The 100 Inning Game is an annual charity fundraising event. It was founded by the
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
Men's Baseball League, the largest amateur baseball league in New England, in 2004 to raise funds to support Curt's Pitch for ALS, a charitable organization started by former
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
pitcher,
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...
. The organization supports the fight against
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...
. This game holds the current world record for the longest exhibition baseball game ever played.
Each year, over one hundred players from the Boston Men's Baseball League and other teams from the surrounding area get together in the spring to play a full 100 consecutive innings of baseball. It often takes about 36 hours to complete. Schilling's wife makes an annual appearance at the charity event, even playing a few innings on occasion.
History
The beginning
The 100 Inning Game was first conceived in February 2004 by Brett Rudy and Mike Lembo, both members of the Boston Men's Baseball League. Through e-mail communication, the two developed the idea behind the charity event, which was to create a game that would coincide with the arrival of the newly acquired Boston Red Sox pitcher,
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...
, and which would support his charitable organization, Curt's Pitch for ALS.
A meeting between Brett, Mike, and the ALS Association MA Chapter ensued and a deal was quickly struck to get things underway. After some convincing to the City of Boston's Department of Conservation and Recreation a permit was issued to use Kelly Field in Hyde Park for the inaugural game - marking the first time the City of Boston had ever granted permission for an all night event to take place. A date of April 17 and 18 was decided upon; the dates are also '
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
Weekend'.
That first year, the players had raised over $113,000. The game was played by 180 players and took over 36 hours to complete. A check was presented by the game organizers to Curt Schilling on the field at Fenway Park later that year.
Since 2005
The 2005 edition of the 100 Inning Game was played at the
Campanelli Stadium
Campanelli Stadium is a stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Brockton Rox baseball team of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League summer league. The stadium opened in 2002 and holds 6 ...
in
Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of ...
, and was hosted by the
Brockton Rox
The Brockton Rox are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States. Formerly a professional baseball franchise, the Rox were a member of the independent Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, fr ...
. That year, the event collected even larger funds, with over $113,000 raised and presented to the charity by year's end.
The following year, the event was played at the
Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field
Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field is a baseball stadium in Worcester, Massachusetts. Primarily used for College of the Holy Cross sporting events, the baseball stadium also served as the home field for the Can-Am League Worcester Tornadoes ...
stadium, located at the
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...
in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
,
, the home of the
Can-Am
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987.
History
Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...
professional league
Worcester Tornadoes
The Worcester Tornadoes were a professional baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States. The Tornadoes were a member of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league which wa ...
. This year brought in an additional $85,000 to the charity, making the three-year total of the 100 Inning Game $310,000 donated to Curt's Pitch for ALS.
The 2008 game was held on August 30 and 31 at Adams Field in Quincy, marking a change in date. The game also removed the "Dirty Dozen", the 12 people who could participate all 100 Innings.
Also of note, the 2006 game was umpired by Walter Bentson, a sufferer of the disease ALS. Despite extreme difficulties imposed by the disease on his ability to umpire, he managed to remain on the crew for the duration of the game.
See also
*
ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
100 Inning Game Homepage
Baseball in Boston
Annual events in Boston
Recurring sporting events established in 2004
2004 establishments in Massachusetts