This week in National Press Club history

March 18, 1908: A second meeting to organize a National Press Club is held in the F Street Parlor at the New Willard Hotel. A constitution and by-laws are adopted after heated discussion, in particular, of a rule forbidding the granting of any credit by the Club to members, i.e., that food, drink and anything else furnished must be paid for in cash. William O. Spurgeon, managing editor of the Post, is elected the Club’s first president.

Previous attempts to organize press clubs in Washington had been unsuccessful, including the Bold Buccaneers formed by a group of correspondents at the beginning of the Lincoln administration. Failure to establish any headquarters, to adopt a constitution, or to provide for the collection of dues, led to their fast demise.

March 20, 2008: Eli Manning, New York Giants quarterback, speaks at a full house for breakfast on behalf of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Six weeks earlier, he had led his team to victory over the New England Patriots at Super Bowl XLll, and won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award. Great athletes in many sports have appeared at the National Press Club, including Cal Ripken Jr., Dale Earnhart Sr., Hank Aaron, Carl Lewis, Arthur Ashe, and Muhammad Ali.

This Week In National Press Club History is brought to you by the History & Heritage Committee, which preserves and revitalizes the Club’s century-plus history with lobby displays, panel discussions, events and its long-standing oral history project.

For more information on the Committee, or to join it, contact Chair Gilbert Klein at [email protected].