The 100 Inning Game is an annual charity fundraising event. It was founded by the Boston 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 pitcher, Curt Schilling. The organization supports the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 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, 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 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 in Brockton, Massachusetts, and was hosted by the Brockton Rox. 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 stadium, located at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, the home of the Can-Am professional league Worcester Tornadoes. 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.

In Media

The 100th Inning (2023) 
A documentary film titled The 100th Inning was released in 2023. Directed by Alex Koppelman, the film has a runtime of 1 hour and 30 minutes and focuses on the charity event's impact on ALS awareness. The documentary goes beyond baseball to spotlight key figures involved in the fight against ALS, such as umpire Walter Bentson, who was diagnosed with the disease, Angel Fund's Rich Kennedy, and Ice Bucket Challenge's Pete Frates. The film poses the question, "Will they make it all 100 innings?" as it follows a band of Boston baseball players embarking on the marathon game to beat Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Available for streaming on Amazon, the documentary has a rating of 18+ due to language.

See also

 ALS

References

External links
 100 Inning Game Homepage
 Channel 5 News 2006 Coverage of ALS suffering umpire

Baseball in Boston
Annual events in Boston
Recurring sporting events established in 2004
2004 establishments in Massachusetts