Take me out to the Ball Game! The Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia celebrates the end of every program year with an Outing in June. Usually this event is a picnic at an historical site associated with the life of Lincoln. This year a special Outing is being planned. In the year that marks the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s first election, we’re planning a night at a Washington Nationals baseball game. Fittingly, when Lincoln was nominated for the Presidency in 1860, Currier and Ives published a political cartoon portraying Lincoln as a victorious baseball player. Now at all Nationals games, there is featured a footrace of the Mt. Rushmore presidents, and Abraham Lincoln frequently prevails (especially to the consternation of the Teddy Roosevelt fans!)
On Saturday, June 19, at 7 pm, The Washington Nationals will play the Chicago White Sox. The Lincoln Group has reserved a block of tickets and has reserved a function room for a pre-game (indoor) picnic at 5:30 pm. This event will only be held if 25 or more people sign up! If you would like to take part in this Lincoln Group event, please fill out the form below and send it with your check to LGDC P.O. Box 5676 Washington, DC 20016. Checks will not be cashed until the minimum number is reached, and will be returned if the number is not reached.
Deadline: April 15th ____ Yes, count me in. Enclosed is my check for $______ for ____ person(s) at $75 per person. I understand this amount covers both the meal and tickets (Left field mezzanine). (If you already have your own tickets to the game, deduct $31 and remit $44 per person.) Name ________________________________________________________________________________________ Address ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Phone: ____________________________________ E-mail ____________________________________________
Take me out to the Ball Game! The officers of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia have given the green light to planning for a special commemorative event to take place in June, 2010 to highlight the connection between Abraham Lincoln and baseball. Lincoln is reported to have played baseball outside courthouses on the circuit in Illinois; in Postville, Illinois there is an historic marker, attesting to Lincoln's having "played townball, a predecessor of baseball."
In June, 1860 Currier and Ives published a prescient cartoon illustrating the four presidential candidates (Bell, Douglas, Breckenridge and Lincoln) outfitted to play baseball, with the title "The National Game, Three 'Outs' and One 'Run' - Abraham Winning the Ball." Four months before the election, this cartoon showed a victorious Lincoln remarking, "you must have 'a good bat' and strike a 'fair ball' to make a 'clear score' & 'a home run'." One hundred fifty years later, LGDC members may have a chance to get together for the "National Game," or more precisely, a Washington Nationals game, and cheer for Mr. Lincoln. On the evening of June 19, 2010 the Nationals will host the Chicago White Sox at Nationals Park. The event would be in lieu of the traditional picnic LGDC schedules each June at an historic Lincoln-related site. It will only be held if a minimum of 25 people sign up by April 15th. A baseball style dinner will be included starting at 5:30 pm and the game begins at 7:05 pm. The fee for dinner and ticket is $75. See separate sheet for registration details.