Cheaters, Mobsters, and the Six Bullets That Birthed Baseball’s All-Star Game

About this episode

Brian O'Leary interviews Randall Sullivan about the historical significance of the first All-Star Game and its connection to America's challenges during the Great Depression.

THE FIRST ALL-STAR GAME with author Randall Sullivan What happens when a botched assassination attempt on a president, the “Outfit,” the Great Depression, and the Legend of Babe Ruth collide in Chicago? Author Randall Sullivan reveals how the first so-called “Game of the Century” helped pull America out of its darkest era. Discover the untold history of baseball’s first All-Star Game and the legends that shaped the sport. In 1933, an assassin fired six bullets at President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami. Every single bullet missed FDR, but they fatally struck Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak. Out of the political chaos of that assassination, a city’s desperation to escape the shadow of Al Capone’s crime syndicate, and the darkest, most terrifying days of the Great Depression, an unbelievable gamble was born. To save the city’s morale, a new mayor and a sports editor dreamed up the ultimate distraction: the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The Book THE FIRST ALL-STAR GAME: Babe Ruth, FDR, and America at the Crossroads (Atlantic Monthly Press, June 2, 2026) Summary Brian O’Leary sits down with three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Randall Sullivan to discuss his new book, THE…

People in this episode

Host: Brian O'Leary

Guest: Randall Sullivan

Topics covered

• baseball history
• political history
• Great Depression
• sports culture
• assassination attempts
• American legends

Keywords

• All-Star Game
• Babe Ruth
• FDR
• Chicago
• Great Depression
• assassination
• Randall Sullivan
• sports history
• political chaos

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Atlantic Monthly Press

Places: Chicago, Miami

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