A decade later, it’s back the way the contest once used to be held.
For the first time since 2014, an American Legion all-star baseball game of just District 17 participants will be played the morning of July 4 at Waters Field in Vienna.
“It’s time to play it again now, and we’re looking forward to that,” said District 17’s Vienna Post 180 manager Nick Good.
Also, a Legion all-star contest of any kind involving District 17 will be the first since 2019 when District 17 defeated the Southern Maryland All-Stars, 9-6. From 2015 to 2019, District 17 hosted the annual contest against players from districts in other metro-area jurisdictions.
Prior to that, the popular morning game consisted of just District 17 players and had been played at Waters Field each July 4 for decades.
The contest was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, then the interest wasn’t there to resume the game the past two summers.
The nine-inning contest will begin at 10 a.m., with Good managing the west team and longtime Falls Church Post 130 manager Ray Zdancewicz leading the east. Top players from all of District 17’s eight teams will be chosen to participate.
Following the all-star game, Vienna 180 will host the Leesburg Post 34 Rangers in a regular-season non-district July 4 contest, starting at 1:30 p.m. at Waters. Vienna and Leesburg have met the past couple of seasons the morning of July 4 at Waters in an attempt to maintain the longstanding tradition of having some type of Legion baseball game played at that venue on Independence Day.
“This summer we’ll play both,” Good said.
Players for the all-star game will be announced in coming days, likely three or four from each team.
Zdancewicz is the only remaining manager of a District 17 team who was the head of a squad back in 2014, having taken over as the Falls Church manager in 2009. He remembers those all-star games drawing big morning crowds.
“We have more teams now [eight]. So why not start the all-star game again to showcase the players, publicize and market the league and generate some additional interest,” Zdancewicz said.
Including Falls Church and Vienna, the other six District 17 teams are Alexandria Post 24, Arlington Post 1995, Fairfax Post 177, Kingstowne District 17, McLean Post 270 and Springfield Post 176.