White House Tee Ball Initiative - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

White House Tee Ball Initiative refers to efforts by President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

to promote baseball and softball by allowing youth Tee Ball

Tee Ball

Tee Ball or T-Ball is a sport based on baseball and is intended as an introduction for children to develop baseball skills and have fun. The name Tee Ball is a registered trademark while T-Ball is the generic name, although many sources use Tee Ball as a generic title.- Description :In T-Ball, the...

events on the grounds of the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. The event was first held in 2001.

In 2001, U.S. President Bush

George W. Bush

initiated what he described as the White House Tee Ball Initiative. The purpose was to promote interest in childhood sports, including baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

and softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

. According to the White House, the Tee Ball Initiative promoted "a spirit of teamwork and service for America's youth."

The plan was to invite teams from around the United States to play Tee Ball at the White House

White House

. Teams were to be selected by the Little League Baseball Association.

About Tee Ball

Tee Ball

is considered "the entry sport to baseball

Baseball

for young players". Tee Ball associations allow children between the ages of four and eight to play in their leagues. Generally, Tee Ball takes less skill than baseball.

The difference between Tee Ball and softball or baseball is that the child hits the ball off of a tee. The ball is not pitched. Thus, Tee Ball allows a young child to learn the skills of hitting, catching, running the bases and throwing.

It is estimated that 2.2 million youths play Tee Ball.

List of White House Tee Ball Commissioners

2006 Commissioner Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...

July 30, 2006 http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/07/20060724-1.html
2005 Commissioner Barry Larkin
Barry Larkin
Barry Louis Larkin is a retired Major League Baseball player. Larkin played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004 and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds' World Series championship team...

June 24, 2005 http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050626-1.html
2004 Commissioner Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....

April 5, 2004
2001-04 Commissioner Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....

June 20, 2003

History of White House involvement with baseball

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

and his men played a ball game called "Rounders

Rounders

Rounders is a game played between two teams of either gender. The game originated in England where it was played in Tudor times. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a round wooden, plastic or metal bat. The players score by...

" at Valley Forge

Valley Forge

Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...

.

President John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

played a game called "bat and ball".

President Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

played a ball game called "one old cat".

President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

was depicted in an 1860 political cartoon showed Lincoln and his opponents on a baseball diamond.

President Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

, gave his White House staff time off from work to go to baseball games.

President Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...

was the first President to attend a major league game on June 6, 1892 when he saw Cincinnati beat Washington 7-4.

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

was the first President to throw the ceremonial first pitch

Ceremonial first pitch

The ceremonial first ball is a longstanding ritual of American baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from his/her place in the grandstand to the pitcher or catcher of the home team...

on opening day on April 14, 1910 for the Washington Senators. Since then, most Presidents have followed this tradition.

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

brought his fiance, Edith Galt, to the World Series.

Franklin Roosevelt encouraged Major League Baseball to continue playing ball during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

worked as a radio announcer for the Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

.

George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

captained the Yale baseball team. A left-handed first baseman, Bush played in the first College World Series

College World Series

The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...

.

President George W. Bush was a former managing partner for the Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers (baseball)

The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

major league baseball team.

About Tee Ball

List of White House Tee Ball Commissioners

History of White House involvement with baseball

See also