Artists Clobber Writers 14-8

Photo: Mort Zuckerman, pitching for the Writers team with Ray Kelly serving as umpire

On Saturday the 66th annual East Hampton Artists & Writers Celebrity Softball Game took place in Herrick Park. The Artists won the game 14 runs to 8. The publisher Mort Zuckerman led off pitching for the Writers Team, and former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was umpire. The event raised money for local charities including The Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center, Phoenix House, The Retreat and East End Hospice.

The game began in 1948 and this year the sponsors included HBO, Dan’s Papers, The Daily News, Mort Zuckerman, 1010WINS and The Regal Entertainment Group. For a complete list of donors who have given money to the game visit the game’s website. Players in this year’s match-up included Carl Bernstein, Ken Auletta, Walter Isaacson, Mike Lupica, Benito Vila, Walter Bernard, Eric Ernst, Richard Weise, Billy Strong and the Rev. Katerina Foster.

Midway through the game photographers began to cluster by the public restrooms fronting the parking lot hoping that President Bill Clinton might be a late arrival to the game. His wife, Hillary, was on the other side of the parking lot at BookHampton, signing copies of “Hard Choices.” However, President Clinton did not join the crowd at the softball game this year.

The game has a colorful history. Rosters from the game’s early days reads like a Who’s Who of the storied bohemian community that flourished on the East End after World War II. Willem de Kooning, Philip Pavia, Jackson Pollock, and Joan Mitchell were members of the artist team. Everyone brought a dish. Some brought drinks. Two writers joined the picnic, Barney Rosset of Grove Press (who was seeing Joan Mitchell) and art critic Harold Rosenberg. All this took place in Wilfrid Zogbaum’s front yard.

The artists had moved to Springs and the East End for cheap rent, larger studios and an easier life. They talked of art, gossiped, ate, drank, and shared a camaraderie. They recalled a glorious time; the war was over, the Depression waning, and more artists’ work was being shown in New York galleries. Some were successful in sales and reputation. Some drank too much. Most were just young artists anxious to be part of the emerging art scene.

Writers joined the artists in the ’60′s and ’70′s. Irwin Shaw, Willie Morris, James Jones, Jimmy Ernst and Carl Stokes, the mayor of Cleveland were among the group that expanded to include politicians, actors, musicians, publishers, editors and television personalities. The game has included governors, mayors, senators and a Supreme Court justice and a former U.S. President.

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