Let’s start off this blog post, dedicated to the Negro League East West All Star Game, with a quick trivia question.
Who is the only player to hit a home run in both the Negro League All Star Game and the MLB All Star Game?
Jim Gilliam, homered in Negro League and MLB All Star Games.
Answer: Jim “Junior” Gilliam, who hit a home run in the Negro League East West All Star Game (August 20, 1950 at Comiskey Park), representing the Baltimore Elite Giants; and also went deep in the MLB All Star Game (August 3, 1959 at Los Angeles Park), representing the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Now back to a look at the Negro Leagues’ All Star contest – the first of which took place on this date (September 10) in 1933 – about two months after the initial MLB All Star Game (July 6, 1933). Both games took place at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, with the MLB game drawing 47,595 fans and the Negro League East West All Star contest attracting 19,568. You may be surprised to learn that the Negro League All Star game was held annually through 1962 – 35 games in 30 years, two games in 1939, 42, 46, 47 and 48).
Here’s a little background on that first East West All Star match up.
Line Score
East 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 2 7 11 3
West 0 0 0 3 0 3 3 1 x 11 15 3
Starting Lineups
East
CF-Cool Papa Bell (Pittsburgh Crawfords)
RF-Rap Dixon (Philadelphia Stars)
1B-Oscar Charleston (Pitt)
C- Biz Mackey (Phil)
3B-Jud Wilson (Phil)
SS-Dick Lundy (Phil)
LF-Vic Harris (Pitts)
2B-John Henry Russell (Pitt)
P- Sam Streeter (Pitts)
West
CF-Turkey Stearnes (Chicaga American Giants)
SS-Willie Wells (Chic)
LF-Steel Arm Davis (Chic)
3B-Alex Radcliffe (Chic)
1b-Mule Suttles (Chic)
2B-Leroy Morney (Cleveland Giants)
RF-Sammy Bankhead (Nashville Elite giants)
C- Larry Brown (Chic)
P- Willie Foster (Chic)
Mule Suttles was the hitting star of the game, going 2-4, with a double, the game’s only homer, two runs and three RBI. Willie Foster pitched a complete game victory for the West, which played only nine of its 16 players.
Buck Leonard – Eleven-time Negro League All Star.
Other factoids:
- Buck Leonard and Alex Radcliffe share the record for the most Negro League All Star Game selections, 11 each.
- Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, pitched in three East West All Star Games and played catcher in three as well.
- Comiskey Park hosted 27 of the games, four were played at Yankee Stadium and one game each was held at New York City’s Polo Grounds, Washington D.C.’s Griffith Stadium, Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium and Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium.
- The final Negro League All Star Game was held August 27, 1962 at Kansas City, with the West winning 5-2.
- In 1943, the game drew a record 51,723 to Comiskey Park.
Now, I’ll close – as promised – with another trivia offering.
What MLB Park played host to the Major League All Star Game, the Negro League East West All Star Game and the MLB Hispanic All Star Game?
Answer: New York City’s Polo Grounds: MLB All Star Game (1934, 1942); Negro League East West All Star Game (1947); the first (and last) Hispanic All Star game (1963). For more on that Hispanic All Star game click here: https://baseballroundtable.com/latino-all-stars-and-the-first-and-last-hispanic-all-star-game/ .
