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THE 1ST ALL-STAR GAME! N.Y.L. & N.E.L. BATTLE IN N.Y.C.!
20 PLAYERS FROM EACH LEAGUE CONVENE AT THE ELYSIAN FIELDS TO DETERMINE WHICH HAS MORE STAR POWER

NEW YORK CITY (August 1, 1859) – The inaugural National Base Ball Organization Game of Stars took place at the Elysian Fields this afternoon in front of a raucous crowd whose dimes for admission all went to charity. The rosters for each side, announced last Tuesday after all teams had played sixty games:

NEW YORK LEAGUE

P: Carl. Bancroft (UTI) – 18-8, 3.11 ERA, 20 CG, 4.7 WAR
P: Frank Brown (N.C.) – 16-10, 3.01 ERA, 3 SHO, 3.9 WAR
P: John Kline (MIN) – 17-10, 3.70 ERA, 1 SHO, 3.6 WAR
P: Grover Wright (K.C.) – 18-11, 3.07 ERA, 23 CG, 4.7 WAR
C: James Hoddle (F.C.) – .365, 1 HR, 45 RBI, 1.9 WAR
C: Jackson Smith (NIA) – .353, 2 HR, 54 RBI, 1.5 WAR
1B: John Bateman (SYR) – .350, 4 HR, 43 RBI, 1.1 WAR
1B: Jackson Buss (K.C.) – .329, 1 HR, 53 RBI, 0.9 WAR
2B: Joseph Bentley (NIA) – .354, 1 HR, 36 RBI, 1.8 WAR
2B: Henry Ciccone (MET) – .379, 34 RBI, 26 SB, 3.1 WAR
3B: Jerald Peterson (K.C.) – .355, 1 HR, 54 RBI, 2.4 WAR
3B: Leroy Weld (MET) – .373, 18 XBH, 38 RBI, 1.8 WAR
SS: Edward Huntley (ORA) – .369, 34 RBI, 28 SB, 4.0 WAR
SS: Carl Keener (MIN) – .353, 43 RBI, 20 SB, 3.4 WAR
OF: Chester Ellis (ATL) – .354, 40 RBI, 28 SB, 2.6 WAR
OF: James Robertson (SYR) – .413, 17 XBH, 41 RBI, 2.1 WAR
CF: John Francis (K.C.) – .372, 55 RBI, 20 SB, 1.7 WAR
CF: David Gold (U.o.M.) – .407, 34 RBI, 48 SB, 3.3 WAR
OF: Henry Andrews (KNI) – .336, 24 XBH, 41 RBI, 1.5 WAR
OF: Joe DeVore (VIC) – .385, 24 RBI, 16 SB, 1.8 WAR

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE

P: Joe Cunningham (SHA) – 19-8, 3.31 ERA, 1 SHO, 4.3 WAR
P: John McGowan (StJ) – 22-7, 2.74 ERA, 23 CG, 5.0 WAR
P: Harold Perry (T.U.) – 18-11, 2.32 ERA, 4 SHO, 4.4 WAR
P: Frederick Reed (SPO) – 17-12, 3.07 ERA, 1 SHO, 4.1 WAR
C: Roy Jacobson (SCR) – .348, 2 HR, 44 RBI, 1.6 WAR
C: Wees Milstead (SPO) – .328, 3 HR, 59 RBI, 2.4 WAR
1B: Aathur Holton (M.B.) – .316, 18 XBH, 53 RBI, 1.2 WAR
1B: Frank Krillenberger (T.U.) – .366, 2 HR, 51 RBI, 1.6 WAR
2B: Daragh Adams (SHA) – .383, 2 HR, 62 RBI, 2.4 WAR
2B: Anderson MacGyver (StJ) – .406, 33 XBH, 69 RBI, 3.7 WAR
3B: Samuel Kessler (S.o.t.O.) – .354, 51 RBI, 17 SB, 2.6 WAR
3B: Hawk Peterson (M.M.) – .392, 51 RBI, 16 SB, 2.4 WAR
SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.) – .319, 36 RBI, 21 SB, 3.2 WAR
SS: John Williams (Q.S.) – .349, 1 HR, 56 RBI, 1.6 WAR
OF: William Johnson (StJ) – .362, 51 RBI, 39 SB, 3.0 WAR
OF: Thomas Maloney (SHA) – .411, 56 RBI, 33 SB, 2.7 WAR
CF: Willie Davis (SUS) – .401, 52 RBI, 42 SB, 3.5 WAR
CF: Richard Kenton (StJ) – .320, 57 RBI, 30 SB, 1.8 WAR
OF: Angus O’Connor (SHA) – .339, 4 HR, 52 RBI, 1.7 WAR
OF: Clive Wise (S.o.t.O.) – .375, 56 RBI, 19 SB, 1.7 WAR

Nobody was quite sure what to expect when the best players in the sport met up. Would the best pitchers & defenders cause a low-scoring affair? Or would having the best batsmen in existence crammed into two lineups overwhelm any attempts at keeping offense in check? In the end, it was somewhere in between the two:

The N.Y.L. jumped straight out to a lead with five runs in the bottom of the first, with Henry Ciccone’s two-run double the key point of the rally. Thanks to the fast start the N.Y.L. never trailed, and the closest the contest was after the end of the first was when the score was 8-6 after the N.E.L.’s four-run rally in the top of the sixth. However, the N.Y.L. immediately scored three runs to put to rest any ideas the N.E.L. of evening up the score.

The All-Star Game M.V.P. was Minuteman shortstop Carl Keener, who went 2/3 with a pair of doubles, two runs, and three RBI. His performance wasn’t the most impressive of the day, however. That distinction goes to the fans, as the MASSIVE crowd of 15,292 was the largest ever to watch a base ball game, and it also meant over a thousand dollars went to various charities in New York City and the surrounding metropolitan area.

To give the reader an idea of just how large the crowd was, the average attendance for a game in the N.B.B.O. this year has been roughly 1,890. Monday’s All-Star Game attendance was eight times that figure.

It was a great day for base ball, and another first for the National Base Ball Organization.