It is a familiar sight to Yankees fans. During the seventh-inning stretch at home games in the post-9/11 era, the club invariably honors a veteran and then plays “God Bless America.” On the surface, it is nothing more than a ballclub paying homage to military service and expressing patriotism. It has deep historic roots, however.
On April 14, 1910, then-President William Howard Taft made an appearance at Boundary Field on Opening Day in Washington, DC. There, he threw out the first pitch, becoming the first sitting president to do so. The Senators won over Philadelphia, 8-0, behind a one-hit performance from the legendary “Big Train,” Walter Johnson.