William H. Taft set forth the relationship between presidents and baseball the day he threw out that first pitch in 1910. When the President arrived late in 1909, the game was delayed not because of his entrance, but because of the applause!
"The game of baseball is a clean, straight game." - William Taft
President William H. TaftBaseball Games Attended While In Office |
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Date | Location | Match Up | Game Notes |
04-19-1909 | Washington, D.C. | Senators 4 | President arrived in 2nd inning. |
Red Sox 8 | |||
05-29-1909 | Pittsburgh, PA | Pirates 3 | 11 inning game. |
Cubs 8 | |||
09-16-1909 | Chicago, IL | Cubs 1 | Stayed All nine innings. |
Giants 2 | |||
04-14-1910 | Washington, D.C. | Senators 3 | First pitch in first presidential opener ever! |
Athletics 0 | |||
05-04-1910 | St. Louis, MO | Cardinals 12 | Left after 2nd inning. |
Reds 3 | |||
05-04-1910 | St. Louis, MO | Browns 3 | Saw last part of 14 inning tie game. |
Indians 3 | |||
05-02-1910 | Pittsburgh, PA | Pirates 5 | High attendance record (20,265) due to President. |
Cubs 2 | |||
05-24-1910 | Washington, D.C. | Senators 3 | Rained out game. |
Tigers 2 | |||
05-26-1910 | Washington, D.C. | Senators 1 | Shook hands with players on field after game. |
Tigers 5 | |||
04-12-1911 | Washington, D.C. | Senators 8 | Season opener. |
Red Sox 5 | |||
09-23-1911 | St. Louis, MO | Cardinals 3 | Stayed all nine innings. |
Phillies 2 | |||
05-07-1912 | Cincinnati, OH | Reds 5 | President's hometown. |
Phillies 8 | |||
06-18-1912 | Washington, D.C. | Senators 5 | Senators' 17th consecutive win. |
Athletics 4 | |||
08-13-1912 | Washington, D.C. | Senators 3 | Stayed all nine innings. |
White Sox 5 | |||
President William H. Taft Baseball Games Attendence Log |
Did you know that President William H. Taft missed the Washington Senators season opener in 1912 due to the Titanic disaster?
During that 1912 opener (mentioned above), Vice President Sherman threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the absent U.S. President.
President William H. Taft has more presidential / baseball related firsts than almost all of the others U.S. Presidents and in some cases more than many have combined.