Urban Legends & Historic Lore of Washington, D.C. (American Legends) by Pohl Robert S

Author:Pohl, Robert S. [Pohl, Robert S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-08-20T04:00:00+00:00

Taft standing at the last baseball game he attended as president, August 13, 1912. George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress .

William Howard Taft throwing out the first pitch at a Nationals game, April 14, 1910. Picture published in the Washington Times. Library of Congress .

On April 14, 1910, the Washington Times trumpeted the opening of the baseball season on its front page. Chiefly among the excitements to be expected that day was the fact that the president, “the greatest baseball enthusiast who has ever had the right to smoke in the parlor at the White House,” would be attending the game and that he “would throw out the first ball.” No president had ever done this, as this duty was usually reserved for “an ex-president of the club, a Commissioner, or one of the leading Fourth of July Democrats in whatever city the opening may take place.”

In spite of this buildup, the Times did not waste much ink on describing the president’s throw the next day. Instead, after briefly mentioning his presence, it went on to describe the fine performance on the part of the Nationals, which defeated the Philadelphia Athletics behind the indefatigable arm of Walter “Big Train” Johnson. Fortunately, the Washington Herald was more aware of the historic nature of this day, describing how Taft, from the box he occupied with Mrs. Taft, threw “a nice white, shining sphere into Walter Johnson’s hands while the crowd roared its approval.”

Since then, the Opening Day ceremonial pitch by the president has become an institution. Every president since Taft has thrown an Opening Day first pitch—except Jimmy Carter, who, instead threw out the first pitch at the first game of the 1979 World Series.

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