Michael Ortman never let go of his childhood passions, especially baseball. A gifted storyteller, Michael graduated from Notre Dame where he spent less time in class than in the sports information department and at the student newspaper and radio station. He and his wife Kate then assembled their winning team, not through trades, free agency, or the draft, but by birth, adoption, and marriage. Their roster now boasts 17 children, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. He spent most of the past 40 years as a senior executive in sports, marketing, and television and was a finalist in The Washington Post’s 2012 exhaustive search for “D.C.’s Greatest Sports Fan.”

Michael Ortman never let go of his childhood passions, especially baseball. A gifted storyteller, Michael graduated from Notre Dame where he spent less time in class than in the sports information department and at the student newspaper and radio station. He and his wife Kate then assembled their winning team, not through trades, free agency, or the draft, but by birth, adoption, and marriage. Their roster now boasts 18 children, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. He spent most of the past 40 years as a senior executive in sports, marketing, and television and was a finalist in The Washington Post’s 2012 exhaustive search for “D.C.’s Greatest Sports Fan.”

50
Opening Day games

His streak traveled from DC to Baltimore to Chicago, back to Baltimore, and ultimately, home to Washington.

  • Three cities.
  • Six stadiums.
  • Five home teams.
  • Fifty Opening Days.