MLB: My most memorable games

1973 MLB All Star Game, American League vs. National League, July 24, 1973, Royals Stadium, Kansas City

I am 24 years old and a young editor on the staff of a daily newspaper in central Kansas. The MLB All Star Game is to be played in the new Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) on the eastern edges of Kansas City, and the chief of the Associated Press bureau in that city has obtained a bunch of tickets.

He wonders whether any of his best clients, including us, would like to attend? Yes, actually, I would.

In those days, the National League dominated the MLB All Star Game, having won nine of the previous 10. This one was no different, the NL winning a largely colorless game 7-1.

Colorless, of course, is a relative term when you’re talking about an All Star Game. Although the play itself was not memorable, almost every position was occupied by a future Hall of Famer. For the National League, starters included Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Joe Morgan, Ron Santo, and Billy Williams, not to mention Pete Rose. Tom Seaver and Don Sutton were on the pitching staff, although the start was given to Rick Wise, a largely non-descript figure pitching at the time for St. Louis.

On the American League team were Carlton Fisk, Rod Carew, Brooks Robinson, Reggie Jackson, and starting pitcher Catfish Hunter. Bench, Bobby Bonds, and Willie Davis all homered to lead the National League victory, which was never in doubt after the third inning.

In retrospect, probably the most noteworthy occurrence was when Willie Mays grabbed a bat and pinch hit for Willie Stargell in the eighth inning. He struck out. On its own, that mattered little to the outcome. But it marked the 24th and final appearance by Mays in an MLB All Star Game; he would retire at season’s end.