The 1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 40th midseason exhibition 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 the

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 played in the afternoon on Wednesday, July 23, at

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the ...

in Washington, D.C. and resulted in a 9–3 victory for the National League. Steve Carlton was the winning pitcher while

Mel Stottlemyre Melvin Leon Stottlemyre Sr. (November 13, 1941 – January 13, 2019) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He played for 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, all for the New York Yankees, and coached for 23 seasons, ...

was the losing pitcher. The game was originally scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, July 22, but heavy rains forced its

postponement Postponement is a business strategy employed in manufacturing and supply chain management which maximizes possible benefit and minimizes risk by delaying further investment into a product or service until the last possible moment, or where a ma ...

to the following afternoon. The 1969 contest remains the last All-Star Game to date to be played earlier than

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

in the

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

United States. President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

originally planned to attend the Tuesday night game and throw out the first ball, and then depart for the splashdown of

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...

in the Pacific Ocean. But with the game's postponement until Wednesday afternoon, Nixon missed the game altogether and Vice President

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...

attended instead.

Game summary

After scoring in the first inning on an error, the National League made it 3–0 in the second inning against AL starter

on a two-run homer by Reds' catcher Johnny Bench.

Denny McLain Dennis Dale McLain (born March 29, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Detroit Tigers. In 1968, McLain beca ...

was scheduled as the American League starter, but was late arriving to the stadium (via his own airplane) and pitched later in the game. Five more runs came across for the NL in the third inning,

Blue Moon Odom Johnny Lee "Blue Moon" Odom (born May 29, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won t ...

of Oakland surrendering all.

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 ...

's two-run homer and back-to-back doubles by

Félix Millán Félix Bernardo Millán Martínez (born August 21, 1943) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. He holds one of the best at-bat to str ...

and pitcher Steve Carlton were the key blows. McCovey added another home run in the fourth, and was voted the game's most valuable player.

Starting lineup

Reserves

American League

Pitchers

Position players

National League

Pitchers

Position players

Umpires

Line score

References

External links

1969 All-Star Game summary @baseball-almanac.com

1969 All-Star Game box score @baseball-almanac.com

1969 All-Star Game play-by-play @baseball-almanac.com

1969 All-Star Game results @mlb.com

Baseball Reference 1969 All-Star Game review @ baseball-reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Major League Baseball All-Star Game, 1969

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

1969 Baseball in Washington, D.C.

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 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 ...

1969