The 1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 21st playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) and

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL), the two leagues comprising

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. The game was held on July 13, 1954, at

Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball a ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, the home of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

of the American League.

Summary

The American League rallied in the bottom of the eighth inning, to defeat the National League in an 11–9

slugfest Slugfest may refer to: * Slugfest, a baseball term for a high scoring game * SlugFest, a pinball-like arcade game produced by WMS Industries * "Slugfest" (''Camp Lazlo'') television series episode * '' Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Slugfest'', a baseball g ...

at Cleveland Stadium. Both teams combined for an All-Star Game record 20 runs, on 31 hits, which included six

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

Al Rosen Albert Leonard Rosen (February 29, 1924 – March 13, 2015), nicknamed "Flip" and "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American baseball third baseman and right-handed slugger for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball for ten seasons in the 194 ...

led the American League offense, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and five

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. Starters

Whitey Ford Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford (October 21, 1928 – October 8, 2020), nicknamed "the Chairman of the Board", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played his entire 16-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

(AL) and Robin Roberts (NL) matched zeroes until the third inning, when the American League hitters stacked themselves to an early 4–0 lead in the bottom of the inning.

Minnie Miñoso Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso (, ; born Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta; November 29, 1923 – March 1, 2015), nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" and "Mr. White Sox", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He began his baseball career in the Neg ...

opened the frame with a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

and

Nellie Fox Jacob Nelson “Nellie” Fox (December 25, 1927 – December 1, 1975) was an American professional baseball player. Fox was one of the best second basemen of all time, and the third-most difficult hitter to strike out in Major League Baseball (M ...

walked, while Roberts

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

and retired

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but ...

on a grounder, but could not overcome a three-run homer by Rosen to make it a 3–0 game. Ray Boone followed with a homer before Roberts retired

Hank Bauer Henry Albert Bauer (July 31, 1922 – February 9, 2007) was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (–) and Kansas City Athletics (–); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as ...

. Opening the fourth inning, the National League rallied for five runs to take a 5–4 lead.

Sandy Consuegra Sandalio Simeón Consuegra Castellón on-SWEH-grah(September 3, 1920 – November 16, 2005) was a Cuban-born Major League Baseball pitcher with the Washington Senators (1950-1953), Chicago White Sox (1953-1956), Baltimore Orioles (1956-1957) an ...

retired the first batter he faced, but

Duke Snider Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Silver Fox" and "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (M ...

Ted Kluszewski Theodore Bernard Kluszewski (September 10, 1924 – March 29, 1988), also known as "Big Klu", was an American professional baseball player known for his bulging biceps and mammoth home runs in the 1950s decade. He played from 1947 through 1961 wit ...

and

Ray Jablonski Raymond Leo Jablonski (December 17, 1926 – November 25, 1985) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for all or parts of eight MLB seasons between 1953 and 1960. A National League All-Star, Jablonski appeared in 812 ...

hit consecutive singles and Jackie Robinson a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, tying the game at four.

Bob Lemon Robert Granville Lemon (September 22, 1920 – January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed pitcher and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lemon was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, National Ba ...

relieved Consuegra, but gave up a two-out, RBI-double by the

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

Don Mueller Donald Frederick Mueller (April 14, 1927 – December 28, 2011) was a professional baseball player who played mainly as a right fielder in Major League Baseball for 12 seasons from 1948 until 1959. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and ...

before retiring Granny Hamner for the third out. Meanwhile, Chico Carrasquel kept the American League attack alive with a lead-off single in the bottom of the fourth against

Johnny Antonelli John August Antonelli (April 12, 1930 – February 28, 2020) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed starting pitcher who played for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves, New York / San Francisco Giants, and Cleveland Indians betw ...

. Carrasquel moved to third on a one-out single by Miñoso and scored on a sacrifice fly by Beto Ávila, tying the score at five. The National League picked up two more two-out runs off

Bob Porterfield Erwin Coolidge "Bob" Porterfield (August 10, 1923 – April 28, 1980) was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for twelve seasons between 1948 and 1959 for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh ...

in the fifth to pull back in front, 7–5, after a single by Snider and a two-run homer by Kluszewski. In the bottom of the inning, Berra hit a single off Antonelli and Rosen belted his second home run of the game to tie the score at seven. The American League regained the lead in the sixth, 8–7, with an RBI-single by Avila off

Warren Spahn Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...

that brought home Williams. In the eighth inning, the National League bats stayed hot against

Bob Keegan Robert Charles Keegan (August 4, 1920 – June 20, 2001) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox from 1953 to 1958. A native of Rochester, New York, he attended Bucknell University and performed Wo ...

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

singled and

Gus Bell David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr. (November 15, 1928 – May 7, 1995) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1950 through 1964, who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Milwaukee Braves. He batted ...

unloaded it with a pinch-hit, two-run homer to put again away the game, 9–8. Dean Stone came in relief with two outs and

Red Schoendienst Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst (; February 2, 1923 – June 6, 2018) was an American professional baseball second baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB), and is largely known for his coaching, managing, and playing years wi ...

running on third. Schoendienst attempted to steal home and was thrown out by Stone. This third out set the stage for

Larry Doby Lawrence Eugene Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black pl ...

, who pinch hit for Stone with one out in the bottom of the inning and tied the game with a home run against

Gene Conley Donald Eugene Conley (November 10, 1930 – July 4, 2017) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He played as a pitcher for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1952 to 1963. Conley also played as a forward in ...

, becoming the first black player to hit a home run in an All-Star Game. After that, Mantle and Berra singled and Rosen walked to load the bases.

Carl Erskine Carl Daniel Erskine (born December 13, 1926) is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959. He was a pitching mainstay on Dodger team ...

replaced Conley and retired

Mickey Vernon James Barton "Mickey" Vernon (April 22, 1918 – September 24, 2008) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for the Washington Senators (1939–1948, 1950–1955), Cleveland Indians (1949–1950, 1958), Boston Red ...

for the second out, but gave up a two-RBI single to Fox that sealed the 11–9 victory for the American League. The American League (7) and the National League (6) used 13 pitchers in the game. Stone took the win (without retiring a batter) and Conley was tagged with the loss while

Virgil Trucks Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks (April 26, 1917 – March 23, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees between 1941 and 1958. He batte ...

earned the save. Trucks walked Snider to open the ninth inning, but retired Stan Musial,

Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...

and

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...

for the last three outs of the game. The win broke a four-game All-Star losing streak for the American League. After this game, the AL led the all-time All-Star Series 13–8.

Notes

* The 20 runs scored in the contest set an All-Star Game record which lasted until 1998, when the American League defeated the National League, 13–8, at

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, two blocks from Union Station. The ...

. *

became the third player to hit two home runs in an All-Star Game. Arky Vaughan did it in 1941, and

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

did it in 1946. This feat would be matched later by

Willie McCovey Willie Lee McCovey (January 10, 1938 – October 31, 2018), nicknamed "Stretch", "Mac" and "Willie Mac", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a mem ...

in 1969 and Gary Carter in 1981. * This was only the second Midsummer Classic to date with more than sixty-thousand fans in attendance (69,751). The first occurred during the 1935 All-Star Game, which was also held at Cleveland Municipal Stadium (69,812). *This is the only All-Star Game to date in which one of the managers—in this case

Walter Alston Walter Emmons Alston (December 1, 1911 – October 1, 1984), nicknamed "Smokey", was an American baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball He is best known for managing the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 through 1976, and si ...

—was in his first year of managing the defending league champions he represented. Alston was managing in place of his predecessor as manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers,

Charlie Dressen Charles Walter Dressen (September 20, 1894Dressen's birthdate has been revised from 1898, as was commonly reported in ''The Sporting News' Baseball Register'' and ''Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia'', to 1894 by both Baseball Reference and Retro ...

Opening lineups

Rosters

Players in ''italics'' have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Umpires

Line Score

''Play-by-play a
Retrosheet
'

References

External links

Baseball AlmanacBaseball ReferenceIMDb.com
{{Major League Baseball on Mutual

Major League Baseball All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

Major League Baseball All-Star Game Baseball in Cleveland

Major League Baseball All Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

Sports competitions in Cleveland 1950s in Cleveland