Putting Politics Aside: The Congressional Baseball Game

Overview

For many Americans, watching representatives from the two major US political parties locked in fierce political battles is nothing new. And while legislative disagreements and challenges have traditionally taken place inside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, the two parties that have dominated American politics for more than 150 years have annually taken their combative spirit to nearby settings (most recently Washington Nationals Park) to settle their perceived and very real differences via competitive baseball. This contest, the Congressional Baseball Game (CBG) played between Democrats and Republicans in the nation’s capital, stands as an American cultural tradition unlike almost any other. Despite receiving limited national media coverage, this annual baseball event serves as a symbolic strand in America’s foundational and social DNA.

From a historical standpoint, the Congressional Baseball Game started as a friendly competition between the two opposing parties. It has since grown into a significant public fundraising event raising millions of dollars for various charitable causes. It has also enjoyed visitations from sitting American presidents, including Woodrow Wilson, the first to attend the game in 1917. Years later Dwight D. Eisenhower threw out the first pitch for the 1953 contest.¹ The most recent presidential attendee was Joe Biden, who made a brief appearance during the 2021 game.²

The CBG has also showcased three future presidents. Both the thirty- eighth president, Gerald Ford, and forty- first, George H. W. Bush, played for the Republican team during their time in the House of Representatives. Ford is credited with hitting the first recorded grand slam in the game’s history in 1957.³ Bush, who captained Yale’s baseball team during his time in New Haven, Connecticut, was a mainstay in the Republicans’ infield during his two terms in Congress (1967–71).⁴ The third future president to play in the game, Joe Biden, is the only Democratic president to do so. Biden made three appearances during his time in the Senate and during the 1974 matchup wore a Philadelphia Phillies uniform, which he described as having been “stolen” from the team. The uniform happened to be the number forty- six, the same number as his future presidency.⁵

Interestingly, since its inception more than 112 years ago, the game has built a distinct political legacy filled with numerous narrative twists and turns, perhaps befitting of a game that has often been described as America’s national pastime. The game has also featured former professional baseball players, including a National Baseball Hall of Fame member, widely celebrated as one of the greatest major league pitchers ever.

But of all the politicians to ever play the game, the best player ever to compete in the congressional game (by a wide margin) never played past the inter-collegiate (NCAA) level.

The father of the game

The first game between congressional Democrats and Republicans took place in 1909. This initial contest was organized by John Tener, a first-year congressman from Pennsylvania and former Major League Baseball (MLB) player. The event was designed as a change of pace for the lawmakers, who were used to contesting legislation within the walls of the Capitol, but as the proposed game date drew closer, members became more excited.⁶ At the price of seventy-five cents per ticket, more than one thousand attendees filed into Washington’s American League Park to watch something far removed from an elite baseball game.

In staging the game, however, the modestly talented politicians could suggest their patriotism (by playing America’s symbolic game) but also show a “down- home” linkage to their constituencies (by rolling up their figurative sleeves and taking turns in the batter’s box).

This first game ended after a full seven innings with the Democrats’ 26– 16 victory. The Associated Press summed the game up by claiming, “More varieties of baseball were played in that game than [were] ever crowded into seven innings before.”⁷

The game included fourteen errors in total, nine by the Republicans. The Washington Times (which was published between 1894 and 1939 and should not be confused with the contemporary conservative...