Major League Baseball Centennial All-Time Teams

In 1969, Major League Baseball celebrated its centennial with a landmark event: the naming of its first official All-Time Team and an accompanying All-Time "Living" Team, both unveiled at a star-studded banquet on July 21, the night before that year's All-Star Game.[1] For the first time, fans played a central role in the selection process, voting for all-time franchise teams in each major league city, which served as nominees for the national team. Supplemented by ballots from The Sporting News and a panel of writers and broadcasters, finalists were chosen for each position, leading to Oscar-style award presentations at a gala attended by Hall of Famers, current stars, politicians, and celebrities.[2]

At the same event, Babe Ruth was crowned the greatest player of all time, while Joe DiMaggio was honored as the greatest "living" player.[3]

All-Time Team

Sources:[4][5]

Greatest All-Time Player – Babe Ruth

Position Selected players Finalists
Catcher Mickey Cochrane Roy Campanella
Bill Dickey
First baseman Lou Gehrig Stan Musial
George Sisler
Second baseman Rogers Hornsby Eddie Collins
Charlie Gehringer
Third baseman Pie Traynor Brooks Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Shortstop Honus Wagner Ernie Banks
Joe Cronin
Right fielder Babe Ruth Willie Mays
Tris Speaker
Ted Williams
Center fielder Ty Cobb
Left fielder Joe DiMaggio
Right-handed pitcher Walter Johnson Christy Mathewson
Cy Young
Left-handed pitcher Lefty Grove Sandy Koufax
Carl Hubbell
Manager John McGraw Joe McCarthy
Casey Stengel

All-Time "Living" Team

Sources:[4][5]

Greatest "Living" Player – Joe DiMaggio

Position Selected players Finalists
Catcher Bill Dickey Yogi Berra
Roy Campanella
Gabby Hartnett
First baseman Stan Musial
George Sisler		 Bill Terry
Second baseman Charlie Gehringer Frank Frisch
Jackie Robinson
Third baseman Pie Traynor Brooks Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Shortstop Joe Cronin Luke Appling
Ernie Banks
Lou Boudreau
Right fielder Willie Mays Hank Aaron
Mickey Mantle
Stan Musial
Center fielder Joe DiMaggio
Left fielder Ted Williams
Right-handed pitcher Bob Feller Dizzy Dean
Bob Gibson
Left-handed pitcher Lefty Grove Sandy Koufax
Carl Hubbell
Warren Spahn
Manager Casey Stengel Walter Alston
Leo Durocher
Joe McCarthy

See also

Further reading

  • Nemec, David. PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL: The First 100 Years – 1869–1969. New York: Atheneum, 1969. OCLC 2199632.
  • Roger Angell (July 26, 1969). "Baseball Centennial Souvenir Program". The New Yorker.

References

  1. ↑ Petriello, Mike (April 18, 2007). "Celebrating Baseball's Centennial". The Hardball Times. FanGraphs. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Memories & Dreams: Celebrating Professional Baseball's Centennial". Appel PR. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  3. ↑ "1969 National League Season Summary". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  4. 1 2 "July 23, 1969: Willie McCovey's two homers power National League to All-Star win". SABR. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  5. 1 2 "1969 MLB All-Time Teams". 2025-04-30. Archived from the original on 30 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
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