgh Crawfords ...

(Pittsburgh Crawfords),

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

(Pittsburgh Crawfords) (W) and Bill Perkins (Pittsburgh Crawfords) **West:

Ted Trent Theodore Trent (December 17, 1903 – January 10, 1944) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played from 1927 to 1939 with several teams, playing mostly for the St. Louis Stars and Chicago American Giants The Chicago Americ ...

(Chicago American Giants), Chet Brewer (Kansas City Monarchs), Bill Foster (Chicago American Giants) (L) and Larry Brown (Chicago American Giants) *Notes: **Three East pitchers combined on a 7-hit shutout. ** Cool Papa Bell scored the only run in the eighth. **West pitcher Bill Foster received the most votes, 48,957. *Batteries: **East: Slim Jones (Philadelphia Stars), Leon Day (

Brooklyn Eagles Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

), Luis Tiant Sr. ( New York Cubans),

Martín Dihigo Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos (May 25, 1906 – May 20, 1971), called The Immortal, was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played in Negro league baseball and Latin American leagues from 1923 to 1936 as a two-way player, both as a pitch ...

(New York Cubans) (L) and Biz Mackey (Philadelphia Stars) **West: Ray Brown (Homestead Grays),

Leroy Matlock Leroy Matlock (March 12, 1907 - February 6, 1968) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played from 1929 to 1938 with several teams. He was selected to the 1935 and the 1936 East-West All-Star Game. Matlock was considered one of ...

(Pittsburgh Crawfords), Ted Trent (Chicago American Giants),

Bob Griffith Robert Lee Griffith (October 1, 1912 – November 8, 1977) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues who played for several teams between 1934 and 1951. A native of Liberty, Tennessee, Griffith served in the US Army during World War ...

( Columbus Elite Giants), Sug Cornelius (Chicago American Giants) (W) and Josh Gibson (Pittsburgh Crawfords) *Notes: **The score was 4–4 after nine, and each team scored four runs in the tenth inning. **Mule Suttles hit a two-out three-run HR in the bottom of the 11th off Dihigo to win it. **West shortstop Willie Wells (Chicago American Giants) got the most votes, with 16,262 *Batteries: **East: Leroy Matlock (Pittsburgh Crawfords) (W),

Bill Byrd William Byrd (July 15, 1907 – January 4, 1991) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues. Born in Canton, Georgia, he was a right-handed pitcher. He was named in eight All-Star games for six seasons. Byrd also saw actio ...

( Washington Elite Giants), Satchel Paige (Pittsburgh Crawfords) and Biz Mackey (Washington Elite Giants), Josh Gibson (Pittsburgh Crawfords) **West: Sug Cornelius (Chicago American Giants) (L),

Floyd Kranson Floyd Arthur Kranson (July 24, 1913 – September, 1967) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played from 1935 to 1940 with the Kansas City Monarchs and the Chicago American Giants. He pitched for the West in the 1936 East-Wes ...

(Kansas City Monarchs),

Andy Cooper Andrew Lewis Cooper (April 24, 1898 – June 3, 1941), nicknamed "Lefty", was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. An alumnus of Paul Quinn College, Cooper played nine ...

(Kansas City Monarchs), Ted Trent (Chicago American Giants) and Harry Else (Kansas City Monarchs), Subby Byas (Chicago American Giants) *Notes: **East pitcher Satchel Paige received the most votes, with 18,275 **Alex Radcliffe and Cool Papa Bell each collected three hits. *The Western teams played a second All-Star game amongst themselves in Memphis on August 29, and split into North-South alignment. The northern teams won 10–7, with Bill Foster of Chicago getting the win and Ted Strong on Indianapolis homering (while

hitting for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League ...

1940–1949

*Ted Radcliffe and his brother Alec contributed a home run and triple, respectively, and won $700 bonuses each, which they gave to their mother. *The game was nearly cancelled due to a player strike, as the owners upped the players' individual share from $60 to $150 before the game could go on. *Batteries: **East: Tom Glover (

Baltimore Elite Giants The Baltimore Elite Giants were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues from to . The team was established by Thomas T. Wilson, in Nashville, Tennessee as the semi-pro Nashville Standard Giants on March 26, 1920. The team ...

) (L), Bill Ricks ( Philadelphia Stars),

Martin Dihigo Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

( New York Cubans), Roy Welmaker ( Homestead Grays) and Roy Campanella (Baltimore Elite Giants) **West: Verdell Mathis (

Memphis Red Sox The Memphis Red Sox were an American Negro league baseball team that was active from 1920 to 1959. Originally named the Barber College Baseball Club, the team was initially owned and operated by Arthur P. Martin, a local Memphis barber. In the la ...

) (W), Gentry Jessup (

Booker McDaniels Booker Taliaferro McDaniel (September 13, 1913 – December 12, 1974) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played from 1940 to 1946, and again in 1949 with the Kansas City Monarchs. He also played for the Los Angeles Angels o ...

(

Eugene Bremer Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

(

Cleveland Buckeyes The Cleveland Buckeyes were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1942 to 1950 in the Negro American League. The Buckeyes played in two Negro World Series, defeating the Washington Homestead Grays in 1945, and losing to the New York Cu ...

) and

Quincy Trouppe Quincy Thomas Trouppe (December 25, 1912 – August 10, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and an amateur boxing champion. He was a catcher in the Negro leagues from 1930 to 1949. He was a native of Dublin, Georgia. Early life H ...

(Cleveland Buckeyes) *Notes: **

refused to pitch in the game after a dispute with the promoters over money. ** Josh Gibson was not allowed to play in the game, having been suspended by the Homestead Grays for "flagrant and consistent training violations". ** Jesse Williams, Monarchs second baseman, had moved to that position this season due to an arm injury, made two hits for the West team, one of them a two-run triple in the second. Williams had 4 RBI for the game. He also played errorless ball in the field. **

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

, Monarchs rookie shortstop, was named to the West team. He went hitless in five at-bats, though he fielded flawlessly at short. **

had a single and three walks in four times to the plate. *The Western teams played another All-Star game amongst themselves in September, and split into North-South alignment of Chicago and Cleveland versus Birmingham and Memphis. The northern teams won 8–2.

1950–1959

*Batteries: **East: Frank Thompson (Birmingham Black Barons), Andy Carpenter (Detroit Stars) (L), Harold Gordon (Detroit Stars) and Otha Bailey (Detroit Stars) **West: Isaiah Harris (

), Henry Mason (Kansas City Monarchs) (W), Charlie Davis (Memphis Red Sox) (S) and Juan Armenteros (Kansas City Monarchs) *Notes: **There were only six teams in the NAL this year. The West squad was made up of players from the Kansas City Monarchs, Memphis Red Sox, and Louisville Clippers, while the East team consisted of the

Indianapolis Clowns The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. The ...

, Birmingham Black Barons, and Detroit Stars. The NAL was obviously struggling both at the gate and in its talent level, but the East-West Game was still a showcase of its young prospects for big league scouts. **

Buck O'Neil John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first Afric ...

managed the West team, while Hall of Famer Oscar Charleston managed the East. Charleston, who played in the first East-West Game in

, would die two months later. *Batteries: **East: Aaron Jones ( Detroit Stars), Elliott Coleman (Birmingham Black Barons), Jo Misky Carpedge (Birmingham Black Barons) (L) and Otha Bailey (Birmingham Black Barons) **West:

(Kansas City Monarchs), Charlie Davis (Memphis Red Sox), Isiah Harris (Memphis Red Sox) (W), Enrique Moroto (Kansas City Monarchs) (S) and Juan Armenteros (Kansas City Monarchs) *Notes **

, described in nearly every news story as "ageless", returned to the NAL after his final stint with the St. Louis Browns and before signing with

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis B ...

's Miami team in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

as the starting pitcher for the West. He pitched three hitless innings, allowing only one batter to reach on an error. **There were only four teams in the NAL this year. The West was made up of players from the Kansas City Monarchs and the Memphis Red Sox, while the East team was composed of players from the Birmingham Black Barons and the Detroit Stars. **Managers for the two squads were

of the Monarchs (in his final season in the NAL) and

Ed Steele Edward D. "Stainless" Steele (August 8, 1915 - October 1, 1978) was an Americans, American professional baseball outfielder in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues, and Minor league baseball, minor leagues. He played in the Negro leagues with t ...

of the Stars. *Notes: **Again, there were only four teams in the league. West squad was chosen from players on the

and

and the East team from the

Birmingham Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1920 until 1960. They shared their home field of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, with the white Birmingham Barons, usually drawing larger crowds and equal pre ...

and Detroit Stars. ** Homer "Goose" Curry of the Red Sox managed the West team, while Ed Steele of the Stars managed the East. **Future country-western music star

Charlie Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Rec ...

was a substitute for the West team, playing right field and was credited with two singles and an RBI in two plate appearances.

1960–1962

*Notes: ** During the fifth inning, recent Hall of Famer

, who played for the Monarchs and in the East-West game in 1945, was honored and given a key to the city and numerous other awards in the fifth inning.

and a number of other former Monarch players were also introduced. **This was the last East-West game. The NAL disbanded at the close of the season

Most selections

Three players were named to the East–West All-Star Game at least ten times:

Alex Radcliffe Alex Radcliffe (July 26, 1905 – July 18, 1983) was a baseball player in the Negro leagues. He is widely acknowledged to have been the best third baseman in the history of the Negro American League. He was the brother of Ted "Double Duty" R ...

(13, although he played 12), Buck Leonard (13, although he also played 12), and Josh Gibson (12, with 11 played). Other players that were named to multiple games were Leon Day (9), Neil Robinson (9),

(8), "Wild" Bill Wright (8), and

(8).