10 Interesting Facts Connecting US Presidents to Baseball
Baseball Almanac (www.baseball-almanac.com) is an incredible resource for all things baseball. Their home page reads “Baseball Almanac is an interactive baseball encyclopedia filled with 500,000+ pages of in-depth baseball facts, original baseball research and baseball statistics not found anywhere else.” Today is President’s Day and I looked up some interested facts about the connection between US Presidents and baseball. Here are 10 interesting facts I learned:
All of the following pieces of information come directly from http://www.baseball-almanac.com. I am quoting their website and pages and all of this information in this article is from their sources. To see a complete list of trivia, presidential appearances, and interesting facts, visit this link – Baseball and US Presidents.
- Abraham Lincoln had an actual baseball field constructed behind the White House. He is said to have played an early version of baseball.
- William Taft was the first President to throw out a “First Pitch.” It took place on April 14, 1910.
- Warren Harding once owned a Minor League baseball team.
- Harry S. Truman threw out 2 “First Pitches” – one with his right and and one with his left hand on April 18, 1950.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower invited the Little League team from Mexico to visit the White House and gave them each a presidential pen.
- John F. Kennedy, a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, did not attend a Sox game while he was in office.
- Gerald Ford and his wife frequently attended All-American Professional Girls Baseball League games in his native Michigan.
- Ronald Reagan, a former actor who became President, played a baseball player in the movie, “The Winning Team.”
- George Bush, perhaps the greatest baseball player who was also a US President, was the captain of his Yale baseball team.
- Barack Obama, the first sitting US President to visit Cuba since 1928, watched the Tampa Bay Rays play the Cuban National team in Havana.
And there are many, many more fascinating stories about US Presidents and their connection to baseball. This was a really fun look at history, US Presidential involvement in baseball, and to see all the great photos of past “First Pitch” ceremonies. For the history buff, the baseball fan, or a combination of both, this is a great website to learn about the game of baseball. Visit www.baseball-almanac.com for more information.
Happy President’s Day.
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