| Tradition |
The tradition of the president tossing
the first pitch to open the baseball season officially started
when Howard Taft performed the honors at an American League game
between the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics on
April 14, 1910.
President Taft is wrongly credited
with starting the tradition of the seventh inning stretch, however.
The practice began at Manhattan College thirty years previous,
instigated by Brother Tobias. By 1885 it was widely practiced
in the minor leagues and used sparingly in the majors.
|
| Broadcasting |
After graduating from college in 1937, Ronald
Reagan worked as a professional sportscaster at WHO Radio in
DeMoines, Iowa. He broadcast play by play of baseball games,
and in the early days of radio, announcers re-enacted results
from a ticker tape. On one occasion the system was inoperable
for almost fifteen minutes, causing Reagan to improvise numerous
foul balls until the system was back on line. As President, he
scored a first by announcing an inning of play by play during
an NBC broadcast of a Los Angeles Dodgers game. |
| Players |
The most famous baseball president was George
Bush, named to the starting line up for Yale University. He also
played first base in the first college all-star world series
in 1947. His hopes of a major league contract offer never developed.
Some years after leaving the game an uncle in the Bush family
became part owner of the New York Mets, but by then George was
rounding the bases in the political arena. |
| Owner |
After working on his father's presidential
campaign, George W. Bush and a group of partners purchased the
Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989. He was instrumental
in building the Ranger's new home, the Ballpark at Arlington. |
| The
Ball Yard |
As a rule, baseball crowds have been congenial
and enthusiastic about the appearance of the president at the
ballpark. But in 1951 a reception for Harry Truman turned downright
ugly. The president chose to attend a Washington Senator's game
instead of a ticker tape parade in honor of General Douglas MacArthur
in New York. Just days before, Truman had fired MacArthur of
his Korean command, a move that sparked adverse public opinion.
When he entered the stadium fans resoundly booed him. The display
of protest was so intense, Truman left the game in disgust.
In 1931, with Prohibition in effect, President Hoover attended
a Washington Senators game at Griffith Park. After his introduction,
the crowd began chanting, "We want beer. We want beer!"
Hoover just chuckled, but the fans got the last laugh when they
ejected him from the presidency at the next election. |
|
