Bret Baier on Tuesday night put on a red jersey and shoes and started mingling with his guests.
The Fox News anchor was not getting ready for a live broadcast though — he was getting ready to bowl for charity.
“I’m not too bad at bowling,” Baier said after bowling a strike in the first frame and then a gutterball. “But this is a really fun event and a great way to raise money and awareness for a great cause.”
{mosads}Baier was one of the bowlers invited to Pinstripes Georgetown for the Hope for Henry Foundation’s (HFH) first celebrity bowling tournament.
The organization’s mission is to “help D.C.’s sickest kids by bringing joy, laughter and smiles to their lives,” says co-founder Laurie Strongin.
The foundation does year-round programming, including gifts, parties and even superhero visits to hospitals to improve children’s quality of life while receiving medical care.
Baier said he understands the organization’s important work since his son needed multiple heart surgeries when he was first born.
“It’s important to remember that even though they are receiving great medical care, they are still going through a tough time and the environment they are in really matters,” he said.
Other celebrity bowlers included United Arab Emirates Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, who chaired the event, the co-founders of Georgetown Cupcakes, several journalists and Wolf Blitzer of CNN’s “The Situation Room.”
Blitzer casually strode into the bowling alley during the fourth frame and started talking with the other celebrities and invited guests. He had a shirt in his hand ready to bowl but said he would not be participating.
“I’m not too good at bowling, so you won’t see me out there tonight,” he said. “It’s a great cause, and I’m glad to be here to support it.”
Baier joked that he was looking forward to a “fair and balanced” Fox News-CNN competition.
“He grew up in Buffalo, which is one of the big places for bowling in country, and he said he was a little intimidated then,” he said of Blitzer. “So I guess I can see why he wouldn’t want to try tonight. But I’d like to think that I could have beaten him.”