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Rep. Wittman brings green and gold to Nationals Park

  • Green and gold
    Green and gold  Congressman Rob Wittman (R-Virginia) saluted the green and gold Thursday night as he wore a Willliam & Mary Tribe uniform in the Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game.  Photo by Kelly Chroninger
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Congressman Rob Wittman (R-Virginia) saluted the green and gold Thursday night as he wore a Willliam & Mary Tribe uniform in the Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game.

The game between teams of Republicans and Democrats is played each summer for charity. This year marks the 102th anniversary of the first Congressional game, which is held in Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. It started in 1909 when Rep. John Tener from Pennsylvania, who played for the Chicago White Stockings in the late 1880s, organized a bipartisan pickup game. The game was revived in the 1960s by the Roll Call newspaper and continues today.

Representatives from across the country get to wear the baseball uniform of their choice. The Congressman is very familiar with the university. This past spring, he was named William & Mary’s 2001 Hunter Andrews Fellow in American Politics. During his visit to campus, Wittman met with students and faculty and also delivered a public lecture.

Wittman serves Virginia's first district, which runs from Poquoson to northern Fauquier County and includes Williamsburg. Thursday night, the Congressman entered the game as a pinch runner and stayed in as the centerfielder. Democrats won the game 8-2.