# 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 47th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 13, 1976, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home of the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League. The game resulted in a 7–1 victory for the NL.
This was the third time that the All-Star Game had been played in Philadelphia, though the first to be played in Veteran's Stadium. Both the 1943 and 1952 games were played in Philadelphia's Shibe Park with the then Philadelphia Athletics hosting in 1943 and the Phillies hosting in 1952. The All-Star Game would return to Veterans Stadium in 1996.
The game was held to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. The 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game is also scheduled to be in Philadelphia to mark the 250th anniversary.
The honorary captains were Robin Roberts (for the NL) and Bob Lemon (for the AL).
Starting with this All-Star Game, both "O Canada" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" would be sung as part of the annual pregame ceremonies.

## American League roster

The American League roster included 7 future Hall of Fame players, denoted in italics.

### Elected starters

| Position | Player | Team |
| C | Thurman Munson | New York Yankees |
| 1B | Rod Carew | Minnesota Twins |
| 2B | Bobby Grich | Baltimore Orioles |
| 3B | George Brett | Kansas City Royals |
| SS | Toby Harrah | Texas Rangers |
| OF | Ron LeFlore | Detroit Tigers |
| OF | Fred Lynn | Boston Red Sox |
| OF | Rusty Staub | Detroit Tigers |

### Pitchers

| Throws | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
| RH | Mark Fidrych | Detroit Tigers | starting pitcher |
| RH | Rollie Fingers | Oakland Athletics | did not pitch |
| RH | Goose Gossage | Chicago White Sox | did not pitch |
| RH | Catfish Hunter | New York Yankees | |
| LH | Dave LaRoche | Cleveland Indians | did not pitch |
| LH | Sparky Lyle | New York Yankees | did not pitch |
| LH | Frank Tanana | California Angels | |
| RH | Luis Tiant | Boston Red Sox | |
| LH | Bill Travers | Milwaukee Brewers | did not pitch |

### Reserve position players

| Position | Player | Team | Notes |
| C | Carlton Fisk | Boston Red Sox | |
| C | Butch Wynegar | Minnesota Twins | |
| 1B | Chris Chambliss | New York Yankees | |
| 2B | Phil Garner | Oakland Athletics | |
| 2B | Willie Randolph | New York Yankees | injured |
| 3B | Don Money | Milwaukee Brewers | |
| SS | Mark Belanger | Baltimore Orioles | |
| SS | Freddie Patek | Kansas City Royals | |
| OF | Hal McRae | Kansas City Royals | |
| OF | Amos Otis | Kansas City Royals | |
| OF | Mickey Rivers | New York Yankees | |
| OF | Carl Yastrzemski | Boston Red Sox | |

### Coaching staff

| Position | Manager | Team |
| Manager | Darrell Johnson | Boston Red Sox |
| Coach | Gene Mauch | Minnesota Twins |
| Coach | Frank Robinson | Cleveland Indians |

## National League roster

The National League roster included 5 future Hall of Fame players, denoted in italics.

### Elected starters

| Position | Player | Team |
| C | Johnny Bench | Cincinnati Reds |
| 1B | Steve Garvey | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 2B | Joe Morgan | Cincinnati Reds |
| 3B | Pete Rose | Cincinnati Reds |
| SS | Dave Concepción | Cincinnati Reds |
| OF | George Foster | Cincinnati Reds |
| OF | Dave Kingman | New York Mets |
| OF | Greg Luzinski | Philadelphia Phillies |

### Pitchers

| Throws | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
| RH | Ken Forsch | Houston Astros | |
| LH | Woodie Fryman | Montréal Expos | did not pitch |
| LH | Randy Jones | San Diego Padres | starting pitcher |
| LH | Jon Matlack | New York Mets | did not pitch |
| RH | Andy Messersmith | Atlanta Braves | injured |
| RH | John Montefusco | San Francisco Giants | |
| RH | Rick Rhoden | Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| RH | Dick Ruthven | Atlanta Braves | did not pitch |
| RH | Tom Seaver | New York Mets | |

### Reserve position players

| Position | Player | Team | Notes |
| C | Bob Boone | Philadelphia Phillies | |
| C | Steve Swisher | Chicago Cubs | did not play |
| 1B | Tony Pérez | Cincinnati Reds | |
| 2B | Dave Cash | Philadelphia Phillies | |
| 3B | Ron Cey | Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| 3B | Mike Schmidt | Philadelphia Phillies | |
| SS | Larry Bowa | Philadelphia Phillies | |
| SS | Bill Russell | Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| OF | César Cedeño | Houston Astros | |
| OF | Ken Griffey | Cincinnati Reds | |
| OF | Bake McBride | St. Louis Cardinals | did not play |
| OF | Al Oliver | Pittsburgh Pirates | |

### Coaching staff

| Position | Manager | Team |
| Manager | Sparky Anderson | Cincinnati Reds |
| Coach | John McNamara | San Diego Padres |
| Coach | Danny Ozark | Philadelphia Phillies |

## Starting lineups

While the starters were elected by the fans, the batting orders and starting pitchers were selected by the managers.
| American League | American League | American League | American League | National League | National League | National League | National League |
| Order | Player | Team | Position | Order | Player | Team | Position |
| 1 | Ron LeFlore | Detroit Tigers | LF | 1 | Pete Rose | Cincinnati Reds | 3B |
| 2 | Rod Carew | Minnesota Twins | 1B | 2 | Steve Garvey | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1B |
| 3 | George Brett | Kansas City Royals | 3B | 3 | Joe Morgan | Cincinnati Reds | 2B |
| 4 | Thurman Munson | New York Yankees | C | 4 | George Foster | Cincinnati Reds | CF |
| 5 | Fred Lynn | Boston Red Sox | CF | 5 | Greg Luzinski | Philadelphia Phillies | LF |
| 6 | Toby Harrah | Texas Rangers | SS | 6 | Johnny Bench | Cincinnati Reds | C |
| 7 | Rusty Staub | Detroit Tigers | RF | 7 | Dave Kingman | New York Mets | RF |
| 8 | Bobby Grich | Baltimore Orioles | 2B | 8 | Dave Concepción | Cincinnati Reds | SS |
| 9 | Mark Fidrych | Detroit Tigers | P | 9 | Randy Jones | San Diego Padres | P |

## Umpires

| Position | Umpire |
| Home Plate | Harry Wendelstedt (NL) |
| First Base | Jerry Neudecker (AL) |
| Second Base | Andy Olsen (NL) |
| Third Base | Don Denkinger (AL) |
| Left Field | Satch Davidson (NL) |
| Right Field | Jim Evans (AL) |

## Scoring summary

Following the pattern of many of the previous All-Star Games, the NL scored first and early, putting up two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Pete Rose led off with a single, and scored when the next batter, Steve Garvey, tripled. After Joe Morgan flew out, George Foster grounded out, allowing Garvey to score from third base.
The National League added two more runs in the bottom of the third inning, with Catfish Hunter pitching in relief. With one out, Joe Morgan singled. George Foster then hit a home run, scoring Morgan to bring the NL lead to 4–0.
The lone AL run came in the top of the third inning, with Tom Seaver pitching for the NL in relief of Randy Jones. With two outs, Fred Lynn hit a home run to reduce the NL lead to 4–1.
The game's scoring was closed out in the bottom of the eighth, as the NL scored three runs off of AL relief pitcher Frank Tanana. Dave Cash led off with a single, and went to second base when Tony Pérez walked. Bill Russell grounded into a 5–4–3 double play, with Pérez out at second base, Russell out at first base, but Cash advancing to third base. Ken Griffey singled, scoring Cash. César Cedeño then hit a home run, scoring Griffey, and giving the NL a 7–1 lead that would hold up as the final score.

### Line score

Tuesday, July 13, 1976 8:15 pm (ET) at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| American League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| National League | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| WP: Randy Jones (1-0) LP: Mark Fidrych (0-1) Home runs: AL: Fred Lynn (1) NL: George Foster (1), César Cedeño (1) |||||||||||||

## Game notes and records

Randy Jones was credited with the win. Mark Fidrych was credited with the loss.
Mark Fidrych was only the second rookie to ever start as a pitcher in an All-Star Game (Dave Stenhouse had started the second All-Star Game of 1962).
The five Cincinnati Reds selected by the fans to start the game, and the two reserves selected by manager Sparky Anderson combined for seven hits, four runs scored, and four runs batted in.
As part of the United States Bicentennial observances, the city of Philadelphia – site of the Continental Congress and the signing of the Declaration of Independence – was selected to host the 1976 NBA All-Star Game, the 1976 National Hockey League All-Star Game, and the 1976 NCAA Final Four in addition to the 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.