The game could be overshadowed by labor talks.
Major League Baseball’s All Star Game started off as a gimmick and remains a gimmick 93 years after the first game was played in Chicago. MLB is leaning into the America 250 party by staging the 2026 game in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was unveiled in 1776. Neither American nor National League owners ever thought about pitting their stars against one another in the previous 30 years that the American League claimed major league status. The All Star Game concept came from a meeting between Chicago Mayor Edward J. Kelly and the Chicago Tribune newspaper editorial staff as Kelly was looking for a major sports event to be part of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Arch Ward, the sports editor, proposed the idea of an all-star game which was supposed to be a one-time deal. The baseball owners agreed. Baseball always had a close relationship with newspapers as newspapers gave the sport free publicity. Fans, through newspapers, were able to vote for the starters. The net revenue from the game went to former players who needed money.
The first almost All-Star Game took place in Cleveland in 1911 and didn’t even feature the National League. A combined American League team played the Cleveland Naps in a fundraiser. Arch Ward has a special place in sports history. In 1934, Ward was able to convince National Football League owners to allow the defending champions to play a college football all-star team in Chicago in a summer charity event and that annual game lasted until 1976. There is a cloud overhanging this year’s All-Star Game. MLB owners and players are facing a December deadline to sign a new collective bargaining agreement. There is a possibility of a work stoppage in 2027. Meanwhile, MLB is still looking for gimmicks like ghost runners and pitch clocks to attract young fans.
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