We’re going to watch the 1980 All-Star Game, to date the only time Dodger Stadium has hosted the game. The 2020 game was scheduled for July 14 at Dodger Stadium, but it’s fair to say given the uncertainty surrounding our current pandemic that is in doubt for this year, at least.
So for now, let’s sit back and enjoy the pomp and circumstance of the midsummer classic in Los Angeles from 40 years ago. This was the debut of Diamond Vision in left field, the first full-color display board in the world that at the time was the gold standard for stadium entertainment.
The game itself was also rich with Dodgers, with four players elected by fans to start for the National League, tying 1974 for the franchise record. There were six total Dodgers All-Stars in all, with pitchers Jerry Reuss and Bob Welch added to the NL by Pirates manager Chuck Tanner.
1980 All-Star Game lineups
| American League | National League |
|---|---|
| American League | National League |
| Randolph 2B | Lopes 2B |
| Carew 1B | Smith CF |
| Lynn CF | Parker RF |
| Jackson RF | Garvey 1B |
| Ogilvie LF | Bench C |
| Fisk C | Kingman LF |
| Nettles 3B | Reitz 3B |
| Dent SS | Russell SS |
| Stone P | Richard P |
This was the first All-Star nod for Welch, 9-3 with a 2.36 ERA with a team-high 118 innings and 67 strikeouts at the break. Jerry Reuss, who started the midsummer classic in 1975, made his second All-Star appearance. Reuss was 9-2 with a 1.96 ERA at the break. That ERA (1.9590) was second place by a whisker in the National League behind the Astros J.R. Richard (1.9577), who was picked to start for the NL. Reuss threw a no-hitter on June 27 in San Francisco, the 16th no-hitter in Dodgers history and just 11 days before this All-Star Game.
This was the seventh consecutive All-Star start for Steve Garvey, who owned the midsummer classic. He scored a run in each of his first six All-Star Games through 1979, and had a hit and RBI in five of those games, hitting .444 (8-for-18) with two home runs, two triples, and two game MVP awards (1974, 1978). Garvey led the majors with 66 RBI and was tied for second in the National League with 18 home runs at the break, three behind Mike Schmidt, who was elected to play at third base but didn’t play due to injury.
Reggie Smith was also named an All-Star for a seventh time, though this was his first time starting, batting second and playing center field. Smith was leading the NL in batting at the break, hitting .328/.397/.553 with 15 home runs. Smith and Garvey are two of three Dodgers with at least 15 homers at the break; Dusty Baker had 18 home runs, hitting .291/.330/.547, but was snubbed.
Davey Lopes made his third straight All-Star team and his second straight start, batting leadoff at second base. Lopes was the leading vote getter for the National League despite hitting just .236/.322/.323 with 13 steals at the break.
This was the third All-Star team for Bill Russell — also in 1973 and 1976 — and his first time starting, batting eighth at shortstop.
Fourth-year Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who managed the 1978 and 1979 NL All-Stars, was a coach on Tanner’s coaching staff for this game. Roy Campanella was honorary captain for the National League.
1980 marked the third time the Dodgers have hosted the All-Star Game, along with 1949 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn and 1959 (the second of two games that year) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The 1980 All-Star Game was played on July 8. You can follow along with the video here, beginning at 4 p.m. PT.
Watch party details
- What: 1980 All-Star Game
- Where: Dodger Stadium
- When: July 8, 1980
- Watch: YouTube, 4 p.m. PT