Hit a Home Run With This Quiz on the MLB All-Star Game

Some baseball stars in the mid-20th century had more All-Star Game appearances than seasons played in the MLB because of the league’s decision to host two annual installments of the ASG from 1959 through 1962. The extra game was added to replenish the players’ pension fund, which had been shrinking in years prior. Ultimately, fans weren’t receptive to a second game, and the idea was shelved after four seasons.

Remembered for leading the Yankees to seven championships, Casey Stengel is arguably one of the most successful managers in baseball history. While he also managed the American League All-Star team for all but one game from 1950 through 1959, his ASG record isn’t quite as impressive. In his first four years managing at the Midsummer Classic, Stengel’s team lost every game. He retired with a 4-6 All-Star record as manager for the American League.

Lynn starred in the late 1970s as an outfielder for the Red Sox and became one of a few players to win MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in the same year. In his last All-Star Game (by then with the Angels), Lynn etched his name in baseball history, blasting a pitch from Atlee Hammaker into the seats at Comiskey Park.

In 1936, Joe DiMaggio was the Yankees’ next young star. He tallied 206 hits, 125 RBI, and a .323 batting average his rookie year. Unfortunately for “Joltin’ Joe,” his first All-Star Game wasn’t his brightest moment: DiMaggio went 0-5 at the plate and committed two key errors, allowing the National League its first All-Star Game win.

Willie Mays logged 23 career hits in 24 All-Star Games, including almost 20 years of consecutive appearances between 1954 and 1973. During his time in the league, the “Say Hey Kid” dominated the Midsummer Classic — he also holds the record for most runs, total bases, stolen bases, and triples in the ASG. Hall of Fame hitter Ted Williams put it best: “They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays.”

Beginning with the first All-Star Game in Chicago in 1933, MLB understood the importance of hosting it in a popular baseball city. The All-Star Game has been played five times in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, but only four times so far in Detroit.

While many father-and-son combinations have played in separate All-Star Games, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. are the only pair to each win an MVP award in their respective games — Griffey Sr. was the MVP in his last All-Star Game in 1980, and his son won in 1992, his third appearance of 13 total. They also made history as the first father-son duo to start in the same game in 1990, when they both played for the Seattle Mariners. Brothers Sandy Alomar Jr. and Roberto Alomar won the MVP award in 1997 and 1998, respectively.

At the first All-Star Game, the Sultan of Swat was in the twilight of his career — he retired less than two years after July 1933 — but he wasn’t suffering from a decline in performance. Not only did Ruth’s two-run bomb give the American League the lead in the game, but he also made a nice outfield catch to stop the National League from rallying back. Ruth was one of 20 participants in the first All-Star Game who would make it to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Chicago Mayor Edward Kelly wanted a major sporting event to coincide with the 1933 World’s Fair being hosted in his city. He talked to Colonel Robert McCormick, the powerful publisher of the "Chicago Tribune," who passed the idea to his sports editor, Arch Ward. Ward envisioned a marquee matchup of baseball’s best players, voted on by fans. He finally convinced baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who scheduled the first All-Star Game for July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park.

The first Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game in 1933 wasn’t held to celebrate the expansion of a growing sport: Between 1930 and 1933, attendance at baseball games spiraled down 40%, largely due to the Great Depression. The Midsummer Classic was intended to be a one-time reminder of the game’s importance, but its popularity among fans cemented it as a recurring tradition to divide the baseball season.