Congressional Baseball Game
Updated: 12/11/2025, 5:05:45 PM Wikipedia source
The Congressional Baseball Game for Charity is an annual baseball game played each summer by members of the United States Congress. The game began as a casual event among colleagues in 1909 and eventually evolved into one of Washington, D.C.'s most anticipated annual pastimes, according to the House of Representatives Office of the Historian. In the game, Republicans and Democrats form separate teams and play against each other. Today, the game raises money for four charities: the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, the Washington Literacy Center, and—following a pre-game practice shooting in 2017—the US Capitol Police Memorial Fund. The game is usually attended by crowds of congressional staffers, congressional families and, occasionally, even dignitaries and US presidents.
Infobox
Tables
| Year | Inductee | Notes |
| 1993 | John Tener | Organized the first Congressional Baseball Game |
| Wilmer Mizell | ||
| William M. Wheeler | ||
| Ron Mottl | ||
| Silvio Conte | ||
| Robert H. Michel | ||
| Marty Russo | ||
| 1995 | Dave McCurdy | |
| 1996 | Mike Synar | |
| 1997 | Bill Richardson | |
| 1998 | Sid Yudain | Founder of Roll Call |
| 1999 | Dan Schaefer | |
| 2000 | Carl Pursell | |
| 2002 | Steve Largent | |
| 2003 | David Bonior | |
| 2004 | Charlie Brotman | Helped Sid Yudain revive Congressional baseball in the 1960s |
| 2006 | Martin Sabo | |
| 2007 | Mike Oxley | |
| 2008 | Lou Frey | |
| 2009 | Kenny Hulshof | |
| 2011 | Mel Watt | |
| 2012 | Ron Paul | Hit first over-the-wall home run in 1979 |
| 2013 | Zach Wamp | |
| 2014 | Bart Stupak | |
| 2015 | Skip Maraney | Pioneered Roll Call's sports coverage |
| 2021 | Joe Biden | |
| 2023 | Mike Doyle | |
| Kevin Brady |
| Year | Date | Location | Winner | Score | Notes |
| 1909 | July 16 | American League Park II | Democrats | 26–16 | 'Sunny Jim' Sherman was the umpire for the Republicans. As of July 11, it was not clear who the Democrats' umpire would be. |
| 1910 | No game | – | – | ||
| 1911 | August 7 | Georgetown Field | Democrats | 12–9 | Game ended in the fourth inning by unanimous consent. Most players were sore. |
| 1912 | June 22 | National Park | Democrats | 21–20 | Scheduled for Saturday June 15, 1912, it was rescheduled to the following Saturday, June 22, 1912. |
| 1913 | National Park | Democrats | 29–4 | Game was called due to rain in the 4th inning. Members disputed whether it counted as a full game. Congressman Victor Murdock(R) umpired. Game benefiting the Washington Playground Association. | |
| 1914 | August 1 | National Park | Democrats | 16–9 | Originally scheduled for June 27, it was rescheduled to August 26, 1914, due to rain. In the end it was played on August 1, 1914. Congressman "Walt" Elder(D) of Louisiana lost his shoes and pitched in his socks. |
| 1915 | National Park | Democrats | – | ||
| 1916 | National Park | Republicans | 18–13 | ||
| 1917 | June 30 | National Park | Democrats | 22–21 | President Woodrow Wilson had to throw the first ball twice as Washington Senators manager Clark Griffith was unable to catch it. Suffragettes were in the stands but no banners were displayed. Sydney Mudd(R) of Maryland scored the only home-run of the game. |
| 1918 | June 9 | National Park | Republicans | 19–5 | President Woodrow Wilson, Vice-President Thomas R. Marshall were present. The President tossed the first ball to Congressman James V. McClintic(D). Speaker Champ Clark was honorary umpire wearing a beaver hat of the seven-inning game. Sales of tickets and flowers were expected to bring in $1,200 for the Red Cross to provide bandages to the soldiers. |
| 1919 | National Park | Republicans | – | ||
| 1920–1925 | No information | – | – | Newspaper accounts refer to the 1926 game as the first game in years. | |
| 1926 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 12–9 | ||
| 1927 | No game | – | – | ||
| 1928 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 36–4 | ||
| 1929 | No game | – | – | ||
| 1930 | No information | – | – | Newspaper accounts refer to the game during this period as "biennial." | |
| 1931 | No game | – | – | ||
| 1932 | Griffith Stadium | Republicans | 19–5 | The official score of this game is disputed. Umpire Tunney ruled a high fly ball hit in the last inning by Republicans an out instead of a home run. | |
| 1933 | Griffith Stadium | Republicans | 18–16 | ||
| 1934–1944 | No information | – | – | In lieu of a traditional Congressional Baseball Game, ballgames between members and the press were played in 1935, 1938, 1939, and 1941. | |
| 1945 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | – | ||
| 1946 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | – | ||
| 1947 | Griffith Stadium | Republicans | 16–13 | ||
| 1948 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 23–14 | ||
| 1949 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 16–10 | ||
| 1950 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 8–4 | ||
| 1951 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 7–3 | ||
| 1952 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 6–3 | ||
| 1953 | June 5 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 3–2 | |
| 1954 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 2–1 | ||
| 1955 | Griffith Stadium | Republicans | 12–4 | ||
| 1956 | Griffith Stadium | Republicans | 8–7 | ||
| 1957 | Griffith Stadium | Democrats | 10–9 | ||
| 1958–1961 | No game | – | – | ||
| 1962 | Stadium | Republicans | 4–0 | ||
| 1963 | Stadium | Democrats | 11–0 | ||
| 1964 | Stadium | Republicans | 6–5 | ||
| 1965 | Stadium | Republicans | 3–1 | Roll Call Trophy | |
| 1966 | Stadium | Republicans | 14–7 | ||
| 1967 | Stadium | Republicans | 9–7 | ||
| 1968 | Stadium | Republicans | 16–1 | Roll Call Trophy | |
| 1969 | RFK Stadium | Republicans | 6–2 | ||
| 1970 | RFK Stadium | Republicans | 6–4 | ||
| 1971 | RFK Stadium | Republicans | 7–3 | Roll Call Trophy | |
| 1972 | RFK Stadium | Republicans | 7–2 | ||
| 1973 | July 30 | Memorial Stadium | Republicans | 12–4 | |
| 1974 | Memorial Stadium | Republicans | 7–3 | Roll Call Trophy | |
| 1975 | Memorial Stadium | Democrats | 3–2 |
References
- congressionalbaseball.orghttps://www.congressionalbaseball.org
- congressionalbaseball.orghttps://www.congressionalbaseball.org/history/
- NBC Newshttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/congressional-baseball-game-carries-long-tradition-raises-money-charity-n772261
- The Washington Posthttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/lawmakers-at-bat-for-annual-charity-baseball-game/2019/06/26/d01257ca-987c-11e9-9a16-dc551ea5a43b_story.html
- WTOPhttps://wtop.com/media-galleries/2019/06/photos-2019-congressional-baseball-game-for-charity/
- Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/CongressionalBaseball/posts/the-capitol-police-memorial-fund-will-be-added-to-the-list-of-this-years-benefic/1563503450389118/
- history.house.govhttp://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/Statistics/
- "History of the Game"http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/History/
- history.house.govhttp://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/History
- The Washington Posthttps://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/multiple-people-injured-after-shooting-in-alexandria/2017/06/14/0289c768-50f6-11e7-be25-3a519335381c_story.html
- The Sydney Morning Heraldhttps://www.smh.com.au/world/us-congressman-hit-in-shooting-in-washington-dc-suburb-20170614-gwrcbg.html
- Rebecca Beitsch. "FBI reclassifies 2017 baseball field shooting as domestic terror". The Hill (May 17, 2021).https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/553958-fbi-reclassifies-2017-baseball-field-shooting-as-domestic-terror
- Huffington Posthttps://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/congressional-baseball-game_us_59415d72e4b0d31854868da6
- ESPN.comhttp://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19647912/1-million-plus-raised-ahead-congressional-baseball-game
- Deadlinehttps://deadline.com/2017/06/c-span-carry-congressional-baseball-game-for-charity-shooting-steve-scalise-critical-1202113548/
- Politicohttps://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/09/28/pelosi-and-the-squad-brace-for-a-showdown-494496
- history.house.govhttp://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/Location/
- Roll Callhttp://www.rollcall.com/features/Baseball-Program_2011/baseball/-207200-1.html
- history.house.govhttp://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/Rosters/
- U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art, and Archiveshttp://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/Fanfare/
- Roll Callhttps://www.rollcall.com/2012/06/27/home-run-lands-ron-paul-in-hall-of-fame/
- "GOP rep. hits HR at Nats Park in Congressional Baseball Game"https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/nationals/rep-greg-steube-homers-out-nationals-park-congressional-baseball-game
- The Houston Chroniclehttp://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/06/ron-paul-inducted-into-congressional-baseball-hall-of-fame-%E2%80%93-in-astros-garb/
- TheHillhttps://thehill.com/homenews/administration/574613-biden-attends-congressional-baseball-game-amid-push-to-save-his
- Roll Callhttps://rollcall.com/2023/06/13/retired-reps-mike-doyle-kevin-brady-win-their-greatest-elections-yet-into-the-congressional-baseball-hall-of-fame/
- history.house.govhttp://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/Fanfare/
- History of the Congressional Baseball Game Archived June 15, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (The Congressional Baseball Gahttp://www.congressionalbaseball.org/history/
- Wins & Losses Through the Years Archived July 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (History, Art & Archives / U.S. House of Rhttp://www.history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/Statistics/
- History, Art & Archives / U.S. House of Representativeshttps://web.archive.org/web/20170701153306/http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/Statistics/
- FiveThirtyEighthttps://fivethirtyeight.com/features/we-calculated-advanced-stats-for-the-congressional-baseball-game/
- The Washington Times
- The Washington times
- The Washington Times
- The Washington Herald
- The Washington Times
- An Annual Outing: The Congressional Baseball Gamehttp://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Baseball-Game/Statistics/
- The Washington Times
- The Washington Times
- The Washington Times
- The Washington Herald
- The Washington Times
- When Roll Call assumed sponsorship of the game in 1962, a best of five game trophy series was created. Roll Call awards
- The New York Timeshttps://www.proquest.com/docview/119725590
- The Atlantichttps://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/06/the-fiercest-battle-in-dc-is-on-the-baseball-diamond/276735/
- SB Nation DC, The 2010 Congressional Baseball Game, Starring Older Gentlemen In Ill-Fitting Jerseys And Pitching Miscueshttp://dc.sbnation.com/2010/6/30/1545352/2010-congressional-baseball-game-democrats-win-13-5
- The Washington Posthttps://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/democrats-claim-victory-in-congressional-baseball-game/2011/07/14/gIQARKLGGI_story.html
- HuffPosthttps://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/28/congressional-baseball-republican-slaughter_n_1636191.html
- MSNBChttps://www.msnbc.com/the-cycle/gop-loses-congressional-baseball-game-22-r
- HuffPosthttps://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/26/congressional-baseball-game_n_5532052.html
- WTOPhttp://wtop.com/local-sports/2015/06/democrats-snag-series-lead-in-congressional-baseball-game/slide/1/
- POLITICOhttps://www.politico.com/gallery/2015/06/obama-attends-the-congressional-baseball-game-002011?slide=0
- Roll Call, Republicans Turn Back Democrats in Thriller, 8–7, June 23, 2016.http://www.rollcall.com/news/hoh/republicans-turn-back-democrats-thriller-8-7
- CNN, The Congressional baseball game is a long-running, bipartisan tradition, June 14, 2017.http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/14/politics/congressional-baseball-game/index.html
- WTOPhttps://wtop.com/media-galleries/2019/06/photos-2019-congressional-baseball-game-for-charity/
- CBS Newshttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-congressional-baseball-game/