The 1959 All Star Game

The All Star game has been a annual institution since 1933. The greatest stars would have a chance to play together in a battle between leagues. Then, as now, fans argued about which league, the National or American Leagues, had the better players and played a better game. This mid-season battle would settle the score and provide fans with an event to remember.

Unfortunately, the game soon became stale and boring. After all, at the end of the day the game didn't count for anything and fans just stopped watching. By 1959 Major League Baseball decided to make a change. There would be 2 All Star games played on consecutive days. The first game would be played on August 2 at Forbes Field, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The next afternoon they would play in Los Angeles at the Coliseum. They then threw in a twist by allowing the managers to play whichever players they wanted for game 2, thereby not being bound by the voted-in starting lineup. This format would last until 1962.

Bob Wong has once again allowed me to post some more photos from his collection. Below are some of his pics from the All Star Game at the coliseum in 1959. Check them out below. BTW, the American League won the 2nd game 5 to 3.

UPDATE: Bob just let me know that the below photo is not from the All-Star game. My Bad. The bottom 3 photos below are from the All-Star game. Sorry for the confusion.
Below is a photo of the player introductions. The baselines are filled with All Stars.