The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroads, by Randall Sullivan
Tonight is the 96th Major League All-Star Game. (Or is it? More on that later.) I suppose I will watch out of habit. The first one I ever watched was the 1967 affair that saw the NL win 2-1 in 10 innings. All the runs came on solo homers. Very exciting for kid, seeing his baseball card heroes in action. Sadly, for an old fogy like me, the event has lost its sense of spectacle. Oh, there’s still plenty of that, with loud music, fireworks, lengthy introductions, and overzealous broadcasters. And I’m sure these athletes are all well-deserving. But I guess I’ve grown up.
For me, the midsummer classic has lost some of the shine, mostly thanks to inter-league play. The ASG used to mean the only chance to see these players compete against each other. It was even more special in the years before television. And can you imagine what the very first All-Star Game must have been like for the millions of fans across the country?
Imagine no more.
Randall Sullivan has produced one of the best baseball books in years with The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroads. It is a marvelous combination of research and reportage as he examines not just the game itself in minute detail, but what was going on in the country at the time.
America was in the midst of the Great Depression which needless to say affected the National Pastime as well as every other business. Fans couldn’t afford the price of admission so attendance was down. Minor league affiliates folded, players’ salaries were slashed. It took a bold stroke of inspiration for Arch Ward, a Chicago reporter, to come up with the idea but even more daunting was convincing the Lords of Baseball to go along.
Sullivan covers every player on the team, their background, their accomplishments. But what makes The First All-Star Game unique is the deep background into what America was going through, hence the inclusion of FDR and “Crossroads” in the subtitle.
The author also questions whether this could truly be considered a “All-Star” event, since so many players from the Negro Leagues were excluded, thus not giving these men their due.
I would not be surprised if Sullivan wins one of several awards recognizing the best baseball book of the year.
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Having said all that, and circling back to my previous statement, was the 1933 affair really the first All-Star Game?
That depends on your definition.
According to Scott D. Reich, that honor went to a game played in 1917, which he covers in One Day in September: Baseball, Brotherhood, and the Birth of the All-Star Game.
To be totally clear, I have not finished this one. But a quick perusal reveals that a game was played after the regular season between the Boston Red Sox and a group of luminaries from various teams. The reason: a fundraiser for the family of Tim Murname, one of the early heroes of baseball.
Murname played for several teams in the 1870s and although never a huge star was nonetheless a beloved figure. He died in February of 1917 and One Day tells the story of how this tribute game came to be. Like Sullivan, Reich reports on the tenors of the country in the early part of the 20th century, making this another in a line of books that are not just about baseball, but putting in in context with other events.
Both books are worthy of the time and attention of readers who look beyond the game on the field.
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Not necessarily.
There is only one Hall of Famer on the list: 
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Yesterday was the 75th anniversary of the start of what has come to be known as “The Forgotten War.” Gietschier’s latest book, 
is available on Amazon.com,
