World series wager by archbishops of LA, NY raises over $20K for Catholic schools
More than $20,000 has been raised for Catholic schools from a wager made by the leaders of the Catholic archdioceses where the two baseball teams that competed in this year’s World Series are located.
Leading up to this year’s World Series, where the Los Angeles Dodgers faced off against the New York Yankees, Archbishop Jose Gomez of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York made a “friendly wager” designed to benefit Catholic schools in their respective communities.
According to the website “Baseball Unites,” Catholics “and all people of goodwill” were encouraged to donate to the John Cardinal O’Connor School in New York City and the Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles. Under an agreement between the two church leaders, the archdiocese in the city of the team that won the World Series would receive 60% of all funds raised, while the archdiocese of the other team would get 40%.
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Gomez and Dolan addressed additional terms of their wager in statements posted on the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ X page two weeks ago, ahead of the first game of the World Series. If the Yankees won, Dolan would get to enjoy baked goods from the LA-based Randy’s Donuts, while if the Dodgers emerged victorious, he would send some “New York bagels” to Gomez.
Ultimately, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series. Therefore, 60% of the $20,098 raised by the #BaseballUnites campaign, which amounts to $12,058.80, will go to the Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles, while the remaining 40%, which equates to $8,039.20, will go to the John Cardinal O’Connor School.
In a statement released after the Dodgers’ World Series victory last week, Dolan extended congratulations to the Dodgers for their “great season and World Series” victory as well as to his “brother,” Gomez. “I hope he enjoys his bagels!” Dolan added. “Even more, my thanks to all who participated in our Baseball Unites campaign in support of Catholic education and our great schools. That makes us all winners, especially our kids.”
Gomez released his own statement following the Dodgers’ World Series victory: “What a great World Series, not only because the Dodgers won. Certainly, that was great. But it was also just fun to watch, both teams played such good baseball every night. So, thank you to all the players, and a special thank you to everyone who supported our Baseball Unites campaign to help Catholic schools. I’m looking forward to some New York bagels.”
This year’s World Series did not mark the first time the leader of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles made a deal with one of his fellow church leaders over the outcome of an athletic matchup. In 2022, as the Los Angeles Rams faced off against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI, he made a nearly identical wager with Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schurr where the winning team would receive 60% of the funds raised for its respective Catholic Education Foundation as part of the “Bishops’ Big Game” campaign.
The Rams ended up beating the Bengals, which meant that the Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles received 60% of the more than $22,000 raised from the campaign. While Schurr sent Gomez Graeter’s Ice Cream following the Rams’ victory, the archbishop of Los Angeles sent his counterpart in Cincinnati treats from the LA-based Porto’s Bakery “out of gratitude and in consolation.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
