The MLB All-Star Game has a fascinating origin.
It was Chicago Tribune Sports Editor Arch Ward’s idea to put together a Midsummer Classic at Comiskey Park in July 1933. The gathering of baseball’s 36 most celebrated players was supposed to be a one-time event, as Chicago was celebrating its centennial, and the All-Star Game would be part of the World’s Fair taking place at Burnham Park.
When considering players, managers, coaches, and umpires, 24 future Hall of Famers took part in the Depression-era game.
Ward’s idea of bringing together the best that the American and National leagues had to offer was an overwhelming success. With plans for fans to vote for the starting nine players on each side, and managers getting to add the other nine fielders and pitchers to their rosters, Ward had ballots printed in the Tribune and 54 other newspapers. All the ballots were sent to the Tribune.
More than 47,000 fans attended that 1933 game at Comiskey Park, which last hosted Chicago White Sox baseball in 1990 before making way for a new stadium. With the American League winning the exhibition 4–2, New York Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez earned the victory, St. Louis Cardinals’ Bill Hallahan took the loss, and Babe Ruth hit a home run in the bottom of the third inning. Ruth went two-for-four at the plate, teammate Lou Gehrig went hitless, and Pittsburgh Pirate Pie Traynor registered a pinch-hit double.
The thrill experienced by MLB’s finest nearly 100 years ago still resonates in the modern era. Steve Swisher, who played nine MLB seasons, earned his lone All-Star Game berth in 1976. During America’s Bicentennial, MLB had seen fit to hold the annual matchup in the city where the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Fifty years later, the thrill of representing the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game hasn’t lost its shine for Swisher.
“I was honored when I found out that Sparky Anderson named me to the National League team,” Swisher told The Epoch Times on Monday. “When I was a young ballplayer, I had dreams and goals, and making an All-Star team was at the top of the mountain for me.”
Swisher remembers that at that time, players from opposing teams did not fraternize on or off the field, so having the opportunity to share a clubhouse with his Ohio University teammate Mike Schmidt again added to the highlights for him. Swisher and the Philadelphia slugger had been college teammates for two years. Swisher also recalls pregame words spoken by MLB all-time hits leader Pete Rose.
“After Sparky spoke to us in the clubhouse, he asked if anyone else wanted to say anything. Pete [Rose] spoke up. He wanted to remind us that these guys [American League] haven’t beaten us in four consecutive All-Star Games. I had my mom and dad at the ballpark for the game, and came up with a sign for them to look for during introductions. When my name was called, I pulled on my ear, to let them know I was thinking of them.”
With the 2027 MLB All-Star Game scheduled for Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Swisher looks back at first seeing the iconic ballpark while watching baseball on TV. When he was called up to Chicago on June 14, 1974, for a Cubs-Houston Astros game, Swisher’s MLB debut was special. Now, for the first time, the West Virginian was walking past the famous ivy that was first planted on the outfield walls in 1937.
“When I arrived at Wrigley, the same as when I arrived at the All-Star Game, I felt so much pride. I had pride for my family, for my country, and for myself. After playing through many ups and downs, I became an All-Star,” says Swisher, who met President Gerald R. Ford at Veterans Stadium prior to that 1976 game.
From Ward’s vision of a game featuring MLB’s finest each season, the All-Star Game has grown over the decades to adding a Futures Game showcasing the game’s top prospects, a home run derby, and an MLBx 3-on-3 competition consisting of four teams in a modified home run derby.
While the American League dominated the annual Midsummer Classics from 1933 to 1949, winning 12 of the first 16 games (the 1945 game was canceled because of World War II), the National League had the longest winning streak: 11 games (1972–1982). During a four year period (1959–1962), MLB sponsored two All-Star Games a season.
The 96th MLB All-Star Game can be viewed Tuesday on FOX at 8 p.m. ET.
