the 1985 event, after which it became the National Old-Timers Baseball Classic. All of the events were broadcast nationally on ESPN. The inaugural game, played on the evening of July 19, 1982, was particularly memorable; then-75-year-old Luke Appling connected off Warren Spahn for a home run over the fence in left field, which was at a distance of . Other participants included Hank Aaron, Lou Brock, Bert Campaneris, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, Ralph Kiner, Johnny Mize, Stan Musial, Don Newcombe, Enos Slaughter, and Early Wynn. The game was won by the American League, 7–2. The second game, held on July 18, 1983, was won by the National League, 5–3, and included Richie Ashburn, Al Kaline, Bill Mazeroski, Tim McCarver, Brooks Robinson, Mickey Vernon, and Billy Williams. In 1984, the third game was held on July 2, with the National League winning 9–4, powered by home runs from Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, Tom Haller, and Billy Williams. The fourth game was played on July 1, 1985, as the National League again had four home runs—by Hank Aaron, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Torre, and Tommy Davis—en route to a 7–3 win. Old-Timers Series / Heroes of Baseball Series (1986–1995) In February 1986, Commissioner of Baseball Peter Ueberroth announced a series of old-timers games called Equitable Old-Timers Series, to be played at each of the then-26 MLB ballparks and sponsored by Equitable Life Assurance company. These games were unaffiliated with the Old-Timers Baseball Classic games, which were not sanctioned by Major League Baseball. The Equitable series started at Fenway Park in Boston on May 17, 1986, and concluded at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati on September 20. Equitable donated $10,000 per game to a fund for former major leaguers in need. A traveling group of Major League All-Stars served as the visiting team and played an alumni team at each home ballpark location. The series was held again in 1987, starting in St. Louis on May 17 and ending in Detroit on August 30. In 1988, the series started in Boston on May 14 and ended in Detroit on September 18. In 1989, the series again started in Boston, on May 6, and ended in Montreal on September 17. The 1990 series started in Houston on April 9 and again ended in Montreal, on August 26. In February 1991, it was announced that the Equitable Old-Timers Series would have a new name and new sponsor;