President Calvin Coolidge Baseball Speech to the A.L. pennant winning Washington Senators

President Calvin Coolidge Baseball Speech to the A.L. pennant winning Washington Senators

On October 1, 1924, the Washington Senators won their very first American League pennant. The President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, addressed the assembled Senators — those from the baseball team — on the White House lawn while nearly one-hundred thousand fans stood and watched.

The speech itself covered many topics and was rather long, but the brief baseball portion read by President Cavlin Coolidge is completely reproduced below, courtesy of Baseball Almanac.

"Mr. Ruth" - President Calvin Coolidge "Hot as hell, ain't it Prez?" - Babe Ruth

President Calvin Coolidge October 1, 1924 Speech

They are a great band, these armored knights of the bat and ball. They are held up to high standard of honor on the field, which they have seldom betrayed. While baseball remains our national game, our national tastes will be on a higher level and our national ideals on a finer foundation. By bringing the baseball pennant to Washington you have made the National Capital more truly the center of worthy and honorable national aspirations.

President Calvin Coolidge

October 1, 1924

President Calvin Coolidge October 1, 1924 Speech

Game 1 of the 1924 World Series (three days after this speech) was twelve innings long and President Calvin Coolidge openly enjoyed a cigar during the game.

During the speech, President Coolidge urged the United States Congress to adjourn early so members could attend the World Series — they did not.

Did you know that President Calvin Coolidge's wife, Grace, was the official scorer for her college baseball team?

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