1945 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

1945 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
Teams	National League (No roster); American League (No roster);
Date	July 10, 1945 (Cancelled)
Venue	Fenway Park (Cancelled)
City	Boston, Massachusetts (Cancelled)
Managers	Billy Southworth, St. Louis Cardinals (Cancelled); Luke Sewell, St. Louis Browns (Cancelled);
	← 1944 ; Major League Baseball All-Star Game ; 1946 →;

Last updated June 20, 2022

The 1945 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was cancelled on April 24 after the Major League Baseball (MLB) season began on April 17. The July 10 game was cancelled due to wartime travel restrictions in World War II. 1945 is the first of two years since 1933, when the first official All-Star Game was played, that an All-Star Game was cancelled and All-Stars were not officially selected.

This was to have been the 13th annual playing of the "Midsummer Classic" by MLB's American League (AL) and National League (NL) All-Star teams. The game was to be played at Fenway Park, home of the AL's Boston Red Sox. Fenway Park was chosen for the 1946 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (13th "Midsummer Classic") which was played on July 9 of that year.

On July 9 and 10, 1945, seven out of eight scheduled interleague night games were advertised and played as "All-Star" games in place of the official All-Star Game during the three-day All-Star break to help support the American Red Cross and the National War Fund.^[1]^[2]^[3] Four of the exhibition games were played on July 10 in Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Boston.

Germany had surrendered in May 1945. Mike Todd, a Broadway producer, had passed on the idea of holding the 1945 All-Star Game in Nuremberg,^[4] at a stadium renamed "Soldier Field" where U.S. troops stationed in the European Theater played baseball. Although baseball's new commissioner, Happy Chandler was reportedly "intrigued" by the idea, it was ultimately dismissed as impractical by military advisors.^[5] The next time an All-Star game got cancelled was the 2020 game due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

MLB All-Stars (none)

No MLB players were officially named to the All-Star teams in 1945, due to the cancellation of the All-Star Game. The All-Star rosters for the AL and NL All-Star teams were to have been selected by each All-Star squad's manager (from 1935 through 1946), which did not occur that season.^[6]

The Sporting News All-Star Team

The Sporting News (TSN) named an annual major league All-Star Team from 1925 to 1961 (from 1961 to present an American and National League team is named) from a Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWA) members ballot.^[7]

The Sporting News All-Star Team made up of eleven members (one player in italics has since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame), is shown here:

P – Hank Borowy, Yankees
P – Dave Ferriss, Red Sox
P – Hal Newhouser , Tigers
C – Paul Richards, Tigers
1B – Phil Cavarretta, Cubs
2B – Snuffy Stirnweiss, Yankees
3B – Whitey Kurowski, Cardinals
SS – Marty Marion, Cardinals
OF – Thomas Holmes, Braves
OF – Andy Pafko, Cubs
OF – Goody Rosen, Dodgers

Associated Press and The Sporting News (Fred Lieb) All-Stars

A group of sportswriters of the Associated Press (AP) did name 40 AL and NL All-Stars in 1945, after taking nominations from 13 of the 16 MLB managers that season. The managers who did not participate were Joe McCarthy of the New York Yankees, Luke Sewell of the St. Louis Browns, and Billy Southworth of the St. Louis Cardinals. Sewell (AL) and Southworth (NL) were the 1944 pennant championship team's managers and were to have managed the 1945 All-Star Game teams.^[8] Although Sewell could not officially select anyone for the AL All-Star roster, he listed his personal AL All-Stars as pitcher Dave Ferriss of the Red Sox and third baseman Tony Cuccinello of the White Sox.

Fred Lieb a sportswriter for the Sporting News (TSN) also wrote an article in the July 12, 1945, issue selecting 40 All-stars for the two All-Star teams, even naming starting position players and three possible starting pitchers. Some of Lieb's selections are different than the AP selections. The annual TSN All-Stars list is released after the season. Tigers catcher, Paul Richards is the only annual TSN All-Star not in the AP and Lieb selections for 1945.

The AP sportswriters and Lieb's (TSN) All-Star rosters (6 of the players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame) are shown here:

American League

Pitchers
Position	Player	Team	Selection
P	Hal Newhouser	Tigers	AP, SN (starter)
P	Dave Ferriss	Red Sox	AP, SN (starter)
P	Hank Borowy	Yankees	AP, SN (starter)
P	Russ Christopher	Athletics	AP, SN
P	Steve Gromek	Indians	AP, SN
P	Dutch Leonard	Senators	AP, SN
P	Allie Reynolds	Indians	AP
P	Thornton Lee	White Sox	AP
P	Al Benton	Tigers	SN
P	Roger Wolff	Senators	SN
P	Jack Kramer	Browns	SN

Position Players
Position	Player	Team	Selection
C	Mike Tresh	White Sox	AP, SN (starter)
C	Rick Ferrell	Senators	AP, SN
C	Frankie Hayes	Indians	AP, SN
1B	Nick Etten	Yankees	AP, SN (starter)
1B	George McQuinn	Browns	AP
1B	Dick Siebert	Athletics	SN
2B	Snuffy Stirnweiss	Yankees	AP, SN (starter)
2B	Eddie Mayo	Tigers	AP, SN
3B	Tony Cuccinello	White Sox	AP, SN (starter)
3B	Oscar Grimes	Yankees	AP
3B	Mark Christman	Browns	SN
SS	Vern Stephens	Browns	AP, SN (starter)
SS	Lou Boudreau	Indians	AP, SN
OF	George Case	Senators	AP, SN (starter)
OF	Doc Cramer	Tigers	AP, SN (starter)
OF	Bob Johnson	Red Sox	AP, SN (starter)
OF	Hank Greenberg	Tigers	AP
OF	Jeff Heath	Indians	AP
OF	Wally Moses	White Sox	AP
OF	Roy Cullenbine	Tigers	SN
OF	Bobby Estalella	Athletics	SN

National League

Pitchers
Position	Player	Team	Selection
P	Hal Gregg	Dodgers	AP, SN (starter)
P	Mort Cooper	Braves	AP, SN
P	Red Barrett	Cardinals	AP, SN
P	Claude Passeau	Cubs	AP, SN
P	Preacher Roe	Pirates	AP, SN
P	Van Mungo	Giants	AP
P	Rip Sewell	Pirates	AP
P	Hank Wyse	Cubs	AP
P	Paul Derringer	Cubs	SN (starter)
P	Blix Donnelly	Cardinals	SN (starter)
P	Bill Voiselle	Giants	SN

Position Players
Position	Player	Team	Selection
C	Phil Masi	Braves	AP, SN (starter)
C	Ernie Lombardi	Giants	AP, SN
C	Ken O'Dea	Cardinals	AP, SN
1B	Phil Cavarretta	Cubs	AP, SN (starter)
1B	Frank McCormick	Reds	AP, SN
2B	Don Johnson	Cubs	AP, SN (starter)
2B	Emil Verban	Cardinals	AP, SN
3B	Whitey Kurowski	Cardinals	AP, SN (starter)
3B	Bob Elliott	Pirates	AP, SN
3B	Stan Hack	Cubs	AP
SS	Marty Marion	Cardinals	AP, SN (starter)
SS	Eddie Basinski	Dodgers	SN
OF	Tommy Holmes	Braves	AP, SN (starter)
OF	Mel Ott	Giants	AP, SN (starter)
OF	Bill Nicholson	Cubs	AP, SN (starter)
OF	Goody Rosen	Dodgers	AP, SN
OF	Andy Pafko	Cubs	AP
OF	Dixie Walker	Dodgers	AP
OF	Buster Adams	Cardinals	SN
OF	Vance Dinges	Phillies	SN

Note

Those selected for the Associated Press and or the Sporting News (Fred Lieb) All-Star rosters who had not been an official MLB All-Star before and after the 1945 season are:

Associated Press: Oscar Grimes and Hank Wyse.
The Sporting News (Fred Lieb): Buster Adams, Eddie Basinski, Mark Christman, Russ Christopher, Vance Dinges, Blix Donnelly, Bobby Estalela, and Roger Wolff.
AP and TSN (Fred Lieb): Russ Christopher, Eddie Barrett, Nick Etten, Hal Gregg, Steve Gromek, Eddie Mayo, Ken O'Dea, Mike Tresh, and Goody Rosen,

External links

Baseball Almanac

Related Research Articles

Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. As of 2022, a total of 30 teams play in Major League Baseball—15 teams in the National League (NL) and 15 in the American League (AL)—with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. The NL and AL were formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues signed the National Agreement and cooperated but remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.

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 League (NL). All-Stars are selected by fans for starting fielders, by managers for pitchers, and by managers and players for reserves.

Roger Eugene Maris was an American professional baseball right fielder. He is best known for setting a new Major League Baseball (MLB) single-season home run record with 61 home runs in 1961; the record remained unbroken until 1998.

Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel, nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player who is notable for being the first Venezuelan player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1956 to 1973, most prominently for the Chicago White Sox with whom he became known for his exceptional defensive and base stealing skills.

Lee Smith (baseball) American baseball player (born 1957)

Lee Arthur Smith is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight teams. Serving mostly as a relief pitcher during his career, he was a dominant closer and held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006, when Trevor Hoffman passed his total of 478. Smith was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2019 by the Today's Game Era Committee.

David Meadow Ferriss was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1945 through 1950. Ferriss was given the nickname 'Boo' as the result of a childhood inability to pronounce the word 'brother'.

The following are the baseball events of the year 2003 throughout the world.

The following are the baseball events of the year 1978 throughout the world.

Frederick George Lieb was an American sportswriter and baseball historian. Lieb published his memoirs in 1977, which documented his nearly 70 years as a baseball reporter. He received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in 1972. Born in 1888 in Philadelphia, Lieb died at age 92 in Houston.

Christopher Brandon Young is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels.

The 1933 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the first edition of the All-Star Game known as the "Midsummer Classic". This was the first official playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between Major League Baseball's (MLB's) National League (NL) and American League (AL) All-Star teams. The game was held on July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, the home of the AL's Chicago White Sox. The game resulted in the AL defeating the NL, 4–2, in two hours and five minutes.

The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York City, home of the New York Yankees, on July 15, 2008, and began at 8:47 p.m. ET. The game ended at 1:38 a.m. ET the following morning. The home American League won 4–3 in 15 innings, giving home field advantage in the 2008 World Series to the AL champion, which eventually came to be the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers started the year with a new manager, Leo Durocher, who became both the team's manager and starting shortstop. They also became the first New York NL team to have a regular radio broadcast, with Red Barber handing the announcers job, and the first team to have a television broadcast. The team finished in third place, showing some improvement over the previous seasons.

The 1980 Major League Baseball season concluded with the Philadelphia Phillies winning their first World Series championship.

The 1940 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 16 through October 8, 1940. Both the American League (AL) and National League (NL) had eight teams, with each team playing a 154-game schedule. The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series over the Detroit Tigers in seven games. Hank Greenberg of the Tigers and Frank McCormick of the Reds won the Most Valuable Player Award in the AL and NL, respectively.

The 1941 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the ninth playing of the mid-summer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 8, 1941, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, the home of the Detroit Tigers of the American League.

The 1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the 43rd such game, was played on July 25, 1972. The all-stars from the American League and the National League faced each other at Atlanta Stadium, home of the Atlanta Braves. The National League came away with a 4–3 win in 10 innings.

The 1946 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 13th playing of the "Midsummer Classic" by Major League Baseball's (MLB) American League (AL) and National League (NL) All-Star teams.

The 1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 36th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 13, 1965, at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. The game resulted in a 6–5 victory for the NL.

References

↑ Baseball Did You Know? – VII, 1945 All Star Game Replacements Retrieved July 23, 2015
↑ Baseball Almanac Retrieved July 23, 2015
↑ Baseball Almanac Retrieved July 23, 2015
↑ This Day In Baseball History Retrieved July 24, 2015
↑ Baseball Did You Know? – VII, 1945 All Star Game Replacements Retrieved July 23, 2015
↑ The Sports Post, July 14, 2015 Retrieved February 17, 2017
↑ Baseball Chronology, 1945 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Retrieved July 29, 2015
↑ Baseball Chronology Retrieved July 23, 2015

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Baseball Did You Know? – VII, 1945 All Star Game Replacements Retrieved July 23, 2015

[2] Baseball Almanac Retrieved July 23, 2015

[3] Baseball Almanac Retrieved July 23, 2015

[4] This Day In Baseball History Retrieved July 24, 2015

[5] Baseball Did You Know? – VII, 1945 All Star Game Replacements Retrieved July 23, 2015

[6] The Sports Post, July 14, 2015 Retrieved February 17, 2017

[7] Baseball Chronology, 1945 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Retrieved July 29, 2015

[8] Baseball Chronology Retrieved July 23, 2015

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Teams	National League (No roster) American League (No roster)
Date	July 10, 1945 (Cancelled)
Venue	Fenway Park (Cancelled)
City	Boston, Massachusetts (Cancelled)
Managers	Billy Southworth, St. Louis Cardinals (Cancelled) Luke Sewell, St. Louis Browns (Cancelled)
← 1944 Major League Baseball All-Star Game 1946 →