All-Star quiz, bbq lunch highlight first in-person meeting in more than a year

After more than a year of virtual meetings, 16 chapter members and guests met in-person for a barbeque lunch, an All-Star quiz and baseball chatter on Saturday.

Jim Baker, who heads our Predictatron contest, presented certificates to Tom Wancho, who won the full-season and playoff contests last season, and Ryan Pollack for winning his division. In addition to certificates, both Tom (pictured, right, below) and Ryan have divisions named for them in this year’s contest.

Having won last month’s trivia quiz, Jim created a quiz about the 1971 All-Star game, which featured 25 future Hall of Fame players. Cy Morong flexed his memory cells and won the contest with 48 points, followed closely by Jerry Miller with 46 points, Dan Walsh with 38 points and Mike Dillon with 32 points. Try your hand at Jim’s quiz below.

Having anticipated Cy’s trivia quiz dominance, Jim had Rudy’s gift cards on the ready – one for Cy and one for the top scorer aside from Cy. Kudos to Cy and Jerry for winning the gift cards and many thanks to Jim for the quiz and awards.

In addition, Ira Siegel offered a print of the inaugural class of the National Baseball Hall of Fame to Cy (pictured below) as the trivia quiz winner and in honor of the first in-person meeting in more than a year.

The next chapter meeting will be a Round Rock Express game at Dell Diamond on Saturday, Aug. 7. Details about tickets will be forthcoming to the chapter’s email list.

(All photos by Gilbert D. Martinez)

The Cooperstown-Heavy All-Star Game of 50 Years Ago (Answers follow the quiz below)

By Jim Baker

In this week’s All-Star Game, no less than 60 (sixty!) players appeared. Being generous, perhaps 10 of them will have a case for the Hall of Fame someday. In 1971, more than twice that number of those named to the All-Star Game are enshrined in Cooperstown. This quiz is a Hall-of-Fame-centric look at that game, in which the A.L. beat the N.L. 6-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. (Correct answers are worth two points each.)

Denting the Scoreboard

The A.L.’s six runs came on three 2-run homers, all hit by Hall of Famers. These first three questions are about the men who hit them:

  1. This young slugger’s famous blast came in a pinch-hitting role.­­­
  2. In the Midsummer Classic three years previously, this lumberman tore a hamstring in his right leg stretching for a throw and would miss almost two months of the season. ­­­
  3. The game’s MVP, this famed player had been a National League All-Star regular earlier in his career, playing in eight games while representing the Senior Circuit. (He would play in six for the A.L.).

The N.L.’s four runs came on three homers, also all hit by Hall of Famers. These next three questions are about them:

  1. He did not start the game, but homered in the eighth. He was elected to the Hall of Fame two years later.
  2. This player, who homered in the third to give the N.L. a 3-0 lead, was named to the All-Star team in every year of his career save for the first and last, and he holds the record for most games on an All-Star roster.
  3. This guy belied his name and started the game, blasting a two-run homer to start the scoring. He would eventually play in the second-most All-Star games for his position.

So Many Inductees

Some questions about the vast army of Hall of Famers who played in or were named to the 1971 game.

  1. This N.L. starter had made six All-Star Games as a catcher before transitioning to a new position the year before and making the ’71 team at this new position. He would go on to win the MVP in 1971.
  2. The previous player was replaced late in the game by another Hall of Famer, someone who had a post-career gig as a broadcaster and who many thought should have been elected for enshrinement long before he was, which, unfortunately, came after he had passed away when it finally happened.
  3. Five times in this game, one HoFer replaced another. These two Cooperstown-bound players held down leftfield for the N.L. that night. One won the 1971 home run crown, the other led the league in steals. (Two points each)
  4. This high-kicking HoFer tossed two innings of hitless relief for the National League.
  5. It had been nine years since the A.L. last won an All-Star game. Only three players—Hall of Famers all—were also on the ’62 (ASG#2) that last beat the N.L. Which of these ’71 All-Stars isn’t one of them?

Al Kaline… Luis Aparacio… Carl Yastrzemski… Brooks Robinson

  1. It would be another 12 years before the A.L. would win the ASG again. There were only two A.L. holdovers from the ’71 game who also played in that 1983 game. One was Carl Yastrzemski. Name the seven-time batting champion who was the other (he was on base when Fred Lynn hit the one and only ASG grand slam and was also on base for one of the ’71 ASG homers).

Not this year

There were 17 Hall of Famers active in 1971 who did not get selected for the All-Star team that year. These questions are about some of them.

  1. This much-acclaimed Hall of Famer was an All-Star in the previous six seasons, but was only 6-8 at the break in 1971 and wasn’t named to the N.L. team.
  2. This Hall of Fame pitcher was not selected for the National League team, but his older brother was on the other league’s roster.
  3. Another Hall of Famer not on the 1971 team, this player had hit a game-winning, extra-inning homer in a previous Midsummer Classic.
  4. This player was a two-time All-Star by 1971, but he would immediately tear off eight straight ASG appearances and achieve much glory with his new team after he got traded to them in November of that year.
  5. Hall of Famers Hoyt Wilhelm and Jim Bunning played their last in 1971 as did this 14-time All-Star also known for never having played in the postseason.
  6. Fairly inconsistent in the early parts of their careers, these two Hall of Fame pitchers would both make their All-Star Game debuts the following season and would go on to win 324 games each. (two points per name)

In this Game, But Not in Cooperstown

  1. This Yankee center fielder got the only American League hit not registered by a Hall of Famer.
  2. This Dodgers centerfielder got the only National League hit not registered by a Hall of Famer.
  3. These two men made history by being starting mound opponents in this game. Who were they and what was the milestone? (Two points per name and two for the milestone.)
  4. This A.L. starter hit .361 to win the batting title 10 years prior (which he famously attributed to expansion pitching and a corked bat), making the All-Star team in the process. He had had only one All-Star appearance in the intervening years, though.

Bonus Question

Which 1971 All-Star has the highest career WAR?

Answers

Denting the Scoreboard

  1. Reggie Jackson
    2. Harmon Killebrew
    3. Frank Robinson
    4. Roberto Clemente
    5. Hank Aaron
    6. Johnny Bench

So Many Inductees

  1. Joe Torre
    2. Ron Santo
    3. Willie Stargell and Lou Brock
    4. Juan Marichal
    5. Carl Yastrzemski
    6. Rod Carew

Not This Year

  1. Bob Gibson
    2. Gaylord Perry (brother Jim)
    3. Tony Perez
    4. Joe Morgan
    5. Ernie Banks
    6. Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton

In the Game, But Not in Cooperstown

  1. Bobby Murcer
    2. Willie Davis
    3. Vida Blue and Dock Ellis. First time African-American pitchers started against one another in the ASG.
    4. Norm Cash

Bonus

Willie Mays, 156.1. (Next highest: Hank Aaron 143.1; Tom Seaver, 109.9; Frank Robinson, 107.2)