| Year: | 1959 |
| 1959 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (first game) | |
| Visitor: | American League |
| Top1: | 0 |
| Top2: | 0 |
| Top3: | 0 |
| Top4: | 1 |
| Top5: | 0 |
| Top6: | 0 |
| Top7: | 0 |
| Top8: | 3 |
| Top9: | 0 |
| Visitor R: | 4 |
| Visitor H: | 8 |
| Visitor E: | 0 |
| Home: | National League |
| Bot1: | 1 |
| Bot2: | 0 |
| Bot3: | 0 |
| Bot4: | 0 |
| Bot5: | 0 |
| Bot6: | 0 |
| Bot7: | 2 |
| Bot8: | 2 |
| Bot9: | X |
| Home R: | 5 |
| Home H: | 9 |
| Home E: | 0 |
| Date: | July 7, 1959 |
| Venue: | Forbes Field |
| City: | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Visitormanager: | Casey Stengel |
| Visitormanagerteam: | NYY |
| Homemanager: | Fred Haney |
| Homemanagerteam: | MIL |
| Television: | NBC |
| Tv Announcers: | Mel Allen, Curt Gowdy |
| Radio: | NBC |
| Radio Announcers: | Jack Brickhouse, Bob Prince |
| Attendance: | 35,277 |
| Firstpitch: | Vice President Richard Nixon[1] |
| Next: | 1959 (second game) |
The 1959 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 26th edition of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues composing Major League Baseball. The game was played on Tuesday, July 7, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NL,[2] and was a 5–4 victory for the National League.[3] [4] An unprecedented second game was played four weeks later in Los Angeles, California.[5] [6]
In a break from tradition, the league scheduled a "doubleheader" as part of an effort to boost the players' pension fund.[5] The first game was held on Tuesday, July 7, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League.[2] The second game was on Monday, August 3, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, also of the NL.
The first game resulted in a 5–4 victory for the NL.[3] [4] and the AL won the second game 5–3 for a split.[7] [8] The experiment of two All-Star Games continued for four seasons; the tradition of just one annual game resumed in 1963.
Players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
| Starters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Team | All-Star Games |
| P | Early Wynn | White Sox | 6 |
| C | Gus Triandos | Orioles | 3 |
| 1B | Bill Skowron | Yankees | 3 |
| 2B | Nellie Fox | White Sox | 9 |
| 3B | Harmon Killebrew | Senators | 1 |
| SS | Luis Aparicio | White Sox | 2 |
| OF | Rocky Colavito | Indians | 1 |
| OF | Al Kaline | Tigers | 5 |
| OF | Minnie Miñoso | Indians | 6 |
| Pitchers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Team | All-Star Games |
| P | Jim Bunning | Tigers | 2 |
| P | Bud Daley | Athletics | 1 |
| P | Ryne Duren | Yankees | 2 |
| P | Whitey Ford | Yankees | 5 |
| P | Billy Pierce | White Sox | 6 |
| P | Hoyt Wilhelm | Orioles | 2 |
| Reserves | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Team | All-Star Games | |
| C | Yogi Berra | Yankees | 12 | |
| C | Sherm Lollar | White Sox | 6 | |
| 1B | Vic Power | Indians | 3 | |
| 1B | Roy Sievers | Senators | 3 | |
| 2B | Pete Runnels | Red Sox | 1 | |
| 3B | Frank Malzone | Red Sox | 3 | |
| SS | Gil McDougald | Yankees | 5 | |
| OF | Harvey Kuenn | Tigers | 7 | |
| OF | Mickey Mantle | Yankees | 8 | |
| OF | Ted Williams | Red Sox | 16 | |
| Starters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Team | All-Star Games |
| P | Don Drysdale | Dodgers | 1 |
| C | Del Crandall | Braves | 6 |
| 1B | Orlando Cepeda | Giants | 1 |
| 2B | Johnny Temple | Reds | 3 |
| 3B | Eddie Mathews | Braves | 6 |
| SS | Ernie Banks | Cubs | 5 |
| OF | Hank Aaron | Braves | 5 |
| OF | Willie Mays | Giants | 6 |
| OF | Wally Moon | Dodgers | 2 |
| Pitchers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Team | All-Star Games |
| P | Johnny Antonelli | Giants | 5 |
| P | Lew Burdette | Braves | 2 |
| P | Gene Conley | Phillies | 3 |
| P | Don Elston-y | Cubs | 1 |
| P | Roy Face | Pirates | 1 |
| P | Vinegar Bend Mizell-x | Cardinals | 1 |
| P | Warren Spahn | Braves | 11 |
Umpires: Al Barlick, Home Plate (NL); Ed Runge, First Base (AL); Augie Donatelli, Second Base (NL); Joe Paparella, Third Base (AL); Shag Crawford, Left Field (NL); Johnny Rice, Right Field (AL)
| American League | National League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order | Player | Team | Position | Order | Player | Team | Position |
| 1 | Minnie Miñoso | Indians | LF | 1 | Johnny Temple | Reds | 2B |
| 2 | Nellie Fox | White Sox | 2B | 2 | Eddie Mathews | Braves | 3B |
| 3 | Al Kaline | Tigers | CF | 3 | Hank Aaron | Braves | RF |
| 4 | Bill Skowron | Yankees | 1B | 4 | Willie Mays | Giants | CF |
| 5 | Rocky Colavito | Indians | RF | 5 | Ernie Banks | Cubs | SS |
| 6 | Gus Triandos | Orioles | C | 6 | Orlando Cepeda | Giants | 1B |
| 7 | Harmon Killebrew | Senators | 3B | 7 | Wally Moon | Dodgers | LF |
| 8 | Luis Aparicio | White Sox | SS | 8 | Del Crandall | Braves | C |
| 9 | Early Wynn | White Sox | P | 9 | Don Drysdale | Dodgers | P |