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Artists & Writers Charity Softball Game 2026 Draws Katie Couric, Christie Brinkley and Carl Bernstein
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The 78th annual East Hampton summer tradition returned to Herrick Park with artists, writers and familiar faces taking the field — and plenty of rivalry over which team would claim bragging rights.
The Artists & Writers Charity Softball Game returned to Herrick Park in East Hampton on Saturday, Aug. 15, bringing together artists, writers, journalists, celebrities, locals and longtime summer regulars for one of the East End’s most enduring traditions.
With Katie Couric and Carl Bernstein on the Writers side and Christie Brinkley throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the Artists, the 78th annual game delivered another afternoon of softball, familiar faces and friendly rivalry — all for a serious cause.
And this year, the Writers had the last word.
The Writers defeated the Artists 8-6, marking their second consecutive victory in the historic summer matchup. Paul Winum earned MVP honors for the second year in a row, while Couric batted cleanup and Bernstein once again took the field for the Writers.
Hundreds of spectators gathered around Herrick Park for the game, with hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream, a kids’ corner and plenty happening on and off the field. Artist William Quigley even turned to the time-honored baseball superstition of an inside-out rally cap in an effort to change the Artists’ fortunes.
Behind the annual Artists vs. Writers rivalry is the reason the game has endured for nearly eight decades: raising money for the East End community.
Funds raised from this year’s game benefit East End Hospice, The Retreat, the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center and Phoenix House Academy, supporting organizations providing services that include hospice care, assistance for people affected by abuse, early childhood education and addiction treatment and recovery.
A $15 suggested donation per person, along with proceeds from merchandise, raffles, sponsorships and other game-related fundraising, helps support the beneficiaries.
The game traces its roots to 1948, when artists gathered for an informal softball game in East Hampton. Early players included some of the biggest names in American art, among them Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and Joan Mitchell.
Over the decades, the game has drawn an extraordinary roster of artists, writers, actors, journalists, musicians and political figures, including Kurt Vonnegut, George Plimpton, Paul Simon, Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin and former President Bill Clinton.
Seventy-eight years later, the Artists & Writers Charity Softball Game remains a distinctly East Hampton summer tradition — part competition, part reunion and, most importantly, a game that continues to raise money for organizations serving the East End.
Photos by Lisa Tamburini @hamptonsphotog
