Next week, Japan professional baseball will play its annual two-game All-Star series with contests scheduled at Fukuoka Yafuoku Dome on July 15, and Yokohama Stadium on July 16. The All-Star games are like a festival in Japan, and the series will most likely draw capacity crowds, but has the idea of All-Star games in any sport in any country lost some of its luster over the years?
The first major league All-Star Game was played at Chicago's Comiskey Park in 1933. It was the brainchild of Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward, and it showcased all the great players from every National and American League team appearing together at one time. What a concept.
Japanese baseball has played All-Star games since 1951, a year after the two-league system was formed. Through the "golden years," including the Yomiuri Giants V-9 era (1965-73) and the careers of Shigeo Nagashima and Sadaharu Oh, three all-star games were played annually from 1963 through 1988.