It must have been every fan's dream. Take the best 18 players from the American League and line them up against the best 18 players from the National League. This would be the first time in history so much talent would be showcased on the same field.
The All-Star Game was the brainchild of Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward. Ward had a flare for promotion. He conceived the College All-Star Football Game and the Golden Gloves boxing tournaments. The All-Star Game would prove to have staying power as well. To this day it remains a popular mid-season event for players and fans alike.
The inaugural game was to be held in Comiskey Park. The Chicago Tribune ended up sponsoring the game to complement the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition. It was Ward's idea that fans would cast votes to determine the rosters of the American League and National League squads. Newspapers around the country distributed ballots to their readers. Voting turned out to be pretty light, and distribution of the ballots wasn't widespread. In the end, Tribune readers cast most of the votes. Chicagoans knew their baseball, though, and the best of the best were selected to participate, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Charlie Gehringer.
The "Game of the Century" didn't disappoint. The fan favorite, Ruth, smacked a home run and made the game's best defensive play by snagging a line drive and preventing an extra base hit. The game was competitive, but in the end the American League was victorious, winning 4-2.
If you want to take a look at the box scores of many of the historic MLB All-Star games, take a look at Jeff Lenburg's Baseball's All-Star Game. For a more in-depth look, Robert Obojski's All-star Baseball since 1933 would be a great choice.
Add a comment to: 1933 First Major League Baseball All-Star Game