With this baseball season's All-Star Game scheduled to be played at Angel Stadium July 13, the memory wheels are set in motion recalling the first Mid-Summer Classic held at the Angels' ballpark.
It was 1967, the year that the Angels moved to Orange County from Los Angeles after ending their less-than-harmonious role as tenants of the Dodgers. The Angels played five years at Dodger Stadium before moving down the interstate to their own stadium to become neighbors of Disneyland.
Three records still hold up from that All-Star fest, which was won by the National League, 2-1. First, it is still the longest game in history, 15 innings, and both teams didn't run out of players. The second is that all the runs were scored on home runs. The winner was a result of a round-tripper over the left-field wall by Cincinnati's Tony Perez, which got him the game's Most Valuable Player award. Perez hit his Big Fly off of the A's Catfish Hunter. Earlier, Dick Allen of the Phillies hit a solo shot off the Twins' Dean Chance in the second inning, who was American League's starter and who also had once pitched for the Angels. In the sixth inning, Brooks Robinson of the Orioles tied the game with a homer off Ferguson Jenkins of the Cubs.
The third record belongs to the pitchers. Twelve hurlers had at least one strikeout, a total mark of 30 for the game.
The National League's starting nine included Henry Aaron of the Atlanta Braves and three Pittsburgh Pirates--Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski and Gene Alley, who was the game's opening shortstop. Dodgers Manager Joe Torre, who played for the Braves, was the starting catcher, and then-Dodgers Manager Walter Alston was a coach.
On the American League's squad, Mickey Mantle was a reserve first baseman and Hank Bauer was the AL manager.
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