When former MLB hurler Vida Blue passed away in 2023, it was a reminder of my youth and a time when I was just learning the game. As an aspiring pitcher, Blue, along with Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver, were among my favorite players growing up.
While reading his biography in 1972, Blue mentioned that he kept 20 cents in his baseball pants pocket as a reminder of how many games he aspired to win every season. So inspired, yours truly would do the same thing even though I was far away from the majors as any sandlot player could be.
A year earlier, Blue was coming off one of the greatest pitching seasons in MLB history. Named the American League’s Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner, the Louisiana native went 24-8 with an AL-leading 1.82 ERA and eight shutouts while striking out 301 batters.
The Oakland lefty also led the league with 24 complete games as he helped lead the Athletics to the AL Western Division crown. It was the franchise’s first postseason berth since making it to the 1931 World Series as the Philadelphia Athletics. At the midpoint of the season, Blue was 10-1 and was tabbed as the AL’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game in Detroit. That same season in the National League, another Black pitcher was having a career season.
In 1970, Pittsburgh’s Dock Ellis went 13-10 for the Pirates as he helped lead them to the NL Eastern Division crown. One of the highlights was Ellis’ no-hitter on June 12th against the San Diego Padres, when he allegedly tossed the gem while under the influence of LSD.
Ellis dealt with elbow and shoulder pain during the second half of the season. However, he did start Game One of the National League Championship Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds won 3-0 and eventually swept the best-of-five series in three games.
A year later, the Los Angeles native bounced back to have arguably his best season. Named the Pirates’ Opening Day starter, the righthander defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 and began the season with a 14-3 record, which included a 12-game winning streak.
After being picked for the All-Star Team, Ellis was tabbed as the NL’s starting pitcher. Ironically, Ellis had previously stated that NL skipper Sparky Anderson of Cincinnati “didn’t like him” and would “never pit two brothers against each other.”
To this day, it’s still the only time two black pitchers started for both leagues in the All-Star Game. In a time when Black players dominated the baseball landscape, the moment’s significance was overlooked by mainstream media. However, for a young, Black kid like me, watching the game with my father—who also played organized baseball for several years—it crystallized our love of the game. In a contest featuring several future Hall of Famers (e.g., Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson and Rod Carew), the game is remembered for the gigantic feat by another future Hall of Famer.
After Blue allowed a first-inning, two-run homer to Johnny Bench and a solo shot to Aaron in the bottom of the third inning, Blue’s Oakland teammate Reggie Jackson would enter the game as a pinch hitter. What happened next would be one of the most memorable moments in All-Star Game history.
With the count at 1-2, Jackson walloped a massive homer off Ellis that hit one of the light towers on the roof of Tiger Stadium. Jackson’s blast is estimated to have landed 520 feet from home plate and, by many accounts, would have gone entirely out of the park if not for the light tower.
A total of 26 future Hall of Famers were a part of this historic game (including Ferguson Jenkins, Roberto Clemente, Willie McCovey, Joe Torre, and Willie Stargell), both managers (Anderson and Baltimore’s Earl Weaver), NL coach Walter Alston and umpire Doug Harvey.
The American League would eventually win the see-saw contest 6-4, with Blue getting the win and Ellis tabbed for the loss. However, as the rest of the 1971 season played out, Ellis would have the “last laugh” on the field, so to speak. While Blue had a tremendous season, the A’s lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series. This marked the beginning of the burgeoning Oakland dynasty, which would eventually win three consecutive World Series championships from 1972 to 1974.
As for Ellis, he finished the season with a 19–9 record and a 3.06 ERA and led the Pirates to their second straight NL East crown. After defeating the San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series, Pittsburgh beat the Orioles in 7 games to win their first World Series crown since 1960.
Ellis had one other notable season in 1976 when he went 17-8 for the New York Yankees, who would win the AL pennant. Ellis would retire from the game three years later and spend much of his post-baseball career as an outspoken advocate for the rights of Black players.
He passed away at the age of 63 in 2008.
Blue would later become the first of five pitchers in major league history to start the All-Star Game for both leagues. While with the San Francisco Giants in 1978, Blue started for the National League in the midseason classic at San Diego.
