20 fun facts about the All-Star game

1 The first All-Star Game was played in 1933 at Comiskey Park in conjunction with Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition. It was the brainchild of Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward.

2 Babe Ruth hit the first All-Star home run, a two-run shot to rightfield off the Cardinals’ Bill Hallahan in 1933. The AL won, 4-2.

3 Tuesday’s game will be hosted by the Diamondbacks, one of three teams that had never hosted one. The Marlins and Rays are the others.

4 From 1959-62, there were two All-Star Games each season.

5 Hometown hero Carl Hubbell (New York Giants) became a legend by striking out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in a row in 1934 at the Polo Grounds. They all wound up in the Hall of Fame.

6 Now that you mention it, of the 18 players who started the 1934 game, only Wally Berger is not in the Hall.

7 The 1962 Mets had one All-Star, future Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn.

8 In 1957, Cincinnati fans stuffed the ballot box and elected Reds to every position except Stan Musial at first base. Commissioner Ford Frick stepped in and replaced Gus Bell and Wally Post with Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, then took the voting away from fans.

9 Most games on All-Star roster:

Hank Aaron 25
Stan Musial 24
Willie Mays 24
Mickey Mantle 20

10 In 1971, pinch hitter Reggie Jackson (A’s) hit a Dock Ellis slider so hard that it hit an electrical transformer on Tiger Stadium’s rightfield roof and bounced halfway back to the infield. Scientists say it would have carried 532 feet if the transformer hadn’t gotten in the way.

11 The 2008 game at Yankee Stadium went 15 innings, lasted 4 hours, 50 minutes and ended at 1:38 a.m.

12 Pete Rose was an All-Star at 1B, 2B, 3B, LF and RF.

13 The National League holds a 41-38-2 edge.

14 Manager Joe McCarthy started six of his Yankees in 1939 at Yankee Stadium and let the position players go the distance. The AL won, 3-1, and Joe DiMaggio homered in the fifth.

15 New York teams have hosted eight times: Yankees (4), New York Giants (2), Mets (1), Brooklyn Dodgers (1).

16 Gary Sheffield and Moises Alou each was an All-Star for five different teams.

17 They homered twice in an All-Star Game: Arky Vaughan (Pirates, 1941); Ted Williams (Red Sox, 1946); Al Rosen (Indians, 1954); Willie McCovey (Giants, 1969) and Gary Carter (Expos, 1981).

18 In 2002 at Milwaukee, both teams ran out of pitchers with the score tied at 7 in the 11th inning, and commissioner Bud Selig called the game.

19 The 1981 game on Aug. 9 in Cleveland marked the resumption of baseball after a strike from June 12-July 31. It drew a record crowd of 72,086.

20 The 1955 All-Star Game at Milwaukee, won by Stan Musial’s 12th-inning home run, occurred the same day as the funeral for founder Arch Ward.