It was the most indelible moment in an incredible era of National League domination of the All-Star Game spanning the twenty-two year period between 1963 and 1985. When Cincinnati’s Pete Rose, representing the National League, exploded headfirst into American League Catcher Ray Fosse of the Cleveland Indians in the twelfth inning of the 1970 All-Star Game at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, the National League won it’s eighth straight All-Star game, 5-4. “I could never have looked my father in the eye if I hadn’t hit Fosse that day,” said Rose.
I was eighteen when this period of American League misery began. I was 40 by the time it ended. Most of my adult youth had passed. As it continued year after year, AL fans watched with a kind of macabre fascination. The games were so close. But the NL always found a way to win.
If the National League was “Sluggo”, the American League was “Mr. Bill”. On the defensive, AL partisans claimed that dominance in one meaningless largely ceremonial exhibition game a year did not indicate that the NL was superior. The AL after all continued to win more than its share of World Series. Only American League fans and players did not consider the game or the streak meaningless. Neither did their National League counterparts.
The Americans did win the 1971 game but a decade of losses followed. The drought did not ease until Fred Lynn rounded first and raised his right arm skyward exulting in a grand slam homerun in the third inning of the 1983 game at Comiskey Park in Chicago. It was more than one man’s personal triumph. For American League fans it was a blessed relief. The AL had breathing room. In that inning, the American League set All-Star Game records for runs (7) and hits (6) in one inning and goes on to blast the NL, 13-3. This time there would be no comeback.
There were charges the National League manager Whitey Herzog, longtime manager of the American League Royals, had taken pity on the American League. Perhaps he had. But we didn’t care. This was a moment to be savored.
There had been so much for the National League to revel in. So many dramatic moments. The streak began innocently enough, with a 5-3 win by the Nationals at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland in 1963 when the Leagues returned to a single game format after four years of hosting two games. Willie Mays singled to drive in two runs, walked one, stole two bases and contributed the game’s most scintillating catch. The Americans outhit the Nationals, eleven to six. Sandy Koufax won the opener and the final game of the 1963 World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers, swept the Yankees in their first post season meeting since the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn.
In 1964 at Shea Stadium in New York, the Americans led, 4-3, going into the bottom of the ninth. With flame thrower Dick Radatz of the Boston Red Sox on the mound, the AL was confident of victory. Radatz, who had hurled two hitless innings, walked Willie Mays to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Mays promptly stole second. San Francisco teammate Orlando Cepeda followed with a bloop single to right scoring Mays with the tying run. New York’s Joe Pepitone retrieved Cepeda’s hit quickly but made a bad throw to the plate. Later in the inning, with two out and two on, Philadelphia’s Johnny Callison homered into the right field seats giving the National’s a 7-4 win and knotting the series at 17 wins apiece.
For whatever reason, the level of intensity the NL brought to the Mid-Summer Classic had risen, and it was noticeable. Perhaps the National League decided to take out its past frustrations in the World Series. They had seen en enough of the American League’s premier franchise. After all, from 1949 to 1962 the New York Yankees, representing the American League, had won nine of thirteen World Series. Although the National League players and partisans didn’t know it at the time, the Yankee dynasty was fading. The Yanks failed for the second straight year in the 1964 World Series, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
In 1965 the All-Star Game was played at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, home of the American League Twins, four years removed from Washington. The National League won again, 6-5. Homers by Willie Mays, Milwaukee’s Joe Torre, and Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell
put the NL in front, 5-0, after just two innings. A four run rally in the bottom of the fifth highlighted by two run homers by Detroit’s Dick McAuliffe and hometown hero Harmon Killebrew of the Twins tied the score. But Mays walked to open the top of the seventh, raced to third on a single by Milwaukee’s Hank Aaron and scored the game winner on an infield grounder by Cubs’ Ron Santo. Twin’s shortstop Zolio Versalles was unable to make a play. The Yankees were not in the post season. The American League Twins lost to the the Dodgers in the 1965 World Series in a seven game thriller.
Their third straight World Series victory and eighth in the last twelve combined with three straight All-Star triumphs left the National League players and supporters gleeful. The were definitely feeling superior. Some suggested the AL had lagged badly behind in cultivating black
players. There were solid black players in the American League. The Twins’ Jim "Mudcat" Grant and Earl Battey and the Tigers' Willie Horton were 1965 All-Stars. Cuban Twins’ teammates Tony Oliva and Zolio Versalles were also 1965 All-Stars. Elston Howard of the Yankees was an outstanding catcher and several times an All-Star. But none of these players could match the talent or marquee value of Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson, or Puerto Rican born Roberto Clemente. Moreover the Yankee Dynasty was fading. Yogi Berra had retired, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Whitey Ford were winding down All-Star careers. New York had perennially been the flag ship of the American League. Was anyone else ready to fill the void?
The AL’s frustration continued to mount. In the 1966 classic at Busch Stadium in St. Louis as the National League again prevailed, 2-1 in ten innings. In somewhat of a repeat performance. Mays again found himself on third base And again he scored a on an infield grounder to short. by Santo. The run tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The AL had scored first when Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson tripled in the top of the second and scored on a wild pitch from Dodger great Sandy Koufax. St Louis catcher Tim McCarver opened the home tenth with a single and later scored the game winner on a single by Los Angeles’ Maury Wills. It was a searing 105 degrees that day in St. Louis. In cooler Autumn temperatures, however, young Baltimore pitchers Jim Palmer, Wally Bunker, and Dave McNally combined with veteran Moe Drabowsky to LA’s Drydsale, Koufax and Osteen in the World Series. The Orioles, despite batting a collective .200 in the Series, swept the Dodgers in four games. The stunning upset salvaged some pride for the Americans.
The 1967 interleague battle was the longest All-Star Game in history and the second consecutive extra inning contest. Again the Nationals triumphed, 2-1. Cincinnati’s Tony Perez homered off of Oakland’s Jim "Catfish" Hunter in the top of the 15th at Anaheim Stadium in California to decide the contest. The 12 pitchers appearing in the game posted thirty strikeouts. All the scoring came on homeruns. Philadelphia’s Richie Allen homered for the NL squad in the fourth.
Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson again provided most of the offense for the American League, homering in the sixth. Three of the last four All-Star games had been decided in the final innings. The National League claimed the 1967 World Series too. The Boston Red Sox, down three games to one, rallied to force a seventh game against the NL St. Louis Cardinals. But Bob Gibson, who won thee games for the Cardinals. held the Sox to just three hits in the final game and even homered enroute to a 7-2 win.
The 1968 game was a 1-0 loss and the fourth straight one run defeat for the AL. At the Astrodome in Houston pitchers dominated again. Willie Mays of the Giants again figured prominently in the outcome. He led off the game with a single and advanced to second with Cleveland’s Luis Tiant’s pick off attempt got past first baseman Harmon Killebrew of the Twins. He went to third on a wild pitch and scored the game’s only run when San Francisco’s Willie McCovey grounded into a double play. The NL had five hits and the AL just three. That fall, however, Mickey Lolich won three games for the American League Tigers who upset St. Louis in a seven game World Series. Bob Gibson won twice but lost to Lolich in the Series’ finale. It was the second World Series win in the last three World Series for the AL and the Yankees had not represented the league in the fall classic in four years.
After six straight very close decisions, the National League changed pace hammered the AL Stars in the 1969 game at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. Torrential rains forced postponement of the originally scheduled Tuesday night game until Wednesday afternoon. San Francisco’s Willie Mcovey homered twice and Cincinnati’s Johnny Bench homered once. The heavily favored Baltimore Orioles were stunned in five games by National Leagues amazing New York Mets in the World Series.
Pete Rose’s collision with Fosse punctuated a decade in which the American League won only once. At Cincinnati in 1970, the American League led 4-1 going into the last of the ninth. But a home run by San Francisco’s Dick Dietz, followed by singles by New York’s Bud Harrelson, Houston’s Joe Morgan, and San Francisco’s Wille McCovey and a sacrifice fly by Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente had tied the score. The decisive rally in the home twelfth came suddenly. Two-out singles by Rose, Los Angeles’ Billy Grabarkewitz and Chicago’s Jim Hickman produced the winning run. Kansas City’s Amos Otis, in centerfield for the AL fielded Hickman’s base hit. His throw home arrived a split second before Rose. But Fosse, his collarbone shattered, could not hold on. Rose’s aggressive act was infectious and defiant. It spurred his teammates, symbolically throwing down the gauntlet. It was a challenge the AL could not answer decisively for many years. Boston’s Carl Yaztremski, with four hits, was the game’s MVP. Though Brooks Robinson led a very strong Baltimore Orioles squad to a four games to one triumph over the Reds in the World Series. The NL had clearly established bragging rights.
Reggie Jackson’s towering homer off Dock Ellis in the third inning of the 1971 All-Star Game crashed into the right field light tower at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. That dramatic blast helped the American League begin the new decade with a 6-4 defeat on the Nationals at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Homers by Johnny Bench and Hank Aaron gave the NL an early 3-0 lead. But Jackson and Baltimore’s Frank Robinson each smashed two run homers in the third inning to give the Americans a lead they would not relinquish. The winning pitcher was Vida Blue. The American League’s own black stars featured prominently for the first time. Robinson was the game’s MVP. The NL, however, served notice that it was still the dominant league, as the Pittsburgh Pirates, behind a showcase performance by Roberto Clemente defeated the Orioles in th 1971 World Series in seven games.
At Atlanta Stadium in 1972, Kansas City’s Cookie Rojas homered with a man on in the top of the eighth to give the AL a 3-2 lead. But Cubs’ outfielder Billy Williams and Pittsburgh catcher Manny Sanguillen singled in the bottom of the ninth. Williams scored the tying run on an infield ground out by Houston first baseman, Lee May. In the bottom of the tenth, Cincinnati’s Joe Morgan singled home San Diego’s Nate Colbert and the NL had a 4-3 win. It was the fourth extra inning All-Star contest in 7 years and the sixth one run contest in eight meetings. In the 1972 Series Oakland with Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter upset the highly touted Cincinnati Reds.
But the Nationals routed the American League in the 1973 All-Star Game at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, 7-1. San Francisco’s Bobby Bonds, Cincinnati’s Johnny Bench and LA’s Willie Davis homered. And the NL pounded the Americans again in the 1974 classic, 7-2. LA first baseman Steve Garvey, elected an All-Star as a write in candidate, was the game’s MVP. He singled and doubled. Oakland, however, defeated the NY Mets and the LA Dodgers in the 1973 and 1974 World Series respectively, becoming the first team since the 1953 Yankees to win three consecutive Series and the first ever to do so within the divisional playoff format.
Both on the field and in the public relations area, the battle for League Supremacy was being won by the National League. Baseball toasted Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, shortstop Davey Concepcion, Tony Perez and others were being hailed in terms usually reserved for legendary New York Yankees.
The American League’s introduction of the designated hitter in 1973 was seen by some as a capitulation, a further indication of the inferiority of the Junior Circuit. The AL was accused of resorting to gimmickry and compromising the games traditional strategies. On the other hand Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, the Astrodome in Houston, Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati,
and Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia all had artificial surfaces. The only AL park with artificial turf was Royals Stadium in Kansas City. The game was certainly not the same game on these surfaces. Fly balls bounced very high if they hit the surface and ground balls, while they had true bounces, got through the infield and into the outfield gaps very quickly. The turf game emphasized speed. Most of these NL parks were built primarily for football. They were symmetrical and certainly were not traditional.
The American League players and fans were growing weary of this drumbeat and growing more anguished with each defeat at the hands of the NL. For them this game had become a too familiar mid season torment.
In 1975, the NL won again. 6-3 at County Stadium in Milwaukee. The Cubs' Bill Madlock broke a 3-3 deadlock with a bases loaded single in top of the ninth. Carl Yaztremski had tied the game for the AL with a three run homer off the Mets’ Tom Seaver in the bottom of the sixth. Joe Marcin of The Sporting News remarked in a post game commentary,“What’s new? The All-Star Game continues to be truly America’s mid-summer sports classic. No other All-Star game in any sport can begin to compare in interest. But it might be better if the American League could get back into the competitive swim of the contest.” But the American Leaguers still had miles to go before they slept peacefully.
The Big Red Machine beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games in the 1975 World Series ending the Oakland streak.While the Yankees returned to power in the American League in 1976 behind fiery Manager Billy Martin, it did not change the AL fortunes in either the All Star game or the World Series. At Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Cincinnati’s George Foster was the games’ MVP as the Nationals won again, 7-1. Foster and Houston outfielder Cesar Cedeno each hit two run homers. Fred Lynn homered for the American League. The Cincinnati Reds, at the peak of their ability, swamped the Yankees, taking the World Series in a four game sweep.
Jim Palmer, who had not allowed a run in eight previous innings of All-Star work, made his third All-Star start in 1977 at Yankee Stadium in NY. But despite the high hopes of AL fans the NL scored four off Palmer in the first. Joe Morgan opened the game with a homer. The Nationals won, 7-4. The Yankees won their first World Series Championship since 1962, defeating the
Dodgers in the World Series in 6 games.
The National League erased a 3-0 American League lead reaching AL starter Vida Blue for three runs in the third in the 1978 All-Star game in San Diego. The game remained tied until the NL scored four times off New York’s Rich Gossage in the eighth to post a 7-3 win. LA’s Steve Garvey was the game MVP. There were no homeruns in the game. In the 1978 Series, the Yankees again defeated the Dodgers in six games.
In 1979 the American League hosted the fiftieth All-Star game at the Kingdome in Seattle.
Lee Mazilli of the New York Mets clubbed an opposite-field homer in his first All-Star at-bat to tie the score in the eighth inning and walked with the bases loaded in the ninth, giving the NL a 7-6 win in the Dave Parker of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the MVP. Parker’s Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.
After spotting the American League a 2-0 lead on Fred Lynn's two-run homer in the fifth inning of the 1980 game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the National League rallied on a single and a homer by Ken Griffey Sr. to win again, 4-2. Griffey was the game’s MVP. It marked the end of another decade in which the AL won only once. The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Kansas City Royals in the World Series.
In 1981, the largest crowd in All-Star Game history at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland saw the National League begin a new decade with a 5-4 victory, their tenth straight. The AL took a 4-2 lead into the seventh. Mike Schmidt's two-run blast in the eighth proved the game winner. Gary Carter of the Montreal Expos was the game’s MVP. The Yankees were back in the World Series but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games after taking the first two games in New York.
Writing in The Sporting News, columnist Dave Sloan remarked, “AL supporters have come to approach the Mid Summer Classic like it's root canal surgery.” George Brett added, “Maybe the National League is more relaxed than we are because they have had so much success in this game. Maybe there is more pressure on our side.” Having represented both leagues as an All-Starm Houston Pitcher Nolan Ryan, was caught up in the National League mystique. “When I was playing for the American League, I can remember getting a pep talk about how we had to beat the National League,”he said. “There aren’t any pep talks in the National League. Don’t need ‘em.”
The 1982 game represented the first All-Star Game played outside the United States. But the change in venue didn't help the American League/ The Reds’ Dave Concepcion drilled a two-run homer to lead the National League to victory at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, 4-1. It was the nineteenth victory in the last twenty Inter-league meetings. Concepcion was the MVP. By now the American League was competing not only against the National League Stars but against the enormous weight of the streak itself. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the American League’s Milwaukee Brewers in a seven game World Series.
Not one grand slam was hit in the first half-century of All-Star Game play. But in 1983 at Comiskey Park in Chicago on the fiftieth anniversary of the first game held at the same site, that all changed. With the bases loaded in the third inning, California's Fred Lynn ripped one into the left field stands, ending more droughts than one. It was his fourth All-Star Game home run. “When I hit the ball I knew it was a homerun. It was a breaking ball up and that’s where I can hit it. That’s the most emotion I’ve shown,” said Lynn who trotted around the bases raising his right fist skyward as he rounded first.
Facing some criticism NL manager White Herzog said candidly, “I didn’t want to lose, don’t get me wrong but this is the greatest thing that has happened to the sport in a long time. Now they can say they’re better than us, I guess. But it’s all a big joke. You can never tell the strength of a league by All-Star games.”. Atlee Hammaker, the victim of Lynn’s homer, was the only pitcher on the NL squad to have pitched in the American League. He worked briefly for Herzog’s Kansas City Royals. Some American League players indicated that their familiarity with Hammaker, who gave up a record setting six hits in the inning, may have helped them. But Hammaker, leading the NL with an ERA of 1.70, had earned his spot on the NL roster.
The torment wasn’t quite over. But it was fading. Though the NL won the next two games the frustration level never again built to the same level. Lynn’s homer had given the AL a sort of grace period. In the 1983 World Series, the American League Orioles defeated the NL Philadelphia Phillies among whose players were the aging Pete Rose and Joe Morgan, so often National League heroes.
In 1984, on the fiftieth anniversary of Carl Hubbell's five consecutive All-Star Game strikeouts, Los Angeles' Fernando Valenzuela set down three Hall of Fame hitters: Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson, and George Brett in the top of the fourth. The National League won the game 3-1, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and the NL won again, 6-1 in 1985 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. It as the NL’s 21st in 23 meetings. Sparky Anderson of the Detroit Tigers tried and failed in his first attempt to win as manager of the AL after directing three wins for the NL. He scoffed at the idea that the annual showcase wasn’t important. “The guys really do want to win it.” he said. “Everybody wants to walk away a winner.” Sparky had more success in the 84 World Series. His Tigers defeated the National League Padres in 1984. The Kansas City Royals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the l985 World Series. In World Series play during the same 23 year period, the National League claimed twelve titles and the Americans eleven.
The American League won seven of the next eight All Star Games, including six straight from 1988 through 1993. AL fans could be forgiven for doing a little rejoicing. But the memory of that twenty-two year period lingered. There was little talk of superiority and no defiant attitude. What changed? The emergence of Ken Griffey Jr., Roger Clemens, Kirby Puckett, Cal Ripken and other Hall of Fame caliber American League Stars certainly helped. But in truth, though the NL may have in fact been better, the difference alone was probably not sufficient to explain the disparity in All-Star Game results over the previous twenty years.
With the proliferation of free agency and players switching leagues with more regularity, there is probably less league identity and loyalty than there was once. In fact, some stars on both sides would prefer to have three days off rather than showcase their talent in the All-Star Game. There is an All-Star festival with a popular home run hitting contest and celebrity events. It is still a showcase, but maybe the game itself doesn’t mean as much. It did once. National League pride and intensity helped to make it so. Thanks from an American League fan for that.
Coincidentally, the Yankees dynasty faded during the early years of this phenomenon. They reemerged to represent the American League in the World Series from 1976 to 1978 and again in 1981. The Yanks remained fairly dormant until 1996 and have since won three consecutive World Series.
Year Date Site Result
1933 July 6 Comiskey Park, Chicago AL 4-2
1934 July 10 Polo Grounds, New York AL 9-7
1935 July 8 Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland AL 4-1
1936 July 7 Braves Field, Boston NL 4-3
1937 July 7 Griffith Stadium, Washington AL 8-3
1938 July 6 Crosley Field, Cincinnati NL 4-1
1939 July 11 Yankee Stadium, New York AL 3-1
1940 July 9 Sportsman's Park, St. Louis NL 4-0
1941 July 8 Briggs Stadium, Detroit AL 7-5
1942 July 6 Polo Grounds, New York AL 3-1
1943 July 13 Shibe Park, Philadelphia AL 5-3
1944 July 11 Forbes Field, Pittsburgh NL 7-1
1945 Game canceled because of wartime travel restrictions.
1946 July 9 Fenway Park, Boston AL 12-0
1947 July 8 Wrigley Field, Chicago AL 2-1
1948 July 13 Sportsman's Park, St. Louis AL 5-2
1963 July 9 Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland NL 5-3
1964 July 7 Shea Stadium, New York NL 7-4
1965 July 13 Metropolitan Stad., Bloomington NL 6-5
1966 July 12 Busch Memorial Stad., St. Louis NL 2-1 (10)
1967 July 11 Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim NL 2-1 (15)
1968 July 9 Astrodome, Houston NL 1-0
1969 July 23 RFK Memorial Stad., Washington NL 9-3
1970 July 14 Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati NL 5-4 (12)
1971 July 13 Tiger Stadium, Detroit AL 6-4
1972 July 25 Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta NL 4-3 (10)
1973 July 24 Royals Stadium, Kansas City NL 7-1
1974 July 23 Three Rivers Stad., Pittsburgh NL 7-2
1975 July 15 County Stadium, Milwaukee NL 6-3
1976 July 13 Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia NL 7-1
1977 July 19 Yankee Stadium, New York NL 7-5
1978 July 11 San Diego Stadium, San Diego NL 7-3
1979 July 17 Kingdome, Seattle NL 7-6
1980 July 8 Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles NL 4-2
1981 Aug. 9 Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland NL 5-4
1982 July 13 Olympic Stadium, Montreal NL 4-1
1983 July 6 Comiskey Park, Chicago AL 13-3
1984 July 10 Candlestick Park, San Francisco NL 3-1
1985 July 16 Metrodome, Minneapolis NL 6-1
1986 July 15 Astrodome, Houston AL 3-2
1987 July 14 Oakland Coliseum, Oakland NL 2-0 (13)
1988 July 12 Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati AL 2-1
1989 July 11 Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim AL 5-3
1990 July 10 Wrigley Field, Chicago AL 2-0
1991 July 9 SkyDome, Toronto AL 4-2
1992 July 14 Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego AL 13-6
1993 July 13 Camden Yards, Baltimore AL 9-3
1994 July 12 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh NL 8-7 (10)
1995 July 11 The Ballpark in Arlington NL 3-2
1996 July 9 Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia NL 6-0
1997 July 8 Jacobs Field, Cleveland AL 3-1
1998 July 7 Coors Field, Colorado AL 13-8
1999 July 13 Fenway Park, Boston AL 2-1
2000 July 11 Turner Field, Atlanta AL 6-3
National League World Series Champions 1963-1985
1963 LA
1964 St. Louis
1965 LA
1967 St Louis
1969 NY
1971 Pittsburgh
1975 Cincinnati
1976 Cincinnati
1979 Pittsburgh
1980 Philadelphia
1981 LA
1982 St. Louis
American League World Series Champions 1963-1985
1966 Baltimore
1968 Detroit
1970 Baltimore
1972 Oakland
1973 Oakland
1974 Oakland
1977 NY
1978 NY
1983 Baltimore
1984 Detroit
1985 Kansas City
» The author is a 56-year-old, retired government cartographer, formerly employed by the National Ocean Service. A life long Senators fan, he recently self published a book called "Twilight Teams," about the final season of six doomed francises that relocated in new cities between 1952 and 1971. He runs a recreational volleyball program for the city of Gaithersburg, MD. He coached wrestling for ten years. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and Bethesda Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland.
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Posted August 17, 2001.
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