All the Stars Came Out that Night

Written by Kevin King
Review by Gerald T. Burke

It’s Depression-era America, and baseball is the all-American sport. Walter Winchell narrates, from the grave, about the greatest baseball game that never happened, at least officially. He includes the events that led up to the night of October 20, 1934, when the all-star teams from the Negro League and the Major Leagues slugged it out in Fenway Park in Boston. All the great players from the era are there: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Turkey Stearnes, Buck Leonard, and even the young Joe DiMaggio.

King’s novel is a rousing and comical tale of a time when bootleggers, Hollywood stars, and the big names of American industry all rub elbows. His vivid descriptions of both the period and the game of baseball in its heyday make this an exceptional historical novel that is enlightening and entertaining.