Starting with Theodore Roosevelt and working all the way through to Donald Trump, author Curt Smith chronicles the connection between US presidents and baseball. The 469-page result goes much deeper than simply describing ceremonial Opening Day first-pitch ceremonies, which William Howard Taft pioneered in 1910. As a former presidential speechwriter and the author of “Voices of the Game,” the classic history of baseball broadcasting, Smith is the ideal person to unearth a rich vein of anecdotal material.
Here’s an excerpt from The Presidents and the Pastime:
“Nixon’s baseball ardor never ebbed. Like President Eisenhower, the two-term vice president frequently visited [Washington’s] Griffith Stadium in 1953-60. In 1957 he took part in an on-field tribute to the Senators’ Roy Sievers, who, overcome, broke down on his shoulder, Nixon putting an arm around No. 2 at home plate. Often, he attended unannounced, as that year for a doubleheader. [Senators] voice Bob Wolff asked him to appear on his between-games radio show, amending, ‘But let’s play a game. Don’t say your name until we’re finished.’
“First Bob asked about the Senators’ first game victory. 'Well, of course,’ Nixon replied, ‘being a Washington fan, I thought it was great.’
"They ad-libbed for seven minutes, climaxing with Wolff’s ‘Are you originally from Washington, sir?’
“GUEST: ‘No, I’m a Californian.’
"WOLFF: ‘What do you do, sir?’
“GUEST: ‘I work for the government.’
“WOLFF: ‘Oh, for the government.’
“GUEST: ‘Yes, yes, I work for the government.’
"WOLFF: ‘What sort of work do you do, sir?’
“GUEST: ‘Well, I’m the vice president.’ ”
