Evening star., 1961-01-20
WIN, LOSE OR
DRAW ;, FRANCE, ,rApu
Sports cnd the Presidency

HOW PRESIDENT feels about sports scarcely is of
earthshaking significance although Teddy Roosevelt
threatened to abolish football and Franklin Roosevelt
recommended baseball a World War II recreatonal
asset. ~
Even so Chief Executives subjects would be uncom-
monty apatetic If they not curious about his hob
bies athletic and otherwise And could be that John
Kennedy With his sailing, swimming, boyhood football,
golf and tauch football background comes pretty close
being the most athletic resident to occupy the White
House
But except for Teddy Roosevelt no President really
has eXered any great the sports picture
even FDR Baseball not in much danger of having
operations suspended although Roosevelts green light
letter to Commissioner Kenesaw Lands January IT,
1892 removed the last vesge of apprehension the part
ofoubowners. a9ra i5o HsuolH ssM ssIu51ss
TEDDY ROOSEVELT, It was, who forced the football
rule makers to egaze the forward pass after the 1905
and to ban the dangerous flying wedge What trig
gered TRs action photograph Of beatenup Swarth
more lineman
Tiny Maxwell 25o-pounder who was the backbone Of
his teams defense the primary target for Penn in
their game in o5 The big fellow took mercless thump-
Ing according to accounts, and when picture OF his
bloody face appeared in newspaper Roosevelt issued
ultimatum. If rough play in football not Immediately
ruled out he vowed he would abolish the by execu
tive edict
Franklin D. Roosevets letter to the late Judge Lands
resulted in sweeping change but cleared the air for
baseball after Pearl Harbor. The Judge it is suspected
subtly manipulated the executive expression, which
AA A"'o1 VI WAC 6oAi1e.
Sg*
a.. WHAT AM GOING to say is solely personal
and not official point Of view FDR's letter read in
part II honestly feel that 1t would be best for the country
to keep baseball going There will be fewer people unem
poyed and everybody will work longer hours and harder
than ever before
"And that means, that they ought to have chance
for recreation and for taking their minds off their work
even more than before
Baseball provides recreation and. incidentally
hope that night baseball be extended because gives
opportunity the day shift to game occasionally
Even if the actual quality of the teams lowered by
the greater of older players this will not dampen the
popularity of the sport
Here is another way of looking at it-if 800 teams
use 5000 or 5000 players these players are definite rec
reatona asset to at least 90 of their fellow citizens
and that in my Judgment is thoroughly worthwhile"
%*
IN THE GOLDEN AGE Of sports the Presidents were
Warren g. Harding and Calvin Coolidge neither of whom
was precisely athletic. Harding did play gof although
not nearly frequently Mr. Eisenhower BY stretch
OF the imagination could these Presidents be linked by
sociation with the great athletes of that era
These the years of Bobby Jones and Jack Demp-
sey Bill Tiden and Babe Ruth, Walter Hagen and Red
Grange, Man O. War and Earle Sande, Ty Cobb and
Willie Hoppe But except for throwing out the first base
ball at the start of neither Harding nor Coolidge
made much effort to participate spectator basis For
fellow like Richard Nixon those would have been days of
complete bliss =
Many Presidents rode for pleasure including Mr. Ken
nedy They rode live horses Coolidge more talk
with mechanical hobby horse in the White House. Almost
as much when he caught by group of sportsmen
fishing for trout with live worms!
MR.. EISENHOWER got off to dubious start with
baseball bluffs when April 13, 1853 he bypassed Wash
ngtons opening game and flew to Augusta to play golf
This shook up the late Clark Griffith end.
legitimate not to throw out the first ball. Grff
, ceded, but not couple of rounds of golf.
The old man somewhat Modified and Ike got of
the hook with his basebalovng constituents when th
weather interviewed The opener raned out and tht
next two games in Boston were showed out Thus wher
the Senators came back to Griffith Stadium later tha
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