Benjamin Harrison: First on the Diamond
According to the webpages I usually check for this blog, not much happened in the way of presidential history on June 7ths past. However, I just attended a Seattle Mariners game on the weekend and was curious to discover that it was that old curmudgeon Benjamin Harrison who was the first president to ever attend a baseball game, and he did so on or about this day. I say on or about because Wikipedia puts the date as June 7 of 1892, but the Baseball Almanac actually has it as June 6th. Since the baseball almanac has more information about it, they're probably more reliable.
The park in Washington, D.C. where President Benjamin Harrison saw his first presidential game was called Boundary Field - the home to the National League Washington Senators from April 16, 1892 through October 14, 1899. According to the Baseball Almanac, it was an 11 inning game and the Cincinnati Redlegs beat the Senators by a score of 7-4. A reporter of the day wrote that Harrison's attendance "did not assist the home team in any way." In his 1993 book "Baseball: The Presidents' Game", author William Mead wrote:
"A paunchy Hoosier known as the 'human iceberg,' Benjamin Harrison was respected for his intellect and honesty, if not his common touch. Nevertheless, on June 6, 1892, Harrison became the first president to attend a major league baseball game."
The Sporting Life, which was a weekly baseball publication, featured a front page article about the game attended by President Benjamin Harrison The subtitle of the article described Harrison as, "A great lover of baseball."
The park in Washington, D.C. where President Benjamin Harrison saw his first presidential game was called Boundary Field - the home to the National League Washington Senators from April 16, 1892 through October 14, 1899. According to the Baseball Almanac, it was an 11 inning game and the Cincinnati Redlegs beat the Senators by a score of 7-4. A reporter of the day wrote that Harrison's attendance "did not assist the home team in any way." In his 1993 book "Baseball: The Presidents' Game", author William Mead wrote:
"A paunchy Hoosier known as the 'human iceberg,' Benjamin Harrison was respected for his intellect and honesty, if not his common touch. Nevertheless, on June 6, 1892, Harrison became the first president to attend a major league baseball game."
The Sporting Life, which was a weekly baseball publication, featured a front page article about the game attended by President Benjamin Harrison The subtitle of the article described Harrison as, "A great lover of baseball."