By Jeff Stuart
With a torrential rain storm raging outside on Tuesday evening, July 22 the All-Stars remained dry and shot the breeze in the clubhouses. A photographer took the opportunity to snap a picture of Reggie Jackson of Oakland and Frank Howard of the Senators. Jackson had 37 home runs at mid season. Hoeard had 31. At 6’7”, Hondo towered over the 6’7” Jackson at an even 6 feet. The photographer asked if Howard thought the 23 year old Oakland right fielder could wrest away his home run title. “It looks like he is doing it,” said Frank. “he’s 200 pounds of muscle and rhythm. This fellow has it all. He’s powerful. Great wrists. He can run the hundred in 9.5 and he’s got all the velocity you’d want on his throws. He’ll be a superstar. Check that. He is a superstar.”
Outside the water in the stadium runways rose to chest height in places. The water in the dugout was deep and covered the wiring for the Television hook-up. The scheduled starting pitcher for the American League, Denny McLain of the Tigers, stood on the bench and looked out. “My man can walk on water,” said AL and Detroit manager Mayo Smith.
In 1968, McLain became the last pitcher in Major League Baseball to win 30 or more games during a season (31–6). He would win 24 games in 1969. The Senators, under Manager Ted Williams, would finish 10 games over .500.
The man with the radar insisted the shower line over RFK would end in time for the game.
But groundskeeper Joe Mooney and Nat’s owner Bob Short took a few steps in the outfield in the pouring rain just before game time. Charlie Segar of Commissioner Bowie Kuhn’s office and AL President Joe Cronin were watching. The official postponement came at 8:16 pm. “It’s off!” Commissioner Kuhn told Leo Durocher. “Tomorrow at 1:45. Bus leaves the Hotel at 10:45.”
The flooded parking lots and nearby roads did not clear for hours. President Nixon left. He had to fly out to greet the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet Air Craft Carrier in the Pacific.
Manager Mayo Smith gave McLain permission to fly home to Detroit for a tooth recap. McLain had his own plane. He kept his dental appointment, he then flew back to Washington.
The ground crew spent much of the night clearing up the debris left by the many thousands of fans who waited in vain for the the game to begin.
At 8:45, Carl Yastremski, Reggie Smith, Frank Robinson, Bill Freehan, Ray Culp. Gil Hodges, Sam McDowell. Blue Mood Odom, Brooks Robinson, John Roseboro, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Rico Petrocelli, Paul Blair,AL Manager Smith and others boarded a bus for the Shoreham hotel. The windows were fogged. Many streets were flooded. There were numerous detours. It was after 11 o’clock when the bus arrived at the Shoreham. “How am I going to explain this to my wife,” asked a player. Three hour after the game was called off, the parking lots around RFK were still jammed. East Capitol Street was flooded. Police directed people into the D.C armory for shelter. Commissioner Kuhn himself took shelter there. Baltimore’s Boog Powell slipped on the wet floor at the armory and fell down a flight of stairs. But he escaped serious injury. The playing surface at RFK is and was below the level of the Anacostia River. Water had to be pumped up to the storm sewers. The water could not begin to recede until here was room in those sewers.
It was supposed to have been a centennial celebration of baseball. It was supposed to be the first nigh baseball game ever. According to the Corps of Engineer, who monitored river and reservoir levels Washington was in drought.
The pregame ceremonies were intended to highlight baseball’s living legends, many who had been feted by the President, at a luncheon at the White House the day before and again under canvas tents outside RFK the afternoon before the game. The collection of baseball royalty included Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, Casey Stengle, Mrs. Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Roy Campanella, Willie Mays, and hundreds of others.
Sportswriters had named Joe DiMaggio baseball’s “Greatest Living Player; prior to the event.
Other Greatest living players honored included Stan Musial and George Sisler at 1st base, Charlie Gehringer at 2nd, Joe Cronin at short, and Pie Traynor at 3rd. Outfielders selected were Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Willie Mays. The Catcher was Bill Dickey. Pitchers were Lefty Grove and Bob Feller. The Manager chosen was Casey Stengel. They were all to be honored.
The heavy rain changed all that. The grand pre-game ceremonies were cut rudely short before the make up game. Robert Merill of the Metropolitan Opera sang the National Anthem. Vice President Agnew threw out the first pitch. But it was all brief.
The ground crew did an excellent job of getting the field ready and cleaning up the mud and debris from both dugouts. There were no outward signs of the storm and the teams took batting practice on schedule.
In the game itself the AL hoped to close out the 60’s with a win and end years of frustration. But the Nationals scored 3 times in the first and pelted Mel Stottlemyre and his successor, Blue Moon Odom, en route to a 9-3 win.
“It’s not an exhibition to us in the National League,” said Hank Aaron. “We treat it like a World Series. I think we win so often because we’re more dedicated than the American League. I really do. They’ve got a lot of good ball players but wer’e more dedicated.” Aaron said Stan Musial ignited the NL’s drive for All-Star Game supremacy in 1955 and Ernie Banks picked up the mantle.
The ovation for Howard was loud as he was introduced as the second batter in the second inning. It was thunderous after he homered off winning pitcher Steve Carlton. The blast hit the Longines Clock in right center field. The only other louder ovation for Howard, I suspect was perhaps after he hit the final home run for the Senators on Sept 30, 1971. I was there for both. In any case his hit put the AL on the scoreboard for the first time. Johnny Bench called for the pitch Howard hit. “The man is unreal,” he said. This was the first time he had seen Frank. Frank was forgiven by the fans for a first inning drop of a Hank Aaron fly ball.
There were five homers in the game, none longer than Howard’s 460 foot blast. Three of those did reach the mezzanine though. The NL’s Willie McCovey hit 2. The NL’s Bench and the AL’s Bill Freehan also homered. McCovey was voted the games most valuable player. Bench would have had a second homerun in the 6th but Yaztremski made a leaping grab and the fence and pulled it back.
Darold Knowles was Washington’s other representative in the game. He pitched 2/3 of an inning in relief of Odom, retiring both Matty Alou and Don Kessinger on ground balls in the top of the 3rd.
McLain, who had arrived at RFK during the second inning, pitched the fourth inning. He gave up the second home run to McCovey. He left the game early, infuriating many, including teammate Mickey Lolich who he left stranded in Washington. “I didn’t like him leaving, and I told him so on the bench,” said Lolich, who had to scramble to get a commercial flight back to Detroit.
Just a note. RFK, originally DC Stadium, was built on swamp land. It never drained well. That never changed. When baseball returned to Washington in 2005, MLB’s more modern stadiums had state of the art drainage. You could resume a game after and hour or so. Not at RFK. But the umpires tried. After one long rain delay in a game with the Mets in DC, Catcher Mike Pizza said, “I needed a rowboat to get to home plate” Some things never change.
