On Sept. 8, 1945, six days after Japan surrendered and World War II officially ended, President Harry S. Truman went to Griffith Stadium to throw out the first pitch in a game between the Washington Senators and the St. Louis Browns. No president had attended a baseball game
since Franklin Delano Roosevelt tossed the traditional first pitch at the April 14, 1941 opener, eight months before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The savvy Truman knew his presence at Griffith Stadium would convey the message to America that peace had returned, and that World War II had indeed ended.
Truman saw the Senators beat the Browns 4–1 during a crucial game in a four-way race for the American League pennant eventually captured by the Detroit Tigers. The Browns, Senators and New York Yankees came up short.
On April 16, 1946, Truman assumed the presidential responsibilities of throwing out the first Opening Day pitch against the visiting Boston Red Sox. Accompanied by his wife Bess and daughter Margaret, Truman became the first lefty to toss out the inaugural pitch. In his seven and one-half years in the White House, Truman attended sixteen games at Griffith Stadium, more than any other president. Ambidextrous, Truman hurled some pitches lefty and others, righty. Truman’s Opening Day record was 4–3, and, overall, 8–8.
Over the years, Truman formed a close friendship with Senators’ owner Clark Griffith. Both hailed from Missouri, both represented up from the bootstrap’s successes, and were straight shooters. Griffith called Truman “Harry,” and the president was fine with his informal salutation. A contributor to Truman’s 1948 re-election bid, Griffith predicted, against all odds, that the incumbent would beat the Republican nominee, Thomas Dewey. The October 11 issue of Newsweek stated, “Fifty political experts unanimously predict a Dewey victory.” Truman was nonplused. “Oh, those damned fellows. They’re always wrong anyway,” he countered. As Griffith summed up Truman’s unexpected win at a post-election victory party,” “Everyone is against Harry except the people.” Truman’s surprise re-election gave him four more opportunities to throw out the Opening Day first pitch.