On January 20, 1970 the 20th Annual NBA All Star Game was played in our beloved, soon to be a pile of dirt, Philadelphia Spectrum. The Red Holzman led East came out on top with a 142 - 135 victory.  New York Knick Willis Reed took home the All Star MVP Award with 21 points and 11 rebounds.  The western squad, with Richie Guerin drawing up the plays, was led by Elvin Hayes and his 24 points and 15 boards (definitely would have been MVP if the west won.)  Jerry West, the NBA logo man himself, tossed in 22 points for the westerners.

Here are your 1970 All Star Starters:

East

• Willis Reed - 21 points / 11 rebounds
  
• Oscar Robertson - 21 points / 6 rebounds / 4 assists
  
• John Havlicek - 17 points / 7 assists
  
• Billy Cunningham - 19 points
  
• Walt Frazier - 7 points / 4 assists

West

• Elvin Hayes - 24 points /15 rebounds
  
• Jerry West - 22 points / 5 rebounds / 5 assists
• Elgin Baylor - 9 points / 7 rebounds
• Connie Hawkins - 10 points
• Lou Hudson - 15 points

Check out this great clip of some of the introductions and first quarter.

So did you notice those awesome warm-ups?  We love making those but have not made them in quite some time.  They just don't sell that well.  What are your thoughts, should we bring them back?

Also, on another All Star related note, stay tuned for a very exciting All Star announcement coming soon from your friends here at Mitchell & Ness.

On July 6, 1933, the first MLB All Star Game was played at Comiskey Park in Chicago.  Arch Ward, then Sports Editor for the Chicago Tribune, came up with the idea for the game which coincided with Chicago's World's Fair Celebration.  (In Ward's honor, the game's MVP award was originally called the Arch Ward Trophy before being changed to the Commissioner's Trophy in 1970 and then to the Ted Williams MVP Award in 2002.)

The American League team was managed by Connie Mack, manager of the Philadelphia Athletics.  John McGraw, former manager of the NY Giants, was chosen as the manager of the NL squad, even though he retired in 1932.  The game was won by the American League by a score of 4 - 2.  The Yankees pretty much dominated with Babe Ruth hitting a 2 run home run in the third inning and pitcher Lefty Gomez getting the win. 

Babe Ruth crosses the plate after hitting the first ever All Star game HR.

American League Roster

Earl Averill - Cleveland Indians

Ben Chapman - New York Yankees

Jon Cronin - Washington Senators

General Crowder - Washington Senators

Bill Dickey - New York Yankees

Jimmy Dykes - Chicago White Sox

Rick Ferrell - Boston Red Sox

Wes Ferrell - Cleveland Indians

Jimmie Foxx - Philadelphia Athletics

Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees

Charlie Gehringer - Detroit Tigers

Lefty Gomes - New York Yankees

Lefty Grove - Philadelphia Athletics

Oral Hildebrand - Cleveland Indians

Tony Lazzeri - New York Yankees

Babe Ruth - New York Yankees

Al Simmons - Chicago White Sox

Sam West - St. Louis Browns

National League Roster

Dick Bartell - Philadelphia Phillies

Wally Berger - Boston Braves

Tony Cuccinello - Brooklyn Dodgers

Woody English - Chicago Cubs

Frankie Frisch - St. Louis Cardinals

Chick Hafey - Cincinnati Reds

Bill Hallahan - St. Louis Cardinals

Gabby Hartnett - Chicago Cubs

Carl Hubbell - New York Giants

Chuck Klein - Philadelphia Phillies

Pepper Martin  - St. Louis Cardinals

Lefty O'Doul - New York Giants

Hal Schumacher - New York Giants

Bill Terry -  New York Giants

Pie Traynor - Pittsburgh Pirates

Paul Waner - Pittsburgh Pirates

Lou Warneke - Chicago Cubs

Jimmie Wilson - St. Louis Cardinals