President Kennedy throws first pitch at new D.C. Stadium
On this day in 1962 President John F.Kennedy throws out the ceremonial first pitch in Washington D.C.s new stadium called simply D.C.Stadium.
In doing so he continued a long-standing tradition that began in 1910 when President William H.Taft threw out Major League Baseballs first opening-day pitch in Washington D.C.s old Griffith Stadium.Even before Kennedy and Taft many presidents had associations with the nations favorite pastime.Andrew Johnson was the first president to invite a baseball team from the National Base Ball Club to the White House for a visit in 1865.
Presidents Ulysses S.Grant and Chester Arthur also invited professional teams to visit the White House in 1869 and 1883 respectively.Benjamin Harrison was the first president to attend a Major League Baseball game.In 1907 the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues gave President Theodore Roosevelt a lifetime pass to attend any game in spite of the fact that Roosevelt was not a fan of the game.
In 1915 Woodrow Wilson became the first president to attend a World Series game.Calvin Coolidge personally awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy to Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators in 1925.In 1950 President Harry Truman wowed the opening-day crowd at Griffith Stadium with two pitches one left-handed and one right-handed.
Reagan watched a 1984 Baltimore Orioles game from the unique vantage point of the teams dugout.Other 20th-century presidents including Johnson Nixon Reagan and Clinton attended games or threw out ceremonial first pitches during their tenures in the White House.In 2001 George W.Bush became the first former managing general partner of a Major League team the Texas Rangers to become president.
Bush also feted the Boston Red Sox at the White House after the team ended a historic 86-year dry spell with a win at the 2004 World Series.In 1969 the D.C.Stadium was renamed the Robert F.Kennedy Memorial Stadium after President John F.
Kennedys brother and attorney general who was assassinated in 1968.
