'Baseball and the Presidency' July 7 at presidential library
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[June 29, 2012]
SPRINGFIELD
-- Even before Gerald Ford said, "I watch a lot of baseball
on the radio," and Ronald Reagan quipped, "Baseball is our national
pastime, that is if you discount political campaigning," the
nation's pastime and our national leaders have been linked. The
connections between the two will be explored by baseball historian
Mel Marmer during a special presentation on July 7 at 2 p.m. at the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield.
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Marmer, of Cincinnati, has given more than 50 presentations in the
last five years on baseball and the presidency, including programs
at the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Eisenhower, Truman, Ford and
Roosevelt presidential libraries. Marmer will briefly explore the
relationships between our pre-1900 presidents and Major League
Baseball before focusing his main presentation on 20th-century
presidents. For instance, Dwight D. Eisenhower is the only president
to play professional baseball; John F. Kennedy, the first to
dedicate a new ballpark; Ronald Reagan, the first to make a game's
first pitch standing on the pitcher's mound; Harry S Truman, the
first to throw a baseball ambidextrously; and Franklin D. Roosevelt,
the first president to throw a first pitch at an All Star Game.
The hourlong event is free and open to the public. Marmer's
presentation will be in the Multi-Purpose Room at the presidential
library.
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The 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment Band will play Civil War-era
music in the adjacent Union Square Park at 11 a.m. that day to
precede the baseball lecture. The outdoor concert is free and open
to the public.
For more information about programs and exhibits at the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, visit
www.presidentlincoln.org.
[Text from file received from
the Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency] |