Presidents and Baseball

Baseball is and will continue to be America's Pastime. With that honor comes great responsibility namely, the responsibility of having the leader of the free world throwing out the first pitch of a ball game.

Baseball is unique in that its the only major sport to have a leader of the country's armed forces take part in a pre-game ceremony that's been around for over a hundred years. Never do you see the President flip the coin or mock punt to start off the football season. Rarely does the President and his Secretary of State face off on the ice for a ceremonial kickoff to the NHL season. And, according to all of our sources, never has the President of the USA taken part in a ceremonial jump ball to get the NBA season rolling.

George Washington was known to have played rounders, an early form of baseball, during his stay at Valley Forge. See, and you thought it was all snow, and cold, and hardships.

In 1865, President Andrew Johnson was the first American President to bring the first organized baseball team to the White House to take a tour of the Presidential Estate.

According to Whitehouse.gov, President William Howard Taft was "the first President to throw out the first ball of the baseball season on April 14, 1910. He threw a pitch to the Washington Senator's Opening Day pitcher, Walter Johnson."

In 1937, FDR attended the All-Star Game and threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and after taking over for FDR upon his untimely death, President Harry Truman became the first presidential southpaw to kick off the baseball season.

After almost 150 years of baseball and the White House playing catch, President Bill Clinton became the first to successfully throw a pitch from the mound and actually reach the catcher.

President Bush (Jr.) threw out the (arguably) most famous first pitch, throwing a strike during game three of the World Series following the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Presidents aren't the only elected officials who receive the honor of throwing out the first pitch. Check out this famous footage of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory launching a first pitch into God Knows Where: