The All-Star game was the idea of Arch Ward, sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, who proposed that the best players from the American and National leagues take part in a one-off game at Chicago's Comiskey Park while the city was hosting the 1933 World's Fair, the Century of Progress Exposition.
“By the 1930s, baseball had already established itself as America's favorite pastime,” writes Baseball Almanac, “and the national exposition provided the perfect stage to introduce baseball's best to the rest of the country.”
The game, dubbed “The Game of the Century,” was scheduled for July 6, a day when both leagues had no games scheduled. Retired Giants manager John McGraw was chosen to manage the National League, while Athletics manager Connie Mack led the American League.
“There were 47,595 fans in the stands, all eager to see a novel concept in action—action that would be performed by the most glittering assemblage of ballplaying talent ever brought together on the diamond at one time,” describes The Sporting News.
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