In 1944, the Capitol Page School gave House Page Joe Bartlett, whose career as a House staffer ultimately spanned 38 years, a varsity letter in basketball. Pages attended school in the early morning, worked as messengers in the Capitol in during the day and in Bartlett’s case, played basketball in the evening. Bartlett recalled that the team was not championship material, and that his own contribution was modest: “My height was never in my favor.”
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “Page School Athletic Varsity Letter,” https://history.house.gov/Collection/Listing/2007/2007-152-000/ (June 15, 2026)
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