1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E National League 0 0 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 7 10 0 American League 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0
Date	July 24, 1973[1][2]
Venue	Royals Stadium[1][2]
City	Kansas City, Missouri
Managers	Sparky Anderson[3] (CIN) Dick Williams[3] (OAK)
MVP	Bobby Bonds[1][2] (SF)
Attendance	40,849[1][2]
Ceremonial first pitch	Lefty Gomez,Bill Hallahan andEwing Kauffman
Television	NBC
TV announcers	Curt Gowdy andTony Kubek
Radio	NBC
Radio announcers	Jim Simpson andMaury Wills
← 1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game 1974 →

The1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 44th midseason exhibition between theall-stars of theAmerican League (AL) and theNational League (NL), the two leagues comprisingMajor League Baseball. The game was played on July 24, 1973, atRoyals Stadium inKansas City, Missouri, home of theKansas City Royals of the American League.^[1] The game resulted in a 7–1 victory for the NL.^[1]

Royals Stadium had not even been open for four months when it hosted this, its first All-Star Game. The game had been hosted in Kansas City once before (1960) when theKansas City Athletics had been the host team at Kansas City'sMunicipal Stadium. After this game was played, the Royals did not host another All-Star Game until they were awarded the2012 All-Star Game.

Arrowhead Stadium, which shares the same parking lot as part of the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex, hosted the1974 Pro Bowl about six months after this game.

This game marked the 40th anniversary year of thefirst All-Star Game in 1933. As a part of that recognition, some of the surviving stars from that first game, includingDick Bartell,Joe Cronin,Jimmie Dykes,Charlie Gehringer,Lefty Gomez,Lefty Grove,Bill Hallahan, andCarl Hubbell were in attendance.^[2]

The National League roster included 11 futureHall of Fame players and coaches, denoted initalics.^[2][4]

The American League roster included 12 futureHall of Fame players and coaches, denoted initalics.^[2][4]

While the starters were elected by the fans, the batting orders and starting pitchers were selected by the managers.^[2]

Scoring began in the bottom of the second inning, with Rick Wise in his second and final inning of pitching for the NL. Reggie Jackson led off with adouble, and came home when the next batter, Amos Otis,singled.^[1][6] This would be the beginning and end of scoring for the American League.

The National League wasted no time coming back, taking advantage of new pitcher, Bert Blyleven, in the top of the third inning. Darrell Evans,pinch hitting for Rick Wise,walked, and was forced out at second base when Pete Rose hit into afielder's choice. Joe Morgan walked. César Cedeño's single scored Rose, and sent Morgan to third base. Hank Aaron singled to Murcer who threw out Cedeño at third, but not before Morgan had scored to give the NL a 2–1 lead.^[6]

The NL added a single run in the top of the fourth inning, as Johnny Bench, the first hitter ALrelief pitcher Bill Singer faced, hit a lead offhome run.^[1][6]

In the top of the fifth inning, the NL scoring continued off of Bill Singer. Joe Morgan led off with a double. Three hitters later, with two outs, Bobby Bonds hit a two-run home run, bringing the score to 5–1.^[6]

In the top of the sixth inning, Nolan Ryan came in to pitch in relief, though the outcome was virtually identical to the previous inning. Ron Santo led off with a walk. Two batters later with one out, Willie Davis, pinch hitting for the pitcher, Don Sutton, hit a two-run home run to extend the NL lead to 7–1, and closing out scoring for the game.^[6]

Rick Wise was credited with thewin. Bert Blyleven was credited with theloss. Jim Brewer was credited with thesave.^[5]

This was the 24th and final All-Star Game appearance for Willie Mays. Mays appeared in every game from1954 to 1973.^[7] Only Hank Aaron andStan Musial have played in as many All-Star Games as Mays.^[8]

Jim Spencer became the first member of theTexas Rangers to appear in an All-Star Game. The Rangers were playing their second season inArlington, Texas after moving from Washington, D.C., where they were the second incarnation of the Washington Senators from 1961 to 1971.Toby Harrah, Texas' lone representative in the1972 game, was injured.

Catfish Hunter was removed from the game in the second inning after Billy Williams hit aline drive that hit Hunter's right hand, breaking his thumb.^[5] He missed two weeks of the regular season.^[9][10]

This All-Star Game saw 54 players (28 for the NL and 26 for the AL) enter the game. This became a new All-Star Game record for participating players.^[2]

Buddy Bell became the second son of a former All-Star (Gus Bell) to appear in an All-Star Game.^[11]

In total, there were 19 future hall of famers involved with the game. The non-players involved in the 1973 All-Star Game that have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame are Sparky Anderson, Dick Williams, Whitey Herzog, and Nestor Chylak.

As of 2020, Royals Stadium is the last facility to host the MLB All-Star Game in its first season of operation.Cincinnati'sRiverfront Stadium hosted the1970 game 12 days after it opened, andSt. Louis'Busch Memorial Stadium opened two months prior to the1966 game.Pittsburgh'sThree Rivers Stadium, which opened two weeks after Riverfront, hosted the1974 game. Royals Stadium was scheduled to open for the 1972 season, but labor strife and bad weather caused long delays, forcing the Royals to spend 1972 atMunicipal Stadium.

• 1973 All-Star Game Summary @ baseball-almanac.com
• 1973 All-Star Game Summary @ Baseball-Reference.com
• 1973 All-Star Game box score
• 1973 All-Star Game play-by-play

• 1973 Major League Baseball season
• Major League Baseball All-Star Game
• 1970s in Kansas City, Missouri
• 1973 in sports in Missouri
• July 1973 sports events in the United States
• Baseball competitions in Kansas City, Missouri

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from November 2013