* Hail to the chief — Updated

April 5, 2010

Not Chief Bender or Wahoo, but Commander-in-Chief.

President Obama is scheduled to throw out the first pitch at the Nationals home opener today.

This year marks the 100th anniversary since Pres. William Howard Taft made his “delivery” at the Senators-Philadelphia Athletics inaugural on April 14, with Walter Johnson on the receiving end.

The Associated Press ran this story by Frederic Frommer, author of The Washington Nationals 1859 to Today: The Story of Baseball in the Nation’s Capital, on the tradition.

Paul Dickson, author of several baseball titles, including the eponymous Dickson Baseball Dictionary, published Baseball: The Presidents Game in 1989, with a revised edition in 1997. You can also learn more about the connection with the Oval Office and the National Pastime at Prezbaseball.org.

UPDATE: Interestingly, here’s a piece from our neighbor to the north, the Toronto Globe and Mail.

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Tagged as: Baseball News, Presidents

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