A Presidential Destination
Every President of the United States from William Howard Taft to John F. Kennedy threw a ceremonial first pitch at least once at Griffith. The Senators even constructed a special presidential box near the first base dugout for the annual ritual.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was a good friend of Clark Griffith, and had attended games at the stadium since his days as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the 1910s. When FDR returned to Washington in 1933 as President, Griffith visited the White House early every season to give Roosevelt season passes; he also constructed a special ramp at the ballpark that accommodated the President's special mobility needs after his bout with polio in 1921. On Opening Day in 1941, Roosevelt stood up in the stadium's presidential box on the arm of a military aide, and threw out the first pitch. In 1942, Clark Griffith urged Roosevelt to keep baseball going during the war. Griffith took credit after Roosevelt's initial "Green Light letter," which allowed baseball to continue.
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