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The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroads
Acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan brilliantly renders a snapshot of America struggling to find its footing amid the ravages of the Great Depression, told through the story of the first all-star baseball game in Major League history
In July of 1933, America was at or near the lowest point in its history. It was revived, in part, by a World’s Fair staged in the city of Chicago and the baseball game that became the centerpiece of it.
Franklin Roosevelt had been inaugurated president four months earlier, at virtually the same moment Adolph Hitler became chancellor of Germany. The world and the country seemed to be at a tipping point. With whispers of the danger gathering in Europe just beginning to cross the Atlantic, American cities were filled with cardboard and tar paper shantytowns called “Hoovervilles.” Tens of thousands of young men took to riding the rails as a way of life while their younger siblings stood with their parents in breadlines. The state of America was so bleak that even the country’s national pastime, baseball, was suffering a loss of fans and revenue that threatened its continued existence.
An attempted assassination of Franklin Roosevelt that resulted in the death of Chicago’s mayor triggered a series of events that led, almost miraculously, to the idea that a contest pitting baseball’s greatest stars against one another might revive the sport, the city and the United States itself. In a moment that lifted the spirits of the whole country, Babe Ruth, on his last legs as a player, would rise to the occasion as the star of this historic contest.
The First All-Star Game is the story of baseball’s centrality in American history, and of a game that was expected to be a singular event but has been held annually for almost a century. But it is also the story of America in the early years of the Great Depression, told through a cast of characters that features Babe Ruth and Franklin Roosevelt, but includes as well Al Capone, Charles Lindbergh, Sally Rand, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde, and all of the legendary players and managers who took part in what was called The Game of the Century.
In July of 1933, America was at or near the lowest point in its history. It was revived, in part, by a World’s Fair staged in the city of Chicago and the baseball game that became the centerpiece of it.
Franklin Roosevelt had been inaugurated president four months earlier, at virtually the same moment Adolph Hitler became chancellor of Germany. The world and the country seemed to be at a tipping point. With whispers of the danger gathering in Europe just beginning to cross the Atlantic, American cities were filled with cardboard and tar paper shantytowns called “Hoovervilles.” Tens of thousands of young men took to riding the rails as a way of life while their younger siblings stood with their parents in breadlines. The state of America was so bleak that even the country’s national pastime, baseball, was suffering a loss of fans and revenue that threatened its continued existence.
An attempted assassination of Franklin Roosevelt that resulted in the death of Chicago’s mayor triggered a series of events that led, almost miraculously, to the idea that a contest pitting baseball’s greatest stars against one another might revive the sport, the city and the United States itself. In a moment that lifted the spirits of the whole country, Babe Ruth, on his last legs as a player, would rise to the occasion as the star of this historic contest.
The First All-Star Game is the story of baseball’s centrality in American history, and of a game that was expected to be a singular event but has been held annually for almost a century. But it is also the story of America in the early years of the Great Depression, told through a cast of characters that features Babe Ruth and Franklin Roosevelt, but includes as well Al Capone, Charles Lindbergh, Sally Rand, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde, and all of the legendary players and managers who took part in what was called The Game of the Century.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2026
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March 8, 2026
In the book The First All-Star Game, author Randall Sullivan provides an immense amount of detail to describe the background and events leading up to the first baseball all-star game held in 1934. Additionally, there is a lot of other history and detail about what is happening in Chicago, the city that hosted the game, the United States, and the world.
I knew very little about the first baseball all-star game before reading this book. I knew Babe Ruth hit the first home run in the game but not much else. The book is full of information about the business and logistical challenges in making the game a reality, as well as many of the baseball personalities of the era, including not just players, but managers and owners.
Providing so much detail is both a plus and a distraction. The plus is the reader gets far more context than the likely imagined while the distraction is that the description of the actual game doesn't take place until the end of the book. In a very long chapter, every inning is detailed including the players who didn't get into the game and the players who scored runs.
We learn about what happened to every player who played in this game; when they retired, what they did after baseball, and for many when and how they died. We learn about many great players who have been left out of the Baseball Hall of Fame (like Lefty O'Doul) and others who were added posthumously after their deaths.
The last chapter details the first Negro baseball all-star game, called the East-West game, that was played the next year in Chicago at Comiskey Park, the site of the 1934 game. This one chapter tries to pay homage to the Negro leagues, but the history is shortened and tends to focus on Satchel Paige, probably the premiere pitcher of that era who refused to play in the game because he was not chosen as one of the starting pitchers.
If you love baseball history and history in general you will enjoy reading this book. I found myself bogged down at times with all of the additional stories/context and wanted to read about the game. I'm also not really sure why a chapter on FDR is included as it added little since the President did not attend the game but he did encourage MLB owners to keep playing games during the war years as a distraction for Americans.
In terms of rating the book I give it 4/5 stars.
I want to thank NetGalley, the author Randall Sullivan, and Atlantic Press for the opportunity to review an ARC of this new book in exchange for an objective review.
I knew very little about the first baseball all-star game before reading this book. I knew Babe Ruth hit the first home run in the game but not much else. The book is full of information about the business and logistical challenges in making the game a reality, as well as many of the baseball personalities of the era, including not just players, but managers and owners.
Providing so much detail is both a plus and a distraction. The plus is the reader gets far more context than the likely imagined while the distraction is that the description of the actual game doesn't take place until the end of the book. In a very long chapter, every inning is detailed including the players who didn't get into the game and the players who scored runs.
We learn about what happened to every player who played in this game; when they retired, what they did after baseball, and for many when and how they died. We learn about many great players who have been left out of the Baseball Hall of Fame (like Lefty O'Doul) and others who were added posthumously after their deaths.
The last chapter details the first Negro baseball all-star game, called the East-West game, that was played the next year in Chicago at Comiskey Park, the site of the 1934 game. This one chapter tries to pay homage to the Negro leagues, but the history is shortened and tends to focus on Satchel Paige, probably the premiere pitcher of that era who refused to play in the game because he was not chosen as one of the starting pitchers.
If you love baseball history and history in general you will enjoy reading this book. I found myself bogged down at times with all of the additional stories/context and wanted to read about the game. I'm also not really sure why a chapter on FDR is included as it added little since the President did not attend the game but he did encourage MLB owners to keep playing games during the war years as a distraction for Americans.
In terms of rating the book I give it 4/5 stars.
I want to thank NetGalley, the author Randall Sullivan, and Atlantic Press for the opportunity to review an ARC of this new book in exchange for an objective review.
June 14, 2026
By 1933 the United States had arrived at a crossroad. The country was in the midst of the depression with unemployment at 25% and breadlines blocks long in major American cities like Chicago where despite Franklin Roosevelt’s implementing a New Deal people were growing desperate. Overseas Benito Mussolini embarked on his imperialist goals, Adolf Hitler consolidated power and opened Dachau, and Japan had seized parts of Manchuria two years earlier.
As the American people sought hope to overcome their economic troubles they elected Franklin D. Roosevelt as president to replace the growing hatred toward Herbert Hoover, a man who seemed to lack empathy for the masses. Two days before his inauguration Roosevelt survived an assassination attempt while visiting Miami, however the man who shared his automobile, the mayor of Chicago was killed. As things seemed to go from bad to worse even one of America’s opportunities for escapism, baseball was also experiencing a severe downturn.
As the situation in the United States grew increasingly dire a newspaperman developed the idea of playing a baseball game with the best players competing against each other as part of Chicago World’s Fair. It would offer people something to take their minds off their troubles, even if it was only a few hours. In THE FIRST ALLSTAR GAME: BABE RUTH, FDR, AND AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS, historian Randall Sullivan explores how the game came about as he weaves together the storied characters and personalities that dominated the news cycle at the time. Sullivan’s monograph is a blend of economic, social, and political history with baseball’s development up to 1933. The author blends the most important aspects of the depression integrating the roles of important figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, John McGraw, Connie Mack, and of course Babe Ruth and a host of others.
Sullivan brings a sharp focus on the city of Chicago and how it navigated through the depression. The author astutely points out that Chicago had overcome a Depression before as the crash of 1873 which continued on and off into the 1890s with the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. The story begins with the introduction of the role of Franklin Roosevelt whose reforms were pushed through Congress zeroing in on the crisis in banking, unemployment, farm foreclosures, industrial production and labor. Next we are introduced to Arch Ward, a journalist for the conservative Chicago Tribune owned by Colonel Robert McCormack, who as a sportswriter and promoter came up with the idea of presenting an Allstar game. Lastly, we are introduced to Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a federal judge who became Commissioner of baseball following the 1919 Black Sox scandal as eight players on the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series against Cincinnati.
Sullivan’s monograph is deeply researched with wonderful vignettes concerning the major personalities of the period. The author carefully introduces each character by presenting a brief biographical sketch and integrating the lives he discusses with the economic and societal forces that dominated the period. Sullivan also explores a number of important aspects of his subject that are critical to his story but seem ancillary, but quite entertaining and important. One that comes to mind is the discussion of whether Babe Ruth was of “black” ancestry. In a chapter devoted to race the reader after learning all about Ruth’s life earlier in the book learns that Ruth was one of the few white ball players willing to play with blacks be it on barnstorming tours or other exhibition games. Sullivan discusses in detail the growth of negro baseball dating back to the 19th century introducing men like Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson and whether black players were equal in performance to those in the white major leagues. Later in his career, Ruth was castigated for his interactions with blacks especially by Commissioner Landis, who was a known racist who suspended Ruth for two months at the outset of the 1925 season.
Apart from t players, the careers of John McGraw and Connie Mack are exceptionally important to the development of baseball. Sullivan describes McGraw’s flawed personality, “will to win,” and overbearing personality all subsumed in an amazing career. Mack’s ownership of the Philadelphia Athletics provides a window into the economic impact of the depression and a championship baseball team that Mack had to repeatedly take apart selling his players to meet the bills and then reconstituting his team as a champion and taking it apart again. As we are exposed to other aspects of baseball history men like Ty Cobb, Jimmy Foxx, Lefty Grove, Lefty Gomez, Frankie Fritsch, Al Simmons, Lou Gehrig, Carl Hubbel, Bill Terry and Pepper Martin, Mickey Cochrane, Hack Wilson among those discussed are integrated into the larger story of the Allstar game and make for wonderful reading for any baseball historian or aficionado.
When you pick up the book and explore its title the reader gets the impression he or she is about to embark on a sports journey. However, Sullivan does an excellent job broadening his topic to create a panorama of the United States from the early twentieth century to 1933. Whether the author is discussing the economic greed and poor decision making that led to the depression, its impact on the economics of baseball, the desegregation of the sport, or the special impact on the American population whether dealing with the Dust Bowl or putting food on the table and locating shelter Sullivan portrays his topic vividly and insightfully.
If there is a criticism to be made it centers on Sullivan’s proclivity spending too much time on “social banditry” or “criminal anti-heroes” introducing Pretty Boy Floyd, Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, among others. I understand the societal element that made these personalities important, but it does not deserve the time the author devotes to it. Further, the discussion of the Black Sox scandal is too drawn out, but upon reflection I understand why Sullivan dug deeply into that aspect of the sport since a number of players including Ty Cobb and others bet heavily on games during the period.
As for the game itself which took place on Thursday, July 7, 1933, before 49,000 excited fans at Comiskey Park, Lefty Grove came on in the seventh inning to toss three scoreless innings of relief and earn the save for the victorious American League, 4-2. Fittingly, and to the fans’ uncontained delight, the aging Ruth’s two-run third-inning home run provided the victory margin.
Despite a few flaws, Sullivan has written an incredibly interesting book, but whether you come at it from the perspective of a baseball fan, an American history buff, or simply someone looking for an enjoyable, but at the same time thought provoking read, Randall Sullivan’s effort is a book well worth reading.
As the American people sought hope to overcome their economic troubles they elected Franklin D. Roosevelt as president to replace the growing hatred toward Herbert Hoover, a man who seemed to lack empathy for the masses. Two days before his inauguration Roosevelt survived an assassination attempt while visiting Miami, however the man who shared his automobile, the mayor of Chicago was killed. As things seemed to go from bad to worse even one of America’s opportunities for escapism, baseball was also experiencing a severe downturn.
As the situation in the United States grew increasingly dire a newspaperman developed the idea of playing a baseball game with the best players competing against each other as part of Chicago World’s Fair. It would offer people something to take their minds off their troubles, even if it was only a few hours. In THE FIRST ALLSTAR GAME: BABE RUTH, FDR, AND AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS, historian Randall Sullivan explores how the game came about as he weaves together the storied characters and personalities that dominated the news cycle at the time. Sullivan’s monograph is a blend of economic, social, and political history with baseball’s development up to 1933. The author blends the most important aspects of the depression integrating the roles of important figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, John McGraw, Connie Mack, and of course Babe Ruth and a host of others.
Sullivan brings a sharp focus on the city of Chicago and how it navigated through the depression. The author astutely points out that Chicago had overcome a Depression before as the crash of 1873 which continued on and off into the 1890s with the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. The story begins with the introduction of the role of Franklin Roosevelt whose reforms were pushed through Congress zeroing in on the crisis in banking, unemployment, farm foreclosures, industrial production and labor. Next we are introduced to Arch Ward, a journalist for the conservative Chicago Tribune owned by Colonel Robert McCormack, who as a sportswriter and promoter came up with the idea of presenting an Allstar game. Lastly, we are introduced to Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a federal judge who became Commissioner of baseball following the 1919 Black Sox scandal as eight players on the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series against Cincinnati.
Sullivan’s monograph is deeply researched with wonderful vignettes concerning the major personalities of the period. The author carefully introduces each character by presenting a brief biographical sketch and integrating the lives he discusses with the economic and societal forces that dominated the period. Sullivan also explores a number of important aspects of his subject that are critical to his story but seem ancillary, but quite entertaining and important. One that comes to mind is the discussion of whether Babe Ruth was of “black” ancestry. In a chapter devoted to race the reader after learning all about Ruth’s life earlier in the book learns that Ruth was one of the few white ball players willing to play with blacks be it on barnstorming tours or other exhibition games. Sullivan discusses in detail the growth of negro baseball dating back to the 19th century introducing men like Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson and whether black players were equal in performance to those in the white major leagues. Later in his career, Ruth was castigated for his interactions with blacks especially by Commissioner Landis, who was a known racist who suspended Ruth for two months at the outset of the 1925 season.
Apart from t players, the careers of John McGraw and Connie Mack are exceptionally important to the development of baseball. Sullivan describes McGraw’s flawed personality, “will to win,” and overbearing personality all subsumed in an amazing career. Mack’s ownership of the Philadelphia Athletics provides a window into the economic impact of the depression and a championship baseball team that Mack had to repeatedly take apart selling his players to meet the bills and then reconstituting his team as a champion and taking it apart again. As we are exposed to other aspects of baseball history men like Ty Cobb, Jimmy Foxx, Lefty Grove, Lefty Gomez, Frankie Fritsch, Al Simmons, Lou Gehrig, Carl Hubbel, Bill Terry and Pepper Martin, Mickey Cochrane, Hack Wilson among those discussed are integrated into the larger story of the Allstar game and make for wonderful reading for any baseball historian or aficionado.
When you pick up the book and explore its title the reader gets the impression he or she is about to embark on a sports journey. However, Sullivan does an excellent job broadening his topic to create a panorama of the United States from the early twentieth century to 1933. Whether the author is discussing the economic greed and poor decision making that led to the depression, its impact on the economics of baseball, the desegregation of the sport, or the special impact on the American population whether dealing with the Dust Bowl or putting food on the table and locating shelter Sullivan portrays his topic vividly and insightfully.
If there is a criticism to be made it centers on Sullivan’s proclivity spending too much time on “social banditry” or “criminal anti-heroes” introducing Pretty Boy Floyd, Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, among others. I understand the societal element that made these personalities important, but it does not deserve the time the author devotes to it. Further, the discussion of the Black Sox scandal is too drawn out, but upon reflection I understand why Sullivan dug deeply into that aspect of the sport since a number of players including Ty Cobb and others bet heavily on games during the period.
As for the game itself which took place on Thursday, July 7, 1933, before 49,000 excited fans at Comiskey Park, Lefty Grove came on in the seventh inning to toss three scoreless innings of relief and earn the save for the victorious American League, 4-2. Fittingly, and to the fans’ uncontained delight, the aging Ruth’s two-run third-inning home run provided the victory margin.
Despite a few flaws, Sullivan has written an incredibly interesting book, but whether you come at it from the perspective of a baseball fan, an American history buff, or simply someone looking for an enjoyable, but at the same time thought provoking read, Randall Sullivan’s effort is a book well worth reading.
June 6, 2026
4 1/2 Stars
The fact that the American League beat the National League in the very first Major League Baseball All-Star game in 1933 was secondary to the importance of the game and what it helped to do for country on the precipice of getting back to normal less than a decade before we would be thrust into a World War. The final score of 4-2 was secondary to all of this and is at the heart of the latest release from Randall Sullivan, THE FIRST ALL-STAR GAME – Babe Ruth, FDR, and America at the Crossroads.
In 1933, American was still reeling from the Stock Market crash of 1929 and the great depression that followed. The country needed a change and made their voice clear at the ballots when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to the first of his record four terms as President. He succeeded Herbert Hoover, whose placement of the country into Prohibition later followed by the depression was a blow no Presidency could survive. The first thing FDR did after being elected was to repeal the Volstead Act, officially ending Prohibition and then through his mandated banking holidays and national fireside chats, focused on getting Americans back to work.
However, the MLB All-Star Game that would mark the summer of 1933 might never have occurred had an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe Zangara not tried to assassinate the newly elected President. He was caught and eventually put to death, but the people and other politicians rallied around FDR and with that came the idea of a national celebration scheduled for July 6th just two days after our nation’s birthday. Commiskey Park in Chicago would be the site of the very first MLB All-Star Game. It was also a sort of recovery for that park, which was most famous for the 1919 Black Sox scandal when the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series under illicit funds from gangster Arnold Rothstein. What better way for both Chicago and the country to heal then to witness a match-up of oodles of future Hall Of Famers and the biggest baseball heroes in the world at that time.
The initial idea for the game sprang from the mind of Chicago Tribune Sports Editor Arch Ward, who labeled it the Game Of the Century. Earlier that year, Chicago hosted the World’s Fair which, among other things, featured a protest by thousands of Jewish Americans over the fact that a blimp sent by German Chancellor Adolf Hiter was to be flown over the grounds just months following the first of several Concentration Camp marches in Dachau, Poland --- Hitler’s effort to wipe out that entire race of people. How ironic that FDR would pay little to no attention about this due to his focus on fixing America and it would take an attack on U.S. soil in 1941 by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor that would impel us into WWII.
The All-Star Game was a thing of beauty, with fans being able to vote nationally for their favorite players in a game that would pit Hall Of Fame Managers Connie Mack and John McGraw against each other. More importantly, it would allow fans to see Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Gehringer, Pie and Lloyd Waner, Pie Traynor, Bill Terry, Carl Hubbell, and dozens of other huge names. The biggest star on the planet, Babe Ruth, took center stage and appropriately hit the very first home run in All-Star Game history.
Sullivan has a knack for placing the reader right there, directly in the middle of all that was occurring in this nation in the year 1933. He covers the historical and political landscape with great aplomb and brings to life many of the participants in that game to fans who were not around to witness that momentous event. For me, the most touching part of the book was the appearance of what Sullivan referred to as “the Second All-Star Game,” the one that took place with the best of the Negro League Players. That game featured players like Rube Foster, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Oscar Charleston --- many of these players and others never getting the opportunity to play in the MLB due to segregation. THE FIRST ALL-STAR GAME is not just sports history, but American history and Randall Sullivan is more than up to the challenge to carry that banner forward for readers to relish.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
The fact that the American League beat the National League in the very first Major League Baseball All-Star game in 1933 was secondary to the importance of the game and what it helped to do for country on the precipice of getting back to normal less than a decade before we would be thrust into a World War. The final score of 4-2 was secondary to all of this and is at the heart of the latest release from Randall Sullivan, THE FIRST ALL-STAR GAME – Babe Ruth, FDR, and America at the Crossroads.
In 1933, American was still reeling from the Stock Market crash of 1929 and the great depression that followed. The country needed a change and made their voice clear at the ballots when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to the first of his record four terms as President. He succeeded Herbert Hoover, whose placement of the country into Prohibition later followed by the depression was a blow no Presidency could survive. The first thing FDR did after being elected was to repeal the Volstead Act, officially ending Prohibition and then through his mandated banking holidays and national fireside chats, focused on getting Americans back to work.
However, the MLB All-Star Game that would mark the summer of 1933 might never have occurred had an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe Zangara not tried to assassinate the newly elected President. He was caught and eventually put to death, but the people and other politicians rallied around FDR and with that came the idea of a national celebration scheduled for July 6th just two days after our nation’s birthday. Commiskey Park in Chicago would be the site of the very first MLB All-Star Game. It was also a sort of recovery for that park, which was most famous for the 1919 Black Sox scandal when the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series under illicit funds from gangster Arnold Rothstein. What better way for both Chicago and the country to heal then to witness a match-up of oodles of future Hall Of Famers and the biggest baseball heroes in the world at that time.
The initial idea for the game sprang from the mind of Chicago Tribune Sports Editor Arch Ward, who labeled it the Game Of the Century. Earlier that year, Chicago hosted the World’s Fair which, among other things, featured a protest by thousands of Jewish Americans over the fact that a blimp sent by German Chancellor Adolf Hiter was to be flown over the grounds just months following the first of several Concentration Camp marches in Dachau, Poland --- Hitler’s effort to wipe out that entire race of people. How ironic that FDR would pay little to no attention about this due to his focus on fixing America and it would take an attack on U.S. soil in 1941 by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor that would impel us into WWII.
The All-Star Game was a thing of beauty, with fans being able to vote nationally for their favorite players in a game that would pit Hall Of Fame Managers Connie Mack and John McGraw against each other. More importantly, it would allow fans to see Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Gehringer, Pie and Lloyd Waner, Pie Traynor, Bill Terry, Carl Hubbell, and dozens of other huge names. The biggest star on the planet, Babe Ruth, took center stage and appropriately hit the very first home run in All-Star Game history.
Sullivan has a knack for placing the reader right there, directly in the middle of all that was occurring in this nation in the year 1933. He covers the historical and political landscape with great aplomb and brings to life many of the participants in that game to fans who were not around to witness that momentous event. For me, the most touching part of the book was the appearance of what Sullivan referred to as “the Second All-Star Game,” the one that took place with the best of the Negro League Players. That game featured players like Rube Foster, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Oscar Charleston --- many of these players and others never getting the opportunity to play in the MLB due to segregation. THE FIRST ALL-STAR GAME is not just sports history, but American history and Randall Sullivan is more than up to the challenge to carry that banner forward for readers to relish.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐⭐ A Baseball Book That Takes Forever to Reach the Baseball
I wanted to enjoy The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroads far more than I actually did. I received this as an ARC, and as someone who loves baseball and enjoys history from this era, the premise immediately appealed to me. The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game during the Great Depression sounds like it should be fascinating. Baseball, Babe Ruth, FDR, national morale, and America at a historical crossroads should have produced an engaging and lively sports history. Unfortunately, this book turns what should have been an exciting subject into an exhausting reading experience. I am begrudgingly giving it two stars, mainly because the research is clearly thorough.
To the author’s credit, Randall Sullivan does provide a great deal of historical context. There is no question that he researched the period carefully, and readers who want a broad picture of America during the Great Depression will find plenty of detail here. The book does eventually support its central idea that the first All-Star Game served as a morale-boosting event during a difficult national moment. I can accept that argument, at least in part. The game clearly mattered, and baseball did offer many Americans a form of escape, pride, and shared cultural excitement. The problem is that the book buries that point under far too much material.
The biggest issue is pacing. This is nearly 500 pages, and the actual All-Star Game does not really arrive until around the 75% mark. By that point, I was already exhausted. The book spends enormous amounts of time on Babe Ruth, Chicago’s crime and political culture, the baseball commissioner, the broader Depression-era context, and nearly every surrounding historical detail imaginable. The author even spends an entire chapter on the selection of the All-Star teams and another chapter on replacements and exclusions. I love baseball, and I usually enjoy historical detail, but this was simply too much. Some of that background is relevant, but the sheer volume of it makes the book feel dense, slow, and strangely lifeless. A baseball book should not make the reader feel as though they are waiting forever for the baseball to begin. At times, I was literally getting sleepy while reading.
That is what frustrated me most. The premise has real potential, and the author may have had a valid historical argument, but the storytelling drained almost all of the energy from the subject. The people involved, including Babe Ruth and other major figures, should have felt vivid and memorable. Instead, they often felt buried beneath the endless historical setup. This felt less like a compelling baseball history and more like a long Great Depression history that eventually gets around to baseball. I would not recommend this to casual baseball fans looking for an engaging sports history. Only readers with a very strong interest in dense Depression-era context may have more patience for it than I did.
Thank you to NetGalley, author Randall Sullivan, and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#TheFirstAllStarGame #NetGalley
I wanted to enjoy The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroads far more than I actually did. I received this as an ARC, and as someone who loves baseball and enjoys history from this era, the premise immediately appealed to me. The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game during the Great Depression sounds like it should be fascinating. Baseball, Babe Ruth, FDR, national morale, and America at a historical crossroads should have produced an engaging and lively sports history. Unfortunately, this book turns what should have been an exciting subject into an exhausting reading experience. I am begrudgingly giving it two stars, mainly because the research is clearly thorough.
To the author’s credit, Randall Sullivan does provide a great deal of historical context. There is no question that he researched the period carefully, and readers who want a broad picture of America during the Great Depression will find plenty of detail here. The book does eventually support its central idea that the first All-Star Game served as a morale-boosting event during a difficult national moment. I can accept that argument, at least in part. The game clearly mattered, and baseball did offer many Americans a form of escape, pride, and shared cultural excitement. The problem is that the book buries that point under far too much material.
The biggest issue is pacing. This is nearly 500 pages, and the actual All-Star Game does not really arrive until around the 75% mark. By that point, I was already exhausted. The book spends enormous amounts of time on Babe Ruth, Chicago’s crime and political culture, the baseball commissioner, the broader Depression-era context, and nearly every surrounding historical detail imaginable. The author even spends an entire chapter on the selection of the All-Star teams and another chapter on replacements and exclusions. I love baseball, and I usually enjoy historical detail, but this was simply too much. Some of that background is relevant, but the sheer volume of it makes the book feel dense, slow, and strangely lifeless. A baseball book should not make the reader feel as though they are waiting forever for the baseball to begin. At times, I was literally getting sleepy while reading.
That is what frustrated me most. The premise has real potential, and the author may have had a valid historical argument, but the storytelling drained almost all of the energy from the subject. The people involved, including Babe Ruth and other major figures, should have felt vivid and memorable. Instead, they often felt buried beneath the endless historical setup. This felt less like a compelling baseball history and more like a long Great Depression history that eventually gets around to baseball. I would not recommend this to casual baseball fans looking for an engaging sports history. Only readers with a very strong interest in dense Depression-era context may have more patience for it than I did.
Thank you to NetGalley, author Randall Sullivan, and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#TheFirstAllStarGame #NetGalley
June 7, 2026
The fact that the American League beat the National League 4-2 in Major League Baseball’s first All-Star Game was secondary to the very existence of the game itself and what it helped do for a country on the precipice of getting back to normal less than a decade before they would be thrust into another world war. That’s the focus of Randall Sullivan’s superb book, THE FIRST ALL-STAR GAME.
In 1933, America was still reeling from the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed. The country needed a change, and the people made their voices clear at the ballot box when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to the first of his record four terms as President. As soon as he took office, FDR repealed the Volstead Act, which officially ended Prohibition. Then, through his mandated banking holidays and fireside chats, he turned his attention to getting Americans back to work.
The All-Star Game might never have taken place if an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe Zangara had not attempted to assassinate the newly elected President. He was caught and eventually put to death, but the general public and politicians rallied around FDR, which eventually led to a national celebration scheduled for July 6th. Chicago's Comiskey Park would be the site of the inaugural All-Star Game. It also was a sort of recovery for that stadium, which was most famous for the Black Sox Scandal when the Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series under illicit funds from gangster Arnold Rothstein.
What better way for both Chicago and the country to heal than to witness a match-up of oodles of future Hall of Famers and the biggest names in baseball?
The initial idea for the All-Star Game sprang from the mind of the Chicago Tribune’s sports editor, Arch Ward, who called it the Game of the Century. It allowed fans to see Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Gehringer, Paul and Lloyd Waner, Pie Traynor, Bill Terry, Carl Hubbell, and dozens of other players. The legendary Babe Ruth took center stage and appropriately hit the first home run in All-Star Game history.
Sullivan has a knack for placing us right there, directly in the middle of all that was occurring in the nation at that time. He covers the historical and political landscape with great aplomb and brings to life many of the game’s participants to those of us who were not around to witness such a momentous occasion.
For me, the most touching part of the book is what Sullivan refers to as the Second All-Star Game, the one that took place with the best of the Negro League players, including Rube Foster, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Oscar Charleston. Many of these athletes never got the opportunity to play in the major leagues due to segregation.
THE FIRST ALL-STAR GAME is not just sports history, but American history, and Randall Sullivan is more than up to the challenge of carrying that banner forward for readers to relish.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
In 1933, America was still reeling from the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed. The country needed a change, and the people made their voices clear at the ballot box when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to the first of his record four terms as President. As soon as he took office, FDR repealed the Volstead Act, which officially ended Prohibition. Then, through his mandated banking holidays and fireside chats, he turned his attention to getting Americans back to work.
The All-Star Game might never have taken place if an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe Zangara had not attempted to assassinate the newly elected President. He was caught and eventually put to death, but the general public and politicians rallied around FDR, which eventually led to a national celebration scheduled for July 6th. Chicago's Comiskey Park would be the site of the inaugural All-Star Game. It also was a sort of recovery for that stadium, which was most famous for the Black Sox Scandal when the Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series under illicit funds from gangster Arnold Rothstein.
What better way for both Chicago and the country to heal than to witness a match-up of oodles of future Hall of Famers and the biggest names in baseball?
The initial idea for the All-Star Game sprang from the mind of the Chicago Tribune’s sports editor, Arch Ward, who called it the Game of the Century. It allowed fans to see Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Gehringer, Paul and Lloyd Waner, Pie Traynor, Bill Terry, Carl Hubbell, and dozens of other players. The legendary Babe Ruth took center stage and appropriately hit the first home run in All-Star Game history.
Sullivan has a knack for placing us right there, directly in the middle of all that was occurring in the nation at that time. He covers the historical and political landscape with great aplomb and brings to life many of the game’s participants to those of us who were not around to witness such a momentous occasion.
For me, the most touching part of the book is what Sullivan refers to as the Second All-Star Game, the one that took place with the best of the Negro League players, including Rube Foster, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Oscar Charleston. Many of these athletes never got the opportunity to play in the major leagues due to segregation.
THE FIRST ALL-STAR GAME is not just sports history, but American history, and Randall Sullivan is more than up to the challenge of carrying that banner forward for readers to relish.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In February, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Miami, Florida, weeks away from his first inauguration. The Mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, was injured and later died. So begins this tale of bouncing back from adversity. In Chicago, there was a palpable need to do something grand to heal from this tragedy. Fortunately, the city was already planning a world’s fair to rival the one decades earlier. The new mayor asked the Chicago Tribune to formulate a spectacular sports events. Sports editor Arch Ward considered several sports but settled on baseball for the “Game of the Century.” Up until then, American League and National League teams only played each other once a year in the World Series. To get this off the ground, Ward had to navigate the fragile egos of the league presidents. The iconic baseball commissioner, Kennesaw Mountain Landis was an easy sell however.
Ward went to work, publicizing the event nationwide and was rewarded with a mountain of votes. Fan votes were most important but the league presidents could have the final say. Ward had months to invent this event and bring it to reality. He took some heat for choosing Commiskey Park as the host stadium, but fielded this with the fact that it held more people. As the lineup took shape, Sullivan tells us the stories of each man on the field, as well as a few who should have made it. At first Ward worried that the game would h ave to include Babe Ruth, but the Bambino knew that this was a natural for him. The author almost loses his objectivity when writing about the 37 year old Mega Star. The managers were John McGraw, the fearsome and unlikeable manager of the New York Giants, and Connie Mack, manager of the Philadelphia Athletics.
The game itself was a nail biter, starting off as a pitcher’s dual, and ending with a hard won 4-2 American League victory. This was supposed to be a one of a kind event, but obviously the game was held in perpetuity. Meantime, Sullivan deals up a generous slice of US history in the thirties as Roosevelt struggles to get America back on its feet. A great find for history buffs and baseball fans.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Many baseball fans and historians know that the first baseball All-Star game was played in 1933 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, that the American League won that first game on a home run by Babe Ruth and that it was the brainchild of Chicago newspaper mogul Arch Ward. This book by Randall Sullivan gives a very in-depth look at how the game came about and some other historical background of the politics and economic depression of the United States at that time.
What strikes me most about this book and the excellent details that Sullivan includes is that he gives a well-rounded description of every player and manager on both teams. Even non-starters, players who did not appear in the game and others such as the umpires also are given their due. These are all in the chapters leading up to the game itself which is also covered in very good detail.
There is other baseball covered in the book, most notably excerpts about the All-Star games of the Negro Leagues as at this time, Major League Baseball still had its unwritten but very noticeable color line and no Black players were on any of the 16 teams.
While the other topics discussed by Sullivan do provide some good background, they are explained in the same level of detail as the All-Star game itself. That may make a reader distracted or question why there is so much detail about items like Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Great Depression or the history of the World’s Fair in Chicago, which was also taking place in Chicago at the time of the game. While there is relevance to the All-Star game for some of these, especially with the World’s Fair, there were times I was wondering if I was reading a history book or a baseball book.
Fortunately, there was enough of the latter that I knew it was a very good baseball book that is one for any reader who wants to learn more about the origins of the All-Star game.
I wish to thank Atlantic Monthly Press for providing a copy of the book via Netgalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
What strikes me most about this book and the excellent details that Sullivan includes is that he gives a well-rounded description of every player and manager on both teams. Even non-starters, players who did not appear in the game and others such as the umpires also are given their due. These are all in the chapters leading up to the game itself which is also covered in very good detail.
There is other baseball covered in the book, most notably excerpts about the All-Star games of the Negro Leagues as at this time, Major League Baseball still had its unwritten but very noticeable color line and no Black players were on any of the 16 teams.
While the other topics discussed by Sullivan do provide some good background, they are explained in the same level of detail as the All-Star game itself. That may make a reader distracted or question why there is so much detail about items like Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Great Depression or the history of the World’s Fair in Chicago, which was also taking place in Chicago at the time of the game. While there is relevance to the All-Star game for some of these, especially with the World’s Fair, there were times I was wondering if I was reading a history book or a baseball book.
Fortunately, there was enough of the latter that I knew it was a very good baseball book that is one for any reader who wants to learn more about the origins of the All-Star game.
I wish to thank Atlantic Monthly Press for providing a copy of the book via Netgalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Whole Lot Of History. Very Little Baseball. The biggest thing I can tell you about this book in a review is that if you're expecting a baseball tale - ie, a tale of the game itself... well, technically that is here... but it is less than 10% of the overall text, with another 10% being the bibliography. Meaning 80% of the volume of this book is anything *other than* the titular game.
Now, don't get me wrong here. Sullivan does a *phenomenal* job tracing the history of virtually everyone who had anything to do with the game... at least anyone in any "official capacity". So not the hot dog vendors walking the aisles, but damn near anyone remotely connected to anyone who set up the game or was on the field for any part of it.
As a history of America in the 1920s and 1930s, this works well. As a history of baseball up to and slightly beyond this point, it works well. Even as a biography of Babe Ruth, this book works well. Hell, to a slightly lesser extent, as a history of Lou Gehrig, this book works reasonably well.
The one thing this book does not do that well at all is, well, focus on the titular First All-Star Game itself, instead focusing on everything *around* said titular game. To the point that the game itself is damn near anticlimactic or even an actual after thought.
If you're coming to this book to read in detail about the game itself, I cannot stress enough how very disappointed you will be. But if you're coming to this book to learn about how the game came to be and, to a degree, what happened to everyone after... yes, this is absolutely that book, and Sullivan does this quite well indeed.
To the level that the only reason for the star deduction? The aforementioned 10% bibliography, when it needed to be at least 50% larger to meet my 15% minimum standard - and yes, in a book like this, it absolutely needs the extra documentation. Particularly as it actively refutes at least a few claims that have been circulating for nearly, if not more than, a century now.
Very much recommended.
Now, don't get me wrong here. Sullivan does a *phenomenal* job tracing the history of virtually everyone who had anything to do with the game... at least anyone in any "official capacity". So not the hot dog vendors walking the aisles, but damn near anyone remotely connected to anyone who set up the game or was on the field for any part of it.
As a history of America in the 1920s and 1930s, this works well. As a history of baseball up to and slightly beyond this point, it works well. Even as a biography of Babe Ruth, this book works well. Hell, to a slightly lesser extent, as a history of Lou Gehrig, this book works reasonably well.
The one thing this book does not do that well at all is, well, focus on the titular First All-Star Game itself, instead focusing on everything *around* said titular game. To the point that the game itself is damn near anticlimactic or even an actual after thought.
If you're coming to this book to read in detail about the game itself, I cannot stress enough how very disappointed you will be. But if you're coming to this book to learn about how the game came to be and, to a degree, what happened to everyone after... yes, this is absolutely that book, and Sullivan does this quite well indeed.
To the level that the only reason for the star deduction? The aforementioned 10% bibliography, when it needed to be at least 50% larger to meet my 15% minimum standard - and yes, in a book like this, it absolutely needs the extra documentation. Particularly as it actively refutes at least a few claims that have been circulating for nearly, if not more than, a century now.
Very much recommended.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The FIrst All Star Game
Randall Sullivan
Advanced Reader Copy from Net Galley. Thanks, Atlantic Monthly
1933 - 40 years since the Columbian Exposition World’s Fair (1893) in Chicago. With another world’s fair set to take place in Chicago, what better time to host “The Game of the Century.” The best players in the National League and the best players in the American League would square off to determine the superior league in Major League Baseball!
This book centers around one game on one day, July 6, 1933. The behind the scenes work and preparation that was needed to pull off this game, which had never before occurred, was immense. Randall Sullivan does a remarkable job pulling all of this information together and giving extraordinary detail and treatment to everyone involved. From the newspapermen collecting the all star ballots, the owners and managers, the backdrop of the Roaring 20s shifting into the Great Depression, and the players that would make up the rosters, emerges a contest between the leagues that would continue each summer up until the present with only 2 interruptions (WWII and COVID).
The star of the game and, really, of the whole United States at this time, was Babe Ruth. No one before him and very few after him would captivate the country in the way that he did with his big swings and towering home runs. Larger than life, in nearly every way possible, the Great Bambino did not disappoint in the first all star game, hitting a two run homer that would be the difference in the game.
Sullivan embarks on a story that touches on all facets of early baseball in the 20th century, giving background on each player, manager, and major league franchise. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a ton about, not only the first all star game, but also the world of baseball in the early 30s as the Great Depression raged in the United States. Sullivan crushed it with this book and I applaud the work that went into producing it!
Randall Sullivan
Advanced Reader Copy from Net Galley. Thanks, Atlantic Monthly
1933 - 40 years since the Columbian Exposition World’s Fair (1893) in Chicago. With another world’s fair set to take place in Chicago, what better time to host “The Game of the Century.” The best players in the National League and the best players in the American League would square off to determine the superior league in Major League Baseball!
This book centers around one game on one day, July 6, 1933. The behind the scenes work and preparation that was needed to pull off this game, which had never before occurred, was immense. Randall Sullivan does a remarkable job pulling all of this information together and giving extraordinary detail and treatment to everyone involved. From the newspapermen collecting the all star ballots, the owners and managers, the backdrop of the Roaring 20s shifting into the Great Depression, and the players that would make up the rosters, emerges a contest between the leagues that would continue each summer up until the present with only 2 interruptions (WWII and COVID).
The star of the game and, really, of the whole United States at this time, was Babe Ruth. No one before him and very few after him would captivate the country in the way that he did with his big swings and towering home runs. Larger than life, in nearly every way possible, the Great Bambino did not disappoint in the first all star game, hitting a two run homer that would be the difference in the game.
Sullivan embarks on a story that touches on all facets of early baseball in the 20th century, giving background on each player, manager, and major league franchise. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a ton about, not only the first all star game, but also the world of baseball in the early 30s as the Great Depression raged in the United States. Sullivan crushed it with this book and I applaud the work that went into producing it!
June 12, 2026
The book is about much more than the first All Star game itself. In fact the book doesn't get to the game until page 366 of the 425 page book. The prior pages put the game in context. Part of that is in the baseball world, that includes the best explanation of the famous Ruth/Gehrig feud I have read, I loved reading the background on all the players who played, and the chapters on exclusion of Black players were great.
The other context is putting the game into perspective of the politics and economics of the era and specifically in Chicago. That context did not work as well. While there were interesting insights such as the game helping restore Chicago in depression times and Franklin Roosevelt's fascination with baseball, at times it seemed that the author was over reaching in analysis on subjects he did not have a handle on. His analysis of fiscal policies that worked and those that didn't in recovering from the depression is an example.
But still, a good baseball read
The other context is putting the game into perspective of the politics and economics of the era and specifically in Chicago. That context did not work as well. While there were interesting insights such as the game helping restore Chicago in depression times and Franklin Roosevelt's fascination with baseball, at times it seemed that the author was over reaching in analysis on subjects he did not have a handle on. His analysis of fiscal policies that worked and those that didn't in recovering from the depression is an example.
But still, a good baseball read
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The First All-Star Game ended up being so much more than a baseball book. Randall Sullivan does an incredible job using the 1933 All-Star Game as a way to explore a much bigger moment in American history, tying together sports, politics, the Great Depression, and the larger cultural mood of the country at the time. Even if you’re not a huge baseball fan, the storytelling makes it easy to get pulled in.
What made this a five-star read for me was how alive the history felt. Babe Ruth, FDR, and the other figures in the book come across as real people instead of distant historical names, and the amount of detail never slows the story down. It’s one of those nonfiction books that teaches you a lot without ever feeling like homework.
What made this a five-star read for me was how alive the history felt. Babe Ruth, FDR, and the other figures in the book come across as real people instead of distant historical names, and the amount of detail never slows the story down. It’s one of those nonfiction books that teaches you a lot without ever feeling like homework.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What a journey! Although framed around the first MLB All-Star game in 1933, Sullivan takes you through all the nooks and crannies of baseball history from the late 19th century through World War II. As someone who has read countless baseball histories, this one was surprisingly thorough and yet did not bog down too often. (If you are looking for micro-analyzed at-bat-by-at-bat recaps of the 1933 competition you will not find that here.) This even took, very relevant, detours into the Negro Leagues, the Great Depression and New Deal, and Chicago politics. Definitely recommend for the baseball fan or Chicago history lover!
June 23, 2026
A very solid history of an era that goes way beyond the game of the title. For fans of baseball, it might seem the author takes a good, long time to get to the event itself. He seems more intent on providing context to the times... which means talking politics, the Depression, and crime. If you have read anything on Babe Ruth, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Al Capone or the Black Sox, everything here will be familiar. If you've read nothing about any of these people or events, here is a good place to start. One quick note: The book ends with an odd defense of Ruth's single season home run record that just feels... well, odd.
June 22, 2026
I enjoyed the book very much. It brings American history into the first All Star game which I never had thought of before. I also never realized that the game was originally a one-off tied into the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. It was the first all-star game in any American sport, and it still is the best. Forget the Pro Bowl, NBA, etc. The NHL All-star game is normally junk, but their Nations Cup a couple years ago was great. I had a special interest in the Anton Cermak references.....he was my families' landlord in 1915 and evicted them. Thank you, Anton!
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
An excellent story behind the first All-Star game in 1933. You get a great look at how everything came together and the players involved. An excellent read from beginning to end.
June 15, 2026
A thoroughly entertaining chronicle of baseball and American history. I will post a complete review after it is published in Illinois Times.
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