Johnny Callison's Walk-Off Homer Wins the 1964 All-Star Game

On July 7, 1964, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Johnny Callison launched a three-run home run off Boston Red Sox reliever Dick Radatz with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the National League to a 7-4 victory in the All-Star Game at Shea Stadium in New York. The blast turned Callison from a reserve outfielder into the game's Most Valuable Player and produced the last walk-off home run in All-Star history until the format changed decades later.

The American League had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning and turned to Radatz, their most intimidating reliever, to close the game. "The Monster," as he was known, stood six feet six and threw gas. He had dominated the AL all season and entered the game with supreme confidence. Radatz retired the side in the seventh and eighth innings without much trouble.

In the ninth, the National League rallied. Willie Mays walked and stole second base. After an intentional walk and a force play, Callison stepped in with runners on first and third and two outs. Radatz threw a fastball, and Callison drove it deep into the right field seats at Shea Stadium. The crowd of 50,850 fans exploded. Callison had been named to the All-Star team as a reserve, behind starters like Mays, Hank Aaron, and Roberto Clemente. He had entered the game in the fourth inning as a defensive replacement and had already contributed a run-scoring single earlier.

Callison was having the best season of his career in 1964, batting .274 with 31 home runs and 104 RBI for a Phillies team that would suffer one of baseball's most infamous collapses, blowing a six-and-a-half-game lead with 12 games remaining. But on the evening of July 7, none of that heartbreak existed yet. Callison circled the bases in the Shea Stadium lights as the hero of the Midsummer Classic.