1957 MLB All Star Chaos
From 1947 until 1957, the fans voted for the All Star teams. It got the partisans involved in a popular exhibition game. It also prevented managers from selecting their own players over their opponents.
However the system crumbled in 1957. The people of Cincinnati showed their love and support for the Reds by voting in huge numbers. It still stands as one of the greatest demonstrations of fans support in the history of baseball.
Program for 1957 All-Star Game
Each city had a sponsoring paper that printed ballots. In Cincinnati the Times Star printed the ballots. The media go behind the movement to vote early and often. Radio personalities promoted voting constantly. Beer Burger was a sponsor for the Reds. They printed a quarter of a million ballots and distributed them to all the bars. Bartenders would not serve people until they filled out a ballot or two. It became a family project. After school families would it down and fill out ballots together.
There was a daytime TV show called the 50/50 club. Popular host Ruth Lyons with the help of Reds announcer, Waite Hoyt promoted voting unceasingly.
The results were overwhelming. Huge barrels of ballots arrived at the Times Star to be counted. Most people state that the volume of ballots were too many to be counted. More ballots were received in Cincinnati then all the other National League cities combined.
The result was that the entire National League starters were going to be Cincinnati Reds. This was a fourth place team in an eight team league. Commissioner Ford Frick intervened and replaced first baseman George Crowe with Stan Musial (a .351 hitter).
That move resulted in 7 out of 8 position starters being Cincinnati Reds. Next he insisted that Wille Mays and Hank Aaron be put in the starting lineup. That left 5 of the 8 starters were Reds. Gus Bell, one of the replaced players stayed on the team as a replacement. Two others, George Crowe and Wally Post, were cut from the team. They received “certificates of participation”. Ford Frick then cancelled fan voting. It did not return for 13 years.
Side trivia:
Outfielder Gus Bell was removed from the starting lineup by Willie Mays but was left on the team. In the bottom of the seventh inning, trailing 3-0, Bell pinch hit for Frank Robinson. He doubled to left and brought in two runs.
A fan named Harry Washer was so angry at the Commissioner’s decision that he hired an attorney to sue the league. That attorney was a University of Cincinnati graduate who was on their swimming team. His name was Charles Keating Jr. He became in infamous years later in Phoenix Az.