Before fans could spam the all star voting ballots, Cincinnati Redlegs fans did it the old-fashioned way in the summer of 1957.

Back then, and still to this day, fans voted for the starting lineups, and Redlegs fans took full advantage. They launched an all-out ballot-stuffing campaign, flooding the league office with over 600,000 votes. And in the end, seven of the eight National League position players elected were from the Redlegs, including players like Johnny Temple, Don Hoak, Ed Bailey, and Gus Bell who became the first Bell to be an all-star.

The campaign wasn’t just grassroots; it was practically industrial. Local newspapers printed pre-filled ballots. Burger Beer, a Cincinnati brewery, distributed ballots with every six-pack and encouraged customers to vote early and often. One fan even voted 1,400 times with a clear bias. Ballots from Cincinnati outnumbered those from every other precinct combined

Commissioner Ford Frick wasn't amused. He stepped in, removed two Reds from the starting lineup, and gave their spots to Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. He also revoked fan voting rights for the next 12 years. One Cincinnati fan was so enraged that he hired a lawyer to sue the commissioner over Bell being one of those removed, but it was dropped when Bell was added.

Bell would hit a two-run double in the game in St. Louis that the AL won 6-5. And decades later, funny enough, Gus Bell’s grandson, David, was neck and neck with Cal Ripken Jr. in 2001. After complaints, Ripken would overtake David who was not chosen as a backup denying the Bells a chance at having three generations of all-stars.

Another similar incident happening in 2015 when initial ballots had eight Royals in the starting lineup, but after stepping in, the future World Series champs had to settle with four starters.

Robbie Grossman holds the record for the most games played in a row without an error at 440.