Stanley "Bucky" Harris, manager of the Washington Senators, presents Coolidge with the baseball used to open the 1924 World Series. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The 1924 World Series, played October 4-10, pitted the Washington Senators against the New York Giants. The Senators won in seven games.
When Coolidge threw out the first pitch in Game 1, he became the first U.S. president to play a starring role in the series. Reputedly, he declined to attend Game 2 since it was played on a Sunday.
It may not have been much of a sacrifice. Coolidge was believed to have only limited interest in the game. His wife, Grace, on the other hand, was an avid fan. When the Senators tied the series in the middle of Game 4, Coolidge stood up to leave. Grace objected:”Where do you think you’re going? You sit down.” Coolidge sat.
After the Senators won the series, Coolidge invited the team to the White House. He closed his remarks with these words:
They are a great band, these armored knights of the bat and ball. They are held up to a high standard of honor on the field, which they have seldom betrayed. While baseball remains our national game our national tastes will be on a higher level and our national ideals on a firmer foundation. By bringing the baseball pennant to Washington, you have made the National Capital more truly the center of worthy and honorable national aspirations.
I have been remiss in checking out Amity’s blog, but I did note a slight problem on this post, starting when Cal tried to leave in the middle of game 4 of the Series. At that point , the game had not yet been won, hence Grace’s remark, to sit down.
How about something along this line:
“When, in the middle of game 4, while the Senators were battling to tie the Series, Coolidge stood up to leave.”
Cal’s comments to the winning Senators is priceless. At least for once, in 1924, the Washington baseball team give lie to the famous jingle about this usually hapless group, that it was “First in war, first in Peace and last in the American League!”
Charlie Buell