1959 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (first game)
The 1959 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 26th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues composing Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 7, 1959, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NL. The game resulted in a 5–4 victory for the National League. An unprecedented second game was scheduled for later in the season in Los Angeles, California.
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| Date | July 7, 1959 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Forbes Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 35,277 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ceremonial first pitch | None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | NBC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Mel Allen and Curt Gowdy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | NBC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Jack Brickhouse and Bob Prince | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
In a break from tradition, the league scheduled a "doubleheader" as part of an effort to boost the players' pension fund. The first game was held on July 7 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. The second game was held on August 3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers also of the NL. The first game resulted in a 5–4 victory for the NL. The AL won the second game by a score of 5–3. The experiment of staging two All-Star Games each year continued through the 1962 season, after which the playing of one annual game resumed.
Rosters
Players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- -x – Injured and could not play
- -y – Injury replacement
Game
Umpires: Al Barlick, Home Plate (NL); Ed Runge, First Base (AL); Augie Donatelli, Second Base (NL); Joe Paparella, Third Base (AL); Shag Crawford, Left Field (NL); Johnny Rice, Right Field (AL)
Starting Lineups
| American League | National League | ||||||
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| Order | Player | Team | Position | Order | Player | Team | Position |
| 1 | Minnie Miñoso | Indians | LF | 1 | Johnny Temple | Reds | 2B |
| 2 | Nellie Fox | White Sox | 2B | 2 | Eddie Mathews | Braves | 3B |
| 3 | Al Kaline | Tigers | CF | 3 | Hank Aaron | Braves | RF |
| 4 | Bill Skowron | Yankees | 1B | 4 | Willie Mays | Giants | CF |
| 5 | Rocky Colavito | Indians | RF | 5 | Ernie Banks | Cubs | SS |
| 6 | Gus Triandos | Orioles | C | 6 | Orlando Cepeda | Giants | 1B |
| 7 | Harmon Killebrew | Senators | 3B | 7 | Wally Moon | Dodgers | LF |
| 8 | Luis Aparicio | White Sox | SS | 8 | Del Crandall | Braves | C |
| 9 | Early Wynn | White Sox | P | 9 | Don Drysdale | Dodgers | P |
Game Summary
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
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| American League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||
| National League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | X | 5 | 9 | 1 | |||||||||||
| WP: Johnny Antonelli (1–0) LP: Whitey Ford (0–1) Home runs: AL: Al Kaline (1) NL: Eddie Mathews (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||