The act of a US president dropping first place is a tradition that is 110 years old. Current President Donald Trump has never thrown first place on opening day or before any other game. However, this could change if he accepts Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees, to throw a ceremonial first place at Yankee Stadium on August 15. If he did, Trump would keep the successive series alive and join these 18 commanders-in-chief since William Howard Taft …
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1. William Howard Taft
Taft got the ball rolling on April 14, 1910, when he pitched against the Washington Senators Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson before a game with the Philadelphia A’s. He also threw a first pitcher before the opening day in 1911.
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2. Woodrow Wilson
Wilson pitched his first pitch four times during his two-year presidency and was the first US president to take part in a World Series game in 1915.
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3. Warren Harding
Harding once ejected parking spaces in New York and Washington in 1923 for the opening day.
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4. Calvin Coolidge
Coolidge’s shape looks pretty weak, but he threw six top places during his presidency, including one at the 1924 and 1925 World Series, in which the Washington senators participated.
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5. Herbert Hoover
If Trump had been worried about being booed, it wouldn’t have been without precedent. Hoover threw six first places and was booed by thirsty fans who were upset about prohibition.
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6. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Polio has not stopped FDR from throwing eleven first places. Of course it helped that he had 12 years to get this record.
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7. Harry Truman
Funny fact: Truman was ambidextrous and threw two first parking spaces before the opening day in 1950 – one with each arm.
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8. Dwight Eisenhower
Golf was Ike’s real love, but he found time to throw seven first places during his two-year presidency.
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9. John F. Kennedy
JFK’s arm still looked good when he kicked out the first pitch in 1961 before the opening day. During his brief presidency, he ejected a total of three.
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10. Lyndon Baines Johnson
LBJ ejected three first pitches and all of them came to Washington. He attended an exhibition game at the Astrodome, but did not throw.
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11. Richard Nixon
Nixon was perhaps the most keen sports fan ever to hold the office. During his presidency, he ejected three first parking spaces.
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12. Gerald Ford
Ford was a former college football player. At the All-Star game in 1976, he also ejected pitches with both arms.
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13. Jimmy Carter
Carter only took a first place during his presidency and this came before Game 7 of the 1979 World Series. He was always very visible during his time after the Presidency at Braves games and had a first pitch before the 1992 World Series.
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14. Ronald Reagan
In his early days as a radio broadcaster, Ronald Reagan covered the Chicago Cubs’ games outside of the telegraph. He later took a first place at Wrigley Field in 1988.
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15. George HW Bush
As a former captain of the 1948 Yale baseball team, the older Bush knew a baseball diamond. He is the only president to host an opening day in another country after serving in Toronto in 1990.
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16. Bill Clinton
The Nationals had not yet moved to Washington during Clinton’s presidency, so he had to travel to Baltimore in 1993 to take first place. During his presidency, he also threw Jacobs Field, Shea Stadium and Pac Bell Park.
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17. George W. Bush
Bush’s first place before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium is the most famous President’s first place of all. He ejected a total of six first places, including one for the Nationals in 2005 when baseball returned to the nation’s capital.
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Barack Obama
Obama was more of a basketball fan and still ejected two top spots during his presidency, returning to his hometown.
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