July 23, 1969: Nixon Welcomes the All-Stars -- and Then Doesn't

The National League's starting lineup. Left to right:

Manager Red Schoendienst, Matty Alou, Don Kessinger, Hank Aaron,

Willie McCovey, Ron Santo, Cleon Jones, Johnny Bench and Félix Millán.

July 23, 1969: The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played at the newly-renamed Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. Vice President Spiro Agnew throws out the first ball. President Richard Nixon had intended to do so, then fly to California to greet the splashed-down Apollo 11 astronauts. But the one-day rain delay led Tricky Dick to say, "(expletive deleted) it," and he went straight to California (his home State, after all), and so the Baltimore kickback-taker did the honors.

The day before, Nixon had honored the All-Stars at the White House. He had also invited some men who had been honored in a poll in honor of the 100th Anniversary of professional baseball, which chose the greatest players at each position, plus the greatest player of all time, Babe Ruth; and, as the "greatest living player," a title he insisted upon every time he was introduced for the rest of his life, Joe DiMaggio.

The Yankees in the game were pitcher Mel Stottlemyre and reserve outfielder Roy White. Reggie Jackson started in center field, but he was with the Oakland Athletics at the time. The Mets in the game were starting left fielder Cleon Jones, and pitchers Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman.

This was an expansion season. For the NL, original 1962 Met Chris Cannizzaro represented the San Diego Padres, and future Met Rusty Staub the Montreal Expos. For the AL, the 1st All-Star for the Kansas City Royals was Eliseo "Ellie" Rodríguez; while the 1st 2 for the Seattle Pilots were Don Mincher and Mike Hegan. The Pilots went bankrupt, and became the Milwaukee Brewers the next season. The year after that, Ellie Rodríguez was traded to the Brewers.

The American League's starting lineup, albeit in reverse order.

Left to right: Bill Freehan, Rico Petrocelli, Sal Bando,

Frank Howard (6-foot-7, 280 pounds), John "Boog" Powell (6-foot-4, 230),

Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson (partly obscured), Rod Carew.

Manager Mayo Smith is mostly obscured.

Stottlemyre started for the American League, and Steve Carlton of the St. Louis Cardinals started for the National League. In the 2nd inning, Frank Howard of the host Washington Senators and Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds hit home runs. In the 3rd inning Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants and Bill Freehan of the Detroit Tigers hit home runs. McCovey hit another home run in the 4th. The NL won, 9-3.

McCovey went on to be named the NL's Most Valuable Player, despite Seaver being the single most valuable player for any season that the Mets have ever had. Through the 2021 season, the Mets have never had a regular-season MVP.

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July 23, 1969 was a Wednesday. The MLB All-Star Game is usually played on a Tuesday, but, as I said, this one was postponed by rain. Since there were no other major league sports in season at the time, there were no other scores on this day.

Raphael Warnock was born on that day. He became the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, formerly presided over by Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr.; and was elected a U.S. Senator from Georgia.