Major League Baseball s first All Star Game is held
On this day in 1933 Major League Baseballs first All-Star Game took place at Chicagos Comiskey Park.The brainchild of a determined sports editor the event was designed to bolster the sport and improve its reputation during the darkest years of the Great Depression.Originally billed as a one-time Game of the Century it has now become a permanent and much-loved fixture of the baseball season.Between 1930 and 1933 attendance at major league baseball games which had skyrocketed during the 1920s plummeted 40 percent while the average players salary fell by 25 percent.
Fans who could still afford tickets migrated from the more expensive box seats to the bleachers which cost 50 cents.Owners of baseball teams across the country economized by shrinking their rosters firing their coaches and slashing wages.Many teams also experimented with discounts and other innovations designed to woo back fans including free admission for women grocery giveaways and the first night games in baseball history.Surprisingly the most enduring promotional event to emerge during this periodthe midseason All-Star Game between the American and National Leagueswas the brainchild of several people with no direct connection to baseball.
In 1933 Chicago hosted a Worlds Fair known as the Century of Progress International Exposition an event devised to celebrate the citys centennial while cultivating a sense of optimism during the depths of the Depression.Mayor Edward Kelly newly elected and intent on making the fair a success approached Colonel Robert McCormick the powerful publisher of the Chicago Tribune with the idea of holding a major athletic event in conjunction with it.McCormick turned the matter over to his sports editor Arch Ward who proposed a one-time Game of the Century that would pit the finest players of the American and National Leagues against each other at Chicagos Comiskey Park.As an added twist fans would have the opportunity to vote on the lineup.
Ward was so certain the game would be a hit that he told McCormick to take any losses out of Wards own paycheck.With his boss on board Ward made his case to the presidents of both leagues and the various team owners assuring the skeptics among them that the event would help pull baseball out of its slump.By donating all proceeds to a charity for retired players he argued they could show the country that Major League Baseball was not as some had suggested embracing a culture of decadence while ordinary Americans suffered financial ruin.
Eventually the persuasive editors lobbying won over the baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and the game was set for July 6 1933.As the date drew near Ward wrote story after story in the Tribune hyping the game and encouraging the public to participate.Ballots were printed in 55 newspapers across the country and fans cast several hundred thousand votes for their favorite players with Babe Ruth drawing 100000.Along with the Bambino fans elected the likes of Lefty Grove Jimmy Foxx Lou Gehrig Al Simmons and Joe Cronin to the roster.On July 6 47595 fans packed into Comiskey Park where some of baseballs most historic moments had taken place.
This would be another.The game which ended in a 4-2 victory by the American League did not disappoint thrilling the crowd with its star-studded roster built-in drama and unprecedented matchups.Indeed for many of the players this was their first chance to meet and compete with their counterparts from the other league.Arch Wards All-Star Game proved so popular that its organizers held another midsummer classic the following year.
Since then it has become an annual fixture of the baseball season bringing together the sports most talented and beloved players every year with the exception of 1945 when it was cancelled due to wartime travel restrictions.
