The year 1935 was known for a number of alarming events.
Most prominent being Adolf Hitler announcing German re-armament in violation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles; it was the year of the first modern “race riot,” which took place in Harlem, where three died, with hundreds more wounded. It was also the year the FBI tracked down the Barker Gang, including its ring leader, Ma Barker, an American mother of several criminals who was gunned down (along with her son, Fred) in the small town of Ocklawaha, Florida at a rented house on Lake Weir.
In 1935, many Americans were still feeling the wallops of the Great Depression. Unemployment hovered around 17 percent, down from 25 percent, with many only able to find part-time work. Others, dropped out of the workforce completely.
But baseball, once again, made Americans forget about their troubles, at least for one sunny day in July. The third annual Major League Baseball All-Star game was held in Cleveland, Ohio on July 8, 1935.
The game wouldn’t be played, though, without a surge of protest from the fans and sports writers, who didn’t like how rosters would be selected.
This mid-season classic would deviate from the previous two; in that this would be the first All-Star game in which the fans would be shut out from selecting who would make the All-Star squad. In 1933 and 1934, selection of the All-Star teams was up to the fans, who could vote for the All-Stars through newspaper ads featuring official ballots. Beginning in 1935 (and lasting through 1946) each league’s eight managers selected the participants while the All-Star team managers chose the starters.
Despite taking a dim view of the rule change, Clevelanders were thrilled to have the All-Star game in their home town, a city that didn’t have much to cheer about since the Cleveland Indians beat the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) in seven games (five games to two) in the 1920 World Series.
Before the All-Star break, Cleveland was stuck in 4th place, seven games behind the New York Yankees.
John Lardner, a sports writer and the son of Ring Lardner, writing in the Plain Dealer just prior to the All-Star game, wrote, " In the general excitement, the city of Cleveland is trying hard to forget its own troubles (otherwise known as the Cleveland Baseball Club). It has been declared a civic offense to mention the Indians at all during the next couple of days. You can mention Joe Vosmick and Mel Harder if you want to, because they belong to the All-Star squad, but everything else, including the standing of the club and result of the last series with Detroit, is verboten."
Looking through the Cleveland newspapers at the time, the city was bustling with activity to forget about the Indians lackluster season.
Vaudeville and radio star Bob Hope, who grew up in Cleveland, was performing at the Palace Theater, while popular newspaper columnist and humorist, Will Rogers, was lampooning the political climate in Washington at Keith’s 105th Theater, a venue near University Circle (on the east side of Cleveland). Rogers died tragically the following month in a plane crash in Alaska along with the plane’s pilot, famed American aviator, Wiley Post.
If you wanted to catch a movie the night before the All-Star game, you could plop yourself down to take in Shirley Temple in "Our Little Girl" or "Reckless," a 1935 American musical film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Jean Harlow, William Powell and Franchot Tone at a number of movie houses around town.
A day before the All-Star game, Babe Ruth, the “Sultan of Swat,” stormed into town like a hurricane. Ruth ended his professional playing career a month earlier (June 2) with the Boston Braves after 22 seasons, ten World Series and 715 home runs.
The former home run king reportedly took the morning train from New York into Cleveland. When he arrived, he played 27 holes of golf at a Country Club. He shot an 82.
The lobby of an unnamed Cleveland hotel was reportedly flooded with stars, including Eddie Collins, GM of the Boston Red Sox, Tris Speaker, Branch Rickey, vice president of the St Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox president, Tom. L. Yawkey, Thomas S. Shibe, president of the Philadelphia Athletics and Roger Hornsby who helped Mickey Cochrane manage the AL all-stars.
The temperature on game day was described as perfect for a baseball game with just a few non-threatening cloudy skies lurking over Cleveland Municipal Stadium on the shores of Lake Erie. Game time was scheduled for 1:30 in the afternoon with gates opening sharply at 10:00 a.m.
Just prior to the game, Babe Ruth, whose heroics had long since faded from a bygone generation, still remained a big attraction with the crowd. The Plain Dealer reported that a gaggle of photographers hovered over the Babe with cameras whirring with lightning speed as he took his seat along the first base line.
"For more than 10 minutes," Plain Dealer reporter Alan Silverman observed, "the photographers photographed, while Babe smoked a heavy black cigar, brushed dust off his brown sports coat, straightened his flannel trousers and talked to smartly-dressed, Mrs. Ruth."
Once known for wolfing down hot dogs in a blink of an eye, the Babe turned down the 15 cent hot dogs’ vendors were selling.
When players realized the Bambino was in the house, they immediately darted over to the first base line to shake his hand. The Babe’s presence, in fact, overshadowed the presence of Ohio Gov. Martin L. Davey, and Cleveland Mayor, Harry L. Davis. Film star, Joe E. Brown, who appeared in the motion picture "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935), reportedly stood on the field near Ruth's box for several minutes before anyone noticed him. Even the baseball commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, turned few heads; that is, until it was time for him to throw out the first pitch.
Game announcers were reportedly Jack Graney for CBS radio; and Tom Manning announcing for NBC radio.
The stadium was packed with 69,812 in attendance, though less than the 80,000 they originally expected. The gross receipts from the game totaled, $93, 692.80, with a government tax of $12,000. Billy Evans, business manager for the Cleveland Indians said that roughly $60,000 from the $93, 692.80 taken in for the game would be directed to the poor and needy throughout the city.
Frankie Frisch (St. Louis Cardinals) manager for the National League selected his own ace, Bill Walker of the Cardinals to the start the game. Player/manager Mickey Cochrane, skipper for the Detroit Tigers, went with Lefty Gomez (New York Yankees) to take the hill for the Junior Circuit.
The 1935 All-Star game was over before it ever really began when the AL delivered an early round KO.
In the bottom of the first frame with Lou Gehrig stationed on first, third sacker Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia Athletics) with a 3-2 count, drove a curve ball from the NL southpaw deep into the left-field stands, putting the AL on top, 2-0. The AL tagged on another run in the second inning when catcher Rollie Hemsley (St. Louis Browns) tripled off the wall, later scoring on Joe Cronin’s (Boston Red Sox) sac fly.
The NL's only run came in the 4th inning, when the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Arky Vaughan slashed a double to right. New York Giants Bill Terry first baseman Bill Terry slapped a hard single to center field, scoring Vaughan for the NL's first and only run of the game.
With two quick outs in the bottom of the 5th, Cleveland Indians left-fielder Joe Vosmik slapped a single to left field. Tigers second baseman Charlie Gehringer then bounced a single past Chicago Cubs second baseman Billy Herman, moving Vosmik to third. Gehrig walked to load the bases. Foxx stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, ready to inflict some heavy damage. The Athletics power hitter laced a ball back through the pitcher's box; New York Giants pitcher Hal Schumacher couldn't handle the hard smash, only managing to deflect it, allowing a run to score with the bases still loaded. Philadelphia Athletics left-fielder Bob Johnson struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jimmie Foxx, “The Beast,” was responsible for three of the AL’s four runs in their 4-1 win over the NL. The convincing win gave the AL their third consecutive win since the mid-season classic was first launched in 1933.
Unusual by today’s standards, AL skipper, Mickey Cochrane, only used two pitchers. Lefty Gomez pitched through six innings. He then passed the baton to Cleveland Indians ace, Mel Harder, who only gave up one hit (a double by Jimmie Walker) in three innings of work. Gomez and Harder combined for a four hitter.
Despite Lou Gehrig going hitless, he registered the loudest out of the game.
In the bottom of the 7th, the "Iron Horse “drove a ball to deep center field in front of the bleachers at the 450 ft mark. Jo-Jo Moore (New York Giants) who entered the game as a reserve outfielder, managed to chase the ball down in a dead sprint. Many thought if the game had been played at the Indians other home, League Park (66th and Lexington), Gehrig’s long drive would have most certainly cleared the fence.
Though the 1935 All-Star game didn’t have as much fireworks as many had anticipated, the real fireworks were actually ignited in the days after the game by newspaper columnists.
One of the loudest grumblings about the game was the lack of players Mickey Cochrane used for the game. The Tigers skipper used only 13 of the 20 players on the roster. He never used Rick Ferrell, Boston Red Sox catcher or Buddy Myer (Washington Senators) at second base. Cochrane elected to keep his own second baseman, Charlie Gehringer, for the entire game.
Many columnists protested that fans deserved the chance to see a vast majority of all-stars on the field even for an inning or two.
Cochrane's motives were also called into question when he decided not to use his own pitcher, Schoolboy Rowe, in the game. Many believed the Detroit manager wanted to keep Rowe's arm fresh for an important upcoming east coast trip once the season resumed.
Frankie Frisch, by comparison, used 18 of the 20 players on his roster. Even when he found his team behind, the NL manager inserted reserves, if only to let fans see some of their favorites. Dizzy Dean (St. Louis Cardinals), for example, even though pitching six innings the following day was inserted late in the game.
Other than having Mel Harder relieving Lefty Gomez, the only changes Cochrane made was in the last inning when he removed left-fielder Bob Johnson and replaced him with Ben Chapman of the Yankees. And Doc Cramer (Philadelphia Athletics) replaced Al Simmons (Chicago White Sox) in the outfield.
By leaving the decision of selecting the roster to the managers, columnists roared, it meant fans were deprived of seeing the likes of Hank Greenberg (Tigers), Ted Lyons (White Sox), Cy Blanton, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, Travis Jackson, shortstop for the New York Giants, and Pie Traynor, third sacker for the Pittsburgh Pirates, among others.
According to a number of columnists, managers were thinking strictly of the best players who would perform “best under stress”, not giving much thought to fan favorites.
A nagging issue with the All-Star game was that a number of managers didn’t like the mid-season game at all. They felt It interrupted with the general flow of the season and placed an extra traveling burden on a number of teams.
Stuart Bell, Cleveland Press columnist, slammed the managers for not embracing the All-Star game with more gusto.
“The game [All-Star game] is one of the few constructive moves baseball has made in many years. Managers and players ought to be sold on it.” “And fan appeal,” Bell wrote, “should come ahead of any desire to win out league pride.”
In the weeks following the 1935 All-Star game, there was a chorus of protests from team owners, arguing that the All-Star game should be abandoned altogether. The owners were reportedly dissatisfied with the share of the gate receipts they were receiving.
The owners decided to hold off deciding the fate of the All-Star game until their annual December meetings.
One small footnote about the 1935 All-Star game. Through 2018, pitcher Lefty Gomez holds the record for most wins in an All-Star game: 3 (1933, 1935, 1937).
And the six innings pitched by Gomez during the 1935 All-Star game still stands as a major league record for an All-Star game.
–Bill Lucey
November 7, 2018
Great details, Bill. I can only imagine the furor if an All-Star manager only played 13 of 20 players today ...
Posted by: Dave Hyde | 11/08/2018 at 05:54 AM