What President Was the First to Throw Out the 1st Pitch on Opening Day

Traditional ritual in baseball

Ronald Reagan, Chicago Cubs v. Pittsburgh Pirates, Wrigley Field, September xxx, 1988.

The formalism get-go pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a invitee of honor throws a ball to mark the finish of pregame festivities and the commencement of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from his/her place in the grandstand to the bullpen or catcher of the home team, only the ritual changed after United States President Ronald Reagan threw the outset pitch on the field at an unscheduled appearance at a Baltimore Orioles game. Now, the guest stands in front of the pitcher's mound and throws towards home plate. He or she may also sometimes stand on the mound (as a bullpen would). The recipient of the pitch is usually a histrion from the habitation squad.

The ceremonial thrower may exist a notable person (dignitary, celebrity, former actor, etc.) who is in attendance, an executive from a company that sponsors the team (especially when that visitor has sponsored that dark's promotional giveaway), or a person who won the first pitch opportunity as a contest prize. Often, especially in the minor leagues, multiple commencement pitches are fabricated.

The practice of having formalism first pitches dates back to at to the lowest degree 1890, when throwers were frequently a mayor, governor, or other locally notable individual.^[1] Ohio Governor (and future U.Southward. president) William McKinley, for instance, "threw the ball into the diamond" before an opening day game between Toledo and Columbus in 1892.^[2] Former Japanese Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the first game of an American All-Star team'southward bout of Japan in 1908, making him possibly the first person who had served equally a national head of government to throw out a beginning pitch.^{[1] [three]}

On April 23, 2012, the Texas Rangers executed a unique twist on the first pitch tradition. Before the Rangers' home game confronting the New York Yankees, the squad held an official retirement anniversary for longtime catcher Iván Rodríguez. Instead of going to the pitcher'due south mound, he went behind domicile plate and threw the outset "pitch" to longtime teammate Michael Young, who was continuing at 2nd base.^[4]

On July 23, 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, threw the offset pitch of the 2020 MLB season later it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[5]

Presidential first pitches [edit]

The American tradition of presidential first pitches began in 1910, when United States President William Howard Taft threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Senators' Opening Solar day at Griffith Stadium. Every president since, with the exceptions of Donald Trump and Joe Biden (who has yet to do so during his current presidential term) has thrown out at least i ceremonial first pitch during or after their presidency, either for Opening 24-hour interval, the All-Star Game, or the World Series, usually with much fanfare.^[vi]

President Franklin D. Roosevelt has thrown the nearly presidential commencement pitches while in office at eleven,^[seven] while President George W. Bush has thrown 14 start pitches overall, including those thrown before and after belongings the office. Donald Trump and Jimmy Carter are the only presidents so far to not have thrown the ceremonial beginning pitch for an Opening Day during their presidency, though the latter did so after he left office.^[seven]

	First pitch by a futurity president
^	First pitch past a former president
*	First pitch past a vice president

Presidential Beginning Pitches

Event	President	Ballpark	Notes
1910 Opening Twenty-four hours	William Howard Taft	National Park	First sitting president to participate in Opening Solar day ceremonies; preceded Washington Nationals–Philadelphia Athletics game on April xiv.[eight]
1911 Opening 24-hour interval			The National Park where the kickoff-ever presidential ceremonial first pitch was thrown burned down in March 1911, and a new stadium, also called National Park at first, was congenital in its identify. It would be renamed Griffith Stadium in 1923.[7]
1912 Opening Twenty-four hour period	James Southward. Sherman (Vice President)*		Taft did not attend because of the decease of his friend Archibald Butt in the Titanic disaster.[7]
1913 Opening Day	Woodrow Wilson		[9]
1915 Opening Twenty-four hours
1915 Globe Series		Baker Bowl	Wilson's first public appearance with then-fiancée Edith since their engagement.[nine] [x]
1916 Home Opener		National Park	Nationals defeated New York Yankees on Apr twenty.[9] [eleven]
1921 Opening Twenty-four hour period	Warren K. Harding	Griffith Stadium	First loss for the Nationals with a president throwing out the first ball.[7]
1922 Opening Day			[7]
1923 Opening Mean solar day		Yankee Stadium
1923 Home Opener		Griffith Stadium	Washed two days after his showtime pitch at Yankee Stadium.[7]
1924 Opening Solar day	Calvin Coolidge		[7]
1924 Earth Series
1925 Opening 24-hour interval
1925 World Serial
1927 Opening Day			[7] [9]
1928 Opening Day			Coolidge left after the showtime inning due to cold weather condition.[7] [9]
1929 Opening 24-hour interval	Herbert Hoover		[7]
1929 World Series		Shibe Park	Held 2 weeks earlier the Wall Street Crash of 1929.[7] [12]
1930 Opening Day		Griffith Stadium	[7]
1930 World Series		Shibe Park
1931 Opening Solar day			Hoover was received past a mixed audience, with some opposed to Prohibition chanting "We want beer!"[7] [13]
1932 Opening Twenty-four hour period		Griffith Stadium	[7]
1933 Opening Day	Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933 Globe Serial
1934 Opening Day
1935 Opening Day
1936 Opening Day
1936 World Series		Yankee Stadium
1937 Opening Day		Griffith Stadium	A plane flew overhead carrying a banner reading "Play the game, don't pack the court," in protestation of Roosevelt'south failed Judicial Procedures Reform Nib of 1937.[ix]
1937 All-Star Game			[seven]
1938 Opening Day
1940 Opening Twenty-four hour period			Roosevelt's pitch hit a Washington Postal service camera.[7] [14]
1941 Opening Day			[7]
1945 Globe Serial	Harry S. Truman		First left-handed presidential ceremonial first pitch.[7]
1946 Opening Day			[7]
1947 Opening Twenty-four hour period
1948 Opening Day
1949 Opening Day
1950 Opening Day			Truman threw out two assurance, one left-handed and ane correct-handed.[seven]
1951 Opening Mean solar day			[7]
1952 Opening Twenty-four hours
1953 Opening Day	Dwight D. Eisenhower		Eisenhower skipped Opening Day to play golf at Augusta National, but the game was postponed by pelting and he threw out the first ball at the rescheduled game.[7] [9]
1954 Opening Day			[7]
1955 Opening Mean solar day
1955 World Serial		Ebbets Field
1956 Opening 24-hour interval		Griffith Stadium
1958 Opening Twenty-four hour period
1958 All-Star Game	Richard Nixon (Vice President)	Memorial Stadium	The catcher was Gus Triandos.[fifteen]
1959 Opening 24-hour interval		Griffith Stadium	Eisenhower did not nourish and was represented by Nixon.
1959 All-Star Game		Forbes Field	Nixon threw the pitch at the first of that season's two All-Star Games.[16]
1959 Old-Timers' Day	Herbert Hoover (former President)^	Yankee Stadium	[17]
1960 Opening Twenty-four hours	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Griffith Stadium	[7]
1961 Opening Day	John F. Kennedy
1961 Erstwhile-Timers' Day	Herbert Hoover (former President)^	Yankee Stadium	[17]
1962 Opening Day	John F. Kennedy	D.C. Stadium	The recently synthetic D.C. Stadium would later be renamed the RFK Stadium after Kennedy's blood brother Robert F. Kennedy in 1969.[9]
1962 All-Star Game			All-Star Game in Washington, D.C.
1963 Opening Twenty-four hour period			[7]
1964 Opening 24-hour interval	Lyndon B. Johnson		Set a tape for most hot dogs eaten by a president on Opening Day: four.[vii]
1965 Opening Day			[18] : 195
1966 Opening Day	Hubert Humphrey (Vice President)*
1966 All-Star Game		Busch Memorial Stadium	The temperature at the get-go of the game was 100 °F (38 °C). Humphrey left the ballpark shortly afterwards the pitch.[19]
1967 Opening Day	Lyndon B. Johnson	D.C. Stadium	[7]
1968 Opening Day	Hubert Humphrey (Vice President)*		Due to low approval, Humphrey attended in-identify of Johnson amidst public unrest following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.[xx]
1969 Opening Solar day	Richard Nixon	RFK Stadium	Nixon requested the presidential seal to be mounted on his box, causing embarrassment when the seal provided had "president" misspelled.[vii] [9]
1969 All-Star Game	Spiro Agnew (Vice President)		Richard Nixon was scheduled to throw out the beginning pitch but was unable to nourish after the game was postponed past pelting. Agnew threw i pitch to National League catcher Johnny Bench and one pitch to American League catcher Bill Freehan.[21]
1970 All-Star Game	Richard Nixon	Riverfront Stadium	All-Star Game in Cincinnati, Ohio.[vii]
1973 Opening 24-hour interval		Anaheim Stadium	First Opening Day presidential starting time pitch outside of Washington, D.C.[vii]
1976 Opening Solar day	Gerald Ford	Arlington Stadium	[7]
1976 All-Star Game		Veterans Stadium	Ford threw two pitches (with the first from his right hand and the 2nd from his left) from the stands, one to a representative from the National League and the other to a representative from the American League.[7] [22]
1979 World Series	Jimmy Carter	Memorial Stadium	Baltimore Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey playfully yelled, "Next time, get your donkey here earlier the seventh game," in reference to Carter skipping the Opening Twenty-four hour period.[vii]
1981 All-Star Game	George H. Due west. Bush (Vice President)	Cleveland Stadium	Bush had hoped he would exist pitching to Carlton Fisk but a 13-year-old fan was picked out of the oversupply to serve as catcher.[23]
1984 Opening Solar day	Ronald Reagan	Memorial Stadium	Reagan fabricated an unannounced trip to Baltimore, afterward it was initially cancelled for security reasons. He watched the game from the 3rd-base dugout.[ix] [24]
1986 Opening Day			[7]
1986 All-Star Game	George H. W. Bush (Vice President)	Astrodome	Bush-league's 2d All-Star Game. The catcher was Gary Carter.[25]
1988 All-Star Game		Riverfront Stadium	[26]
September 30, 1988 (Regular Season)	Ronald Reagan	Wrigley Field	Reagan threw 2 pitches prior to the Chicago Cubs–Pittsburgh Pirates game on September xxx, then joined Harry Caray for 1½ innings on the WGN telecast.[8] [ix]
1989 Opening 24-hour interval	George H. Westward. Bush	Memorial Stadium	President of Arab republic of egypt Hosni Mubarak was Bush'south special guest, but did not partake in the pregame ceremonies. The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Boston Crimson Sox 5–4 in 11 innings.[7] [27]
April 25, 1989 (Regular Season)		Anaheim Stadium	[18] : 196
June 28, 1989 (Regular Season)		Memorial Stadium
1989 Nihon Series	Ronald Reagan (one-time President)^	Tokyo Dome	Game three between the Kintetsu Buffaloes and Yomiuri Giants.[28]
1990 Opening Twenty-four hour period	George H. W. Bush-league	SkyDome	First Opening Twenty-four hours pitch past a president to exist thrown in Canada.[7]
May 24, 1990 (Regular Season)	Dan Quayle (Vice President)*	Wrigley Field
July 16, 1990 (Regular Season)	George H. W. Bush	Memorial Stadium	[18] : 196
1991 Opening Twenty-four hour period		Arlington Stadium	[7]
	Dan Quayle (Vice President)*	Memorial Stadium	Terminal Opening Twenty-four hours at Memorial Stadium
1992 Opening Day	George H. West. Bush-league	Oriole Park at Camden Yards	Get-go MLB game at Camden Yards.[7] [nine] Bush was joined past his fifteen-year-erstwhile grandson, George P. Bush-league.[18] : 196
1992 All-Star Game		Jack Murphy Stadium	Threw showtime pitch with Ted Williams.[18] : 196
1993 Opening Twenty-four hour period	Bill Clinton	Oriole Park at Camden Yards	Before this, most presidents threw from the stands or at the base of the bullpen'southward mound; Clinton was the beginning president to successfully throw from the pitcher'due south mound to the catcher.[7] [9]
	Al Gore (Vice President)*	Atlanta-Fulton Canton Stadium
1994 Opening Day	Beak Clinton	Jacobs Field	First MLB Game at Jacobs Field.[7]
1995 World Serial	Jimmy Carter (former President)^	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	[7]
1996 Opening Day	Beak Clinton	Oriole Park at Camden Yards
1997 Opening Day		Shea Stadium
2000 Opening Day		Pacific Bong Park
	George Due west. Bush (as Governor of Texas)	The Ballpark in Arlington	Hereafter 43rd president
2001 Opening Twenty-four hours	George W. Bush-league	Miller Park	MLB Commissioner Bud Selig (a former possessor of the Brewers) threw out the first pitch to celebrate the opening of the new park; Bush-league threw the second pitch.[7]
2001 Globe Serial		Yankee Stadium	This was the first World Serial game in New York since the September 11 attacks; Bush wore a impenetrable vest and a Secret Service agent dressed every bit an umpire and then he could be on the field.[7]
2003 Opening Twenty-four hours	George H. Westward. Bush (former President)^	Great American Ball Park	[26]
2004 Opening Day	Jimmy Carter (former President)^	Petco Park	Get-go MLB Game at Petco Park
	George Westward. Bush	Busch Memorial Stadium	[7]
	Dick Cheney (Vice President)*	Not bad American Ball Park
2005 Opening Day	George W. Bush-league	RFK Stadium	2005 was the Nationals' first season, making Bush the outset president to throw out start pitch in Washington since Richard Nixon in 1969.[seven]
2005 American League Championship Series	Barack Obama (as United States Senator from Illinois)	U.S. Cellular Field	Future 44th president
2006 Opening Day	George W. Bush	Great American Ball Park	First sitting president to participate on Opening Mean solar day in Cincinnati; preceded Reds–Cubs game on Apr 3.[7] [eight]
	Dick Cheney (Vice President)*	RFK Stadium
August xviii, 2006 (Regular Season)	Donald Trump (time to come President)	Fenway Park	Trump, who would become the 45th president, threw out the first pitch before the nightcap of a doubleheader to publicize The Jimmy Fund.[7]
2008 Opening Day	George Due west. Bush-league	Nationals Park	This was the beginning pitch in new stadium. Bush also participated in ESPN'due south Television receiver circulate of the game and chosen the ballpark's first home run, hit by the Braves' Chipper Jones in the 4th inning.[7]
2009 Opening Day	George W. Bush (onetime President)^	Rangers Ballpark in Arlington	Bush-league had owned the Texas Rangers in the early on 1990s.
	Joe Biden (Vice President)	Oriole Park at Camden Yards	Future 46th president
2009 All-Star Game	Barack Obama	Busch Stadium	[7]
2009 Japan Series	George West. Bush-league (former President)^	Tokyo Dome	Game 3 between the Hokkaido Nihon Ham Fighters and the Yomiuri Giants.
2010 Opening Mean solar day	Barack Obama	Nationals Park	100th anniversary of the first Presidential Opening Day ceremonial first pitch.[vii]
2010 World Serial	George W. Bush (former President)^	Rangers Ballpark in Arlington	First World Series dwelling game in franchise history; former President Bush - who owned the Rangers when the stadium was congenital - was accompanied to the mound past his male parent, George H. W. Bush, and Texas Rangers team president Nolan Ryan.
2011 Higher Globe Series		TD Ameritrade Park Omaha	This pitch marked the first game at the new home of the Higher World Series, replacing the nearby Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. Before Bush threw out the first pitch, his male parent, who played for Yale in the first CWS in 1947, delivered a video message christening the new stadium. He is the first President to have thrown formalism first pitches for amateur and professional (both North America and Japanese) championship matches.[29]
2011 Globe Series		Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
2015 American League Sectionalisation Serial		Infinitesimal Maid Park	Bush-league, aged 91, accompanied past his wife Barbara and in a wheelchair with a cervix brace, threw the Houston Astros' showtime pitch at Game iii of the ALDS confronting the Kansas City Royals.[thirty]
2017 World Series			Bush-league was accompanied and given the first pitch ball by his begetter, George H. West. Bush.

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b} Brown, Peter Jensen (3 September 2016). "President Taft, Governor McKinley and the "Lucky Seventh" Inning – the History and Origins of the Ceremonial "Commencement Pitch" and the "7th Inning Stretch"". Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog . Retrieved 6 September 2016.
2. ^ "Governor McKinley Started It". Omaha Daily Bee. April 17, 1892. p. 2.
3. ^ "American Baseball Team is Victorious". Los Angeles Herald. November 23, 1908. p. 6.
4. ^ Durrett, Richard (April 24, 2012). "Ivan Rodriguez announces retirement". ESPN. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
5. ^ "Dr. Fauci's Outset Pitch Was an Instant Archetype".
6. ^ Duggan, Paul (Apr 2, 2007). "Balking at the First Pitch". The Washington Postal service. p. A01.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f one thousand h i j yard l thousand n o p q r southward t u 5 w x y z aa ab ac advertisement ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar every bit at au av aw ax ay} Wulf, Steve (April three, 2017). "From Taft to Trump: Scouting presidential first pitches". ESPN . Retrieved July 26, 2020.
8. ^ ^{a b c} Wallner, Jeff. "President Bush tosses Opening pitch", MLB.com, Monday, April iii, 2006
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j thou 50 thousand} Glass, Andrew (April 9, 2019). "JFK throws out first pitch on opening day, April nine, 1962". Politico . Retrieved July 26, 2020.
10. ^ Beschloss, Michael (Oct 24, 2014). "The President Attends the World Series". The New York Times . Retrieved July 26, 2020.
11. ^ President Woodrow Wilson Baseball Game Attendance Log Baseball game Annual
12. ^ Walsh, Tom (March 30, 2017). "President Hoover's torrid love affair ... with baseball". The Des Moines Register . Retrieved July 26, 2020.
13. ^ D. Treese, Joel. "President Herbert Hoover and Baseball". The White House Historical Association. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
14. ^ "President Franklin Roosevelt Baseball game Game Omnipresence Log". Baseball Almanac . Retrieved 20 July 2016.
15. ^ "All Star Game Highlights". The York Dispatch. 9 July 1958. p. 17. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
16. ^ "Richard Nixon throws out the first pitch at the 1959 All-Star Game". The Daily Sentry. Associated Printing. 7 July 1959. p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
17. ^ ^{a b} "Old Timers' Day, New York Yankees Stadium, August eight, 1959". Hoover Heads. Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. August 16, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
18. ^ ^{a b c d e} Mead, William B.; Dickson, Paul (i April 1997). Baseball: The Presidents' Game. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN978-0-8027-7515-3 . Retrieved 18 March 2022.
19. ^ Endsley, Brian M. (xvi April 2018). Koufax Throws a Curve: The Los Angeles Dodgers at the Stop of an Era, 1964-1966. McFarland. p. 124. ISBN978-1-4766-6942-7 . Retrieved 18 March 2022.
20. ^ Allen, Scott (March 29, 2018). "Fifty years ago, Nats' Opening Day was postponed afterward assassination of Martin Luther Male monarch Jr". The Washington Post . Retrieved July 26, 2020.
21. ^ Weiner, Steven C. "July 23, 1969: Willie McCovey's 2 homers ability National League to All-Star win". SABR. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
22. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "1976 AL@NL: President Ford throws out commencement pitch". YouTube.
23. ^ Boswell, Thomas (10 Baronial 1981). "Bush brings baseball back with a slider". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Washington Post News Services. p. 28. Retrieved xviii March 2022.
24. ^ Putzel, Michael (Apr 3, 1984). "Reagan Makes A Surprise Visit". Associated Press. Retrieved 2013-05-29 .
25. ^ "Bush becomes nigh recent VP to toss 1st pitch". Democrat and Chronicle. Associated Press. 16 July 1986. p. 10. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
26. ^ ^{a b} Stupp, Dann (2003). Opening Solar day at Cracking American Ball Park. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 116. ISBN978-ane-58261-724-four . Retrieved 18 March 2022.
27. ^ Dowd, Maureen, "Bush Takes Mubarak Out to the Ball Game" The New York Times, Tuesday, Apr 4, 1989
28. ^ Thurber, David (Oct 24, 1989). "Reagan Throws Kickoff Pitch in Japan, Nearly Hits Concoction". Associated Press . Retrieved July 26, 2020.
29. ^ "Vanderbilt opens College Globe Series, new stadium with win". ESPN. Associated Press. June 18, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
30. ^ "Pres. George H.W. Bush, 91, throws out first pitch at Royals-Astros game (+video)". Kansas.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.

External links [edit]

• "U.S. Presidents & Major League Baseball". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2008-03-30 .

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_first_pitch

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