On This Day in Sports: April 14, 1910
On April 14, 1910, President William Howard Taft attended Washington’s Opening Day game and threw a baseball from his grandstand box to pitcher Walter Johnson. The simple gesture became the first presidential ceremonial first pitch, creating a tradition that would link the White House and the national pastime for more than a century.
The setting gave the moment extra stature. Washington faced the Philadelphia Athletics, and Johnson, already one of baseball’s most feared pitchers, caught the toss before taking the mound. Taft remained for the game as Johnson delivered a one-hit shutout. The Senators won 3-0, giving the ceremonial beginning a strong home-team finish.
Earlier presidents had followed baseball and hosted teams, but Taft’s appearance placed the presidency directly inside the game-day ritual. Later presidents repeated and adapted the act, sometimes throwing from the stands and eventually walking to the mound. The toss became a visible symbol of civic ceremony, athletic optimism and the arrival of a new season.
The custom has survived political change, war, expansion and the transformation of baseball itself. Every presidential first pitch carries an echo of that Washington afternoon: formal clothes in a wooden park, a ball arcing from the box and Walter Johnson waiting below. Taft’s throw lasted only a second, yet it created one of American sport’s most recognizable traditions.
Taft threw from his grandstand box.
Walter Johnson received the ceremonial pitch.
Washington played the Philadelphia Athletics.
The Senators won 3-0.
Johnson threw a one-hit shutout.
The act began a lasting presidential tradition.
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