Ted Williams Hits a Walk-Off Home Run to Win the 1941 All-Star Game

On July 8, 1941, Ted Williams hit a three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, giving the American League a 7-5 victory over the National League in the All-Star Game. The 22-year-old Red Sox left fielder, already batting .405 on the season, later called it "the most thrilling hit of my life."

The National League had taken a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning and appeared to have the game in hand. The American League scratched out a run in the eighth to make it 5-4, then loaded the bases against Claude Passeau of the Chicago Cubs. The NL pitching staff escaped the inning without further damage, but the AL had life.

In the ninth, with one out, Ken Keltner doubled and Joe Gordon walked. After another out brought Williams to the plate with two on, two out, and the AL trailing by a run, Passeau worked the count. Williams connected on a high fastball and drove it deep into the upper deck in right field. The ball crashed off the facade of the Briggs Stadium upper deck, and Williams bounced around the bases, clapping his hands and grinning. His teammates mobbed him at home plate.

Williams entered the 1941 All-Star break as the biggest story in baseball. He was chasing .400 for the season, a barrier no one had crossed since Bill Terry hit .401 for the Giants in 1930. Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak was also underway, giving the summer of 1941 two simultaneous assaults on history. Williams would finish the season at .406, becoming the last player in the major leagues to hit .400.

The All-Star home run crystallized Williams's reputation as a hitter who rose to the biggest moments. At 22, he had already become the most feared left-handed hitter in the American League. The walk-off at Briggs Stadium added a flair for drama to that resume.