Thursday, July 6, 1933

Aunt Katie and Helen were over this afternoon. Helen and I exchanged magazines. We got some ice cream cones.



July 6, 1933: Major League Baseball's First All-Star Game
Above: Babe Ruth with a Chicago White Sox and a Chicago Cubs player

Arch Ward, a sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, came up with the idea for the game,
originally called “Game of the Century” to coincide with the celebration of the city’s
 “Century of Progress” Exposition. The game was conceived as a single, one-time event
to help lift the spirits of a country during our Great Depression.  However, its enormous
 popularity made the game an annual event. Scheduled for a day when no other games were
being played, it was held July 6, 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Retired Giants manager John
McGraw was chosen to manage the National League, while Athletics manager Connie Mack
 led the American League. To everyone's surprise, 47,595 fans filled the stands.

The first run was scored in the second inning, when AL starting pitcher Lefty Gomez drove in

Jimmie Dykes with a single. In the next inning, Babe Ruth gave fans what they came to see,

hitting a two-run homer into the right-field stands. The crowd were said to have “roared

in acclamation” for the homer, according to Baseball Almanac. The AL went on the win the game

4-2, bolstered by Ruth’s home run, Jimmy Dyke’s two hits, and 7 innings of two run pitching

 by Lefty Gomez, the winning pitcher. The National League was led by the "Fordham Flash,"

Frankie Frisch of the Cardinals, who had two hits, including a home run and two

hits by Bill Terry, the Hall of Fame first baseman of the NY Giants.