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Martin Luther King Benefit Game Photo Gallery
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Our Annual Baseball Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr

“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If Dr. King could give his life for a cause he believed in, the least I can do is give one day for it.” –Tom Seaver, speaking of the 1970 MLK exhibition game.

As is my usual custom, I always like to find a connection between baseball history and national holidays, so I thought this would be a good time to repost an essay I wrote from last year about the Martin Luther King, Jr. Benefit Game: 

“Since we celebrated Martin Luther King Day on Monday this week, I’d like to give a special shout-out to Paul Doyle for alerting me to a great article appearing in the current issue of Sports Illustrated. Written by Tom Verducci, the article is titled: The Greatest (Forgotten) Game Ever Played: MLB’s 1970 Exhibition to Honor MLK. Here’s a link to the article.

I think the title tells much of the story. When you read the list of talent assembled for this game, you’ll probably agree that this may be the greatest exhibition game ever. It was played on March 28, 1970 at Dodger Stadium and included at least 23 current and future Hall-of-Famers. Unfortunately, the game got very little public exposure or fanfare. It was played on a Saturday afternoon in a half-filled stadium, with very little local or national television coverage. The game was organized to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King who had been assassinated almost two years prior to the day.

In the featured photo, we see Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with baseball icon, Jackie Robinson.

Most major league teams interrupted their spring training schedules to send players to the game. It was billed as the East-West Major League Baseball Classic, so it did not follow the usual National League vs. American League format. Two players from each team were selected by the Southern California Sportscasters Association and the Los Angeles chapter of the Baseball Writers

Association. All selected players said “yes” and willingly gave of their time without compensation. Many came from long distances from across the country. With the Giants playing in Japan at the time, Willie Mays flew a total of 12,000 miles back-and-forth to be in attendance.

The West team was managed by Roy Campanella, wearing his #39 Dodger uniform for the first time since his debilitating injury on September 29, 1957; while Joe DiMaggio, looking out of place in his gaudy green and yellow A’s uniform, was at the helm for the East.

Check out these formidable lineups:

West:  1.Maury Wills, 2.Pete Rose, 3.Hank Aaron, 4.Reggie Jackson, 5.Johnny Bench, 6.Orlando Cepeda, 7.Joe Morgan, 8.Sal Bando,  9. Earl Wilson.

East: 1.Ron Fairly, 2.Reggie Smith, 3.Frank Robinson, 4.Willie Stargell, 5.Ron Santo, 6.Ernie Banks, 7.Mike Andrews, 8.Tim McCarver, 9.Tom Seaver.

On the West team bench were stars who couldn’t crack the starting lineup, including, Lou Brock, Roberto Clemente, and Al Kaline. Bob Gibson was relegated to bullpen duty, ready to relieve starter Tom Seaver. Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Stan Musial, Satchel Paige and Larry Doby all were in attendance in uniform, while Jackie Robinson watched from the stands. A late addition was Don Clendenon, who was a Morehouse College classmate of Dr. King, and said of the game: “I’d be there even if I have to hitch-hike, I was a very close friend of Dr. King.”

The coaching ranks for both teams also included many retired stars: Billy Martin, Hank Bauer, John McNamara, Satchel Paige, Koufax, Drysdale, Stan Musial, Elston Howard and Don Newcombe. Retired pitcher Jim “Mudcat” Grant sang The National Anthem. Coretta Scott King threw the ceremonial first pitch to Johnny Bench.

The East team won the game 5-1 with Ron Fairly, the game’s MVP, and Ron Santo hitting home runs. Seaver and Gibson shut out the West team for six innings. But the details of the game faded in significance compared to the reason it was played: to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King.  $30,00 was raised in proceeds and donated to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta.

The historic game spotlighted the achievements of many African-American ballplayers, including a black manager (Campanella), a black starting pitcher (Earl Wilson) and a black home-plate umpire (Emmett Ashford), who was also the first black umpire in the major leagues. In addition, the game featured the first black to play in the American League and win a home run title (Larry Doby), the first to pitch in a World Series (Satchel Paige), first catcher (Campanella), the first to win a strike-out title and a Cy Young Award (Don Newcombe), the first to win back-to-back MVPs (Banks), win the American League MVP (Elston Howard), be named team captain (Mays), and win the Triple Crown (Frank Robinson).

Player reaction was universally positive. Typical was this statement by Pete Rose:

“I played a baseball game Saturday that meant an awful lot to me. It was more than just another game and even though it was an exhibition game it had meaning. In this game, I felt I did some good for my country. I believe I’ve got to help any way I can and this is my way of doing it.”

Tom Verducci summarized the significance of the game:

“The 1970 MLK tribute game occupies a unique place of greatness because it showcased not only many of the most important figures in baseball history, but also what can happen when Major League Baseball and its players work together for social good.”

So let’s take a moment to recall one of the most important exhibition games ever played, and one whose significance to civil rights in America has unfortunately been lost over time. If you get a chance, I recommend clicking the link and reading the entire article.”

Gary Livacari 

Information: Excerpts and quotes edited from an article by Tom Verducci in Sports Illustrated

Photo Credits: All from Google search