U.S. Presidents Who Were the Best Athletes

The President of the United States has a long history with sports.

The first professional baseball team was formed in 1869. By then, the sport already had begun to capture the imagination of American people, including a succession of United States presidents.

But baseball, which soon became known as the “national pastime,” wasn’t the only sport the most powerful men in the country enjoyed during their time in office.

Over the last 150 years, U.S. presidents have embraced sports across the spectrum. Some of them even were elite athletes themselves.

Here’s a look at the history of U.S. presidents and sports.

Abraham Lincoln

An illustration of Abraham Lincoln, from “The Story-life of Lincoln,” fighting the Clary’s Grove boys as a young man near his home in New Salem, Illinois. Internet Archive Book Images / Wikimedia

Born: Feb. 12, 1809 (Sinking Spring Farm, Kentucky)

Died: April 15, 1865 (Washington, D.C.)

Term: 1861-1865

Tie to sports: It’s tough to separate fact from fiction when it comes to Abraham Lincoln’s wrestling prowess, but we do know that he was tall and incredibly strong as a youth.

Into his early and mid-20s, he was known for winning matches (usually held in a town square) against the top wrestlers from rival towns.

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson in 1874. Mathew Brady / Library of Congress

Born: Dec. 28, 1808 (Raleigh, North Carolina)

Died: July 31, 1875 (Elizabethton, Tennessess)

Term: 1865-1869

Tie to sports: Andrew Johnson was born into abject poverty and didn’t receive a formal education, so sports weren’t an option when he was growing up.

He was the first president to publicly associate himself with baseball, which was growing in popularity.

His biggest connection to the game was the Washington National baseball club’s third baseman, Arthur Gorman, whom Johnson befriended when he was a Tennessee senator and Gorman was his page.

Ulysses S. Grant

An 1892 engraving of Ulysses S. Grant on horseback during a Civil War battle. Library of Congress

Born: April 27, 1822 (Point Pleasant, Ohio)

Died: July 23, 1885 (Wilton, New York)

Term: 1869-1877

Tie to sports: Ulysses Grant’s passion early on was horse riding, and he set a record at West Point in the equestrian high jump that stood for 25 years.

When 15,000 people packed the Polo Grounds to watch the New York Gothams (who later became the Giants) in their first National League game on May 1, 1883, Grant was in attendance.

Rutherford B. Hayes

A portrait of Rutherford B. Hayes. Good Free Photos

Born: Oct. 4, 1822 (Delaware, Ohio)

Died: Jan. 17, 1893 (Fremont, Ohio)

Term: 1877-1881

Tie to sports: Rutherford Hayes was linked to baseball long before he was in office, first learning to play the game as a student at Kenyon College.

He shared his love of baseball with his sons as they kept track of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, saving newspaper clippings of the team’s exploits from that season.

James A. Garfield

This undated illustration from an old print shows the inauguration of President James A. Garfield by Supreme Court Justice Noah H. Swayne in 1881. AP Photo

Born: Nov. 18, 1831 (Moreland Hills, Ohio)

Died: Sept. 19, 1881 (Elberon, New Jerseys )

Term: March 4, 1881-Sept. 19, 1881

Tie to sports: As a professor at Ohio’s Miram College in his mid-20s, James Garfield was known to be very good at wicket, a sport brought over by Connecticut settlers that may have been one of the forefathers of baseball.

Garfield didn’t have much of a chance to establish his presidential tie to sports as he was assassinated just six months into his first term.

Chester A. Arthur

Chester A. Arthur, center, during a group expedition to Yellowstone National Park. Left to right: John Schuyler Crosby, Lt. Col. Michael V. Sheridan. Lt. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, Anson Stager, unidentified, President Arthur , unidentified, unidentified, Robert Todd Lincoln, and George G. Vest. Unidentified men may be Daniel G. Rollins, James F. Gregory, W.P. Clark, W. H. Forwood, and/or George G. Vest, Jr. Wikimedia

Born: Oct. 5, 1829 (Fairfield, Vermont)

Died: Nov. 18, 1886 (Manhattan, New York)

Term: 1881-1885

Tie to sports: Chester Arthur, like one of his successors, Herbert Hoover, was obsessed with fishing and was a member of the prestigious Restigouche Salmon Club.

“There is nothing I loved more than fishing for salmon,” said Arthur, who helped increase fishing’s popularity in the U.S. during his time in office.

Arthur also started the presidential sports tradition of bringing professional sports teams to the White House with a visit from Cleveland’s Forest City baseball club in 1883, remarking “good baseball players make good citizens.”

Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland with his family at their home in Princeton, N.J. New York Public Library

Born: March 18, 1837 (Caldwell, New Jersey)

Died: June 24, 1908 (Princeton, New Jersey)

Terms: 1885-1889, 1893-1897

Tie to sports: Grover Cleveland, like his predecessor Chester Arthur, had a lifelong obsession with outdoor sports and said he was “utterly incorrigible and shameless” when it came to his hunting and fishing pursuits.

Cleveland also enjoyed baseball, but worried voters would think he was wasting time if he attended games.

Benjamin Harrison

President Benjamin Harrison, center, on a ship with Secretary of State James Blaine, far left, and Rep. Henry Cabot Lodge, far right.

Born: Aug. 20, 1833 (North Bend, Ohio)

Died: March 13, 1901 (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Term: 1889-1893

Tie to sports: Benjamin Harrison’s lack of outward emotions (he was nicknamed the “Human Iceberg”) didn’t lend much to athletic endeavors, but he enjoyed hunting and fishing and was accomplished at both.

He became the first sitting president to attend a Major League Baseball game on June 6, 1892, when Cincinnati defeated the Washington Senators 7-4.

William McKinley

Ohio Gov. William McKinley makes a campaign speech during the U.S. presidential elections in 1896. The location is unknown. McKinley, who became the 25th president in 1897, was the first presidential candidate to effectively tap big corporate campaign donors. AP Photo

Born: Jan. 29, 1843 (Niles, Ohio)

Died: Sept. 14, 1901 (Buffalo, New York)

Term: 1897-1901

Tie to sports: William McKinley was raised on sports in Ohio, and as the seventh of eight children, he was constantly riding horses, swimming and ice skating during the winters.

He declined to throw out a first pitch for the Washington Senators in 1897, but did throw out a first pitch as Ohio’s governor.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt in a boat in Oyster Bay, New York, in 1897, before he became president. AP Photo

Born: Oct. 27, 1858 (New York City, New York)

Died: Jan. 6, 1919 (Oyster Bay, New York)

Term: 1901-1909

Tie to sports: Theodore Roosevelt had lifelong passions for boxing, rowing, hiking and horseback riding. “I believe in rough games and in rough, manly sports,” he said.

Unbeknownst to the American public, he continued to participate in sparring sessions as president until a young Army officer hit him so hard he lost most of the sight in his left eye.

After his presidency, Roosevelt and his brother Kermit journeyed through the Himalayas mountains.

William H. Taft

President William Howard Taft hefts his 330-pound bulk around to throw out the first ball to open the baseball season on April 12, 1911. AP Photo

Born: Sept. 15, 1857 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Died: March 8, 1930 (Washington, D.C.)

Term: 1909-1913

Tie to sports: William Taft played baseball and wrestled as a youth, and against his father’s wishes, he joined the wrestling team at Yale, where he became the school’s first heavyweight intramural wrestling champion.

In April 1910, Taft was the first sitting president to throw out a first pitch before a game between the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics.

Woodrow Wilson

President Woodrow Wilson throws out the first ball at a baseball game in Washington, D.C., in 1916. AP Photo

Born: Dec. 28, 1856 (Staunton, Virginia)

Died: Feb. 3, 1924 (Washington, D.C.)

Term: 1913-1921

Tie to sports: Woodrow Wilson was a center fielder at Davidson College (Steph Curry’s alma mater) as a freshman, then transferred to Princeton, where he was the president of both the football and baseball associations.

He was one of the first presidents to publicly embrace baseball and helped grow the sport immensely.

Warren G. Harding

President Warren G. Harding addresses the ball during a game of golf in the White Mountains in New Hampshire in 1921. AP Photo

Born: Nov. 2, 1865 (Blooming Grove, Ohio)

Died: Aug. 2, 1923 (San Francisco, California)

Term: 1921-1923

Tie to sports: Warren Harding was an avid golfer and even tried to play when he was deathly ill.

On July 26, 1923, he began a round in Vancouver, British Columbia., but only made it through six holes because of exhaustion.

He played holes Nos. 17-18 for the press, fell into a coma the next day and died on Aug. 2.

Calvin Coolidge

President Calvin Coolidge at the House of Representatives gymnasium in Washington, D.C., in 1924. AP Photo

Born: July 4, 1872 (Plymouth Notch, Vermont)

Died: Jan. 5, 1933 (Northampton, Massachusetts)

Term: 1923-1929

Tie to sports: Calvin Coolidge wasn’t an athlete, and his biggest connection to sports was tinged with tragedy.

On June 30, 1924, 16-year-old Calvin Coolidge Jr., spent the afternoon playing tennis at the White House and developed a blister on his toe.

The blister became infected, Coolidge Jr. became sick with a severe case of blood poisoning and died one week later.

Herbert Hoover

Former President Herbert Hoover displays a trout he caught while fishing with a guide in New England in 1939. Hoover caught 10 (the limit) on what he described as “a perfect afternoon.” AP Photo

Born: August 10, 1874 (West Branch, Iowa)

Died: October 20, 1964 (New York City, New York)

Term: 1929-1933

Tie to sports: Herbert Hoover had a lifelong obsession with fishing and went all over the country looking for the best — and most remote — spots to ply his trade.

He loved fishing so much that he wrote a book in his post-presidency entitled “Fishing for Fun and To Wash Your Soul.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1924, swims in the pool at Warm Springs, Ga. where he went to regain his health following a polio attack. AP Photo

Born: Jan. 30, 1882 (Hyde Park, New York)

Died: April 12, 1945 (Warm Springs, Georgia)

Term: 1933-1945

Tie to sports: Franklin D. Roosevelt rowed crew at Harvard, but after being crippled by polio at 39 years old, swimming would take on a defining role in his life.

He trained in the pool constantly to strengthen his back, arms and stomach muscles — enough so that he was able to hold himself up at podiums during speeches.

Roosevelt also was a serious sailor. His father first took him sailing when he was 9, and Roosevelt developed a lifelong love for the sport, becoming known as “America’s greatest seafaring president.”

Journalist Robert F. Cross wrote a 2003 book about the subject titled “Sailor in the White House” that looked at how Roosevelt’s love of the sea shaped his presidency.

Harry S. Truman

President Harry Truman prepares to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in Washington in 1949. William J. Smith / AP Photo

Born: May 8, 1884 (Lamar, Missouri)

Died: Dec. 26, 1972 (Kansas City, Missouri)

Term: 1945-1953

Tie to sports: Poor eyesight prevented Harry Truman from being much of an athlete, but he loved baseball and was close personal friends with Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith.

Truman threw out the first pitch on seven consecutive opening days for the Senators, and the Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City, Mo., is home to the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

President Dwight Eisenhower looks down the fairway as he selects a club from the first tee to start a round of golf in Thomasville, Ga., in 1956. AP Photo

Born: Oct. 14, 1890 (Denison, Texas)

Died: March 28, 1969 (Washington, D.C.)

Term: 1953-1961

Tie to sports: Dwight Eisenhower said several times that not making the varsity baseball team at West Point was “one of my greatest disappointments,” although he did start at linebacker for the football team and famously tackled Jim Thorpe in a game.

He’s also one of two presidents (along with Bill Clinton) to sink a hole in one.

John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy practices the backstroke at Harvard in 1938. AP Photo

Born: May 29, 1917 (Brookline, Massachusetts)

Died: Nov. 22, 1963 (Dallas, Texas)

Term: 1961-1963

Tie to sports: The iconic images of the Kennedys playing touch football weren’t just for show. John F. Kennedy came from a sports-obsessed family.

Addison’s disease and severe back pain prevented JFK from playing football at Harvard like his three brothers, but he was a star swimmer for the Crimson Tide.

Kennedy also loved to sail. In fact, sailing was his favorite pastime. When he became president, he conducted business on a 62-foot yacht named Manitou that could handle heavy weather.

Lyndon B. Johnson

President Lyndon Johnson proves he’s a pretty good cowhand at his ranch near Stonewall, Texas, in 1964. Bill Hudson / AP Photo

Born: Aug. 27, 1908 (Stonewall, Texas)

Died: Jan. 22, 1973 (Stonewall, Texas)

Term: 1963-1969

Tie to sports: Lyndon Johnson was indifferent to sports as a youth and had little patience for spectator sports as the president.

He did have a deep and abiding love for the University of Texas, though, and helped head football coach coach Darrell Royal recruit coveted halfback Joe Washington, who signed with Oklahoma.

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon, center, in an undated photo at Whittier College as a member of the second-string football team. AP Photo

Born: Jan. 9, 1913 (Yorba Linda, California)

Died: April 22, 1994 (New York City, New York)

Term: 1969-1974

Tie to sports: Richard Nixon played football growing up and at Whittier College, where he was a backup offensive lineman but never lettered and was known as “the most spirited bench warmer on the team.”

He had a lifelong obsession with the game and was a regular at Washington Redskins practices during his presidency.

He even got Redskins head coach George Allen to call a trick play Nixon designed once, and it lost yardage.

Gerald Ford

President Gerald R. Ford and others stand for the national anthem prior to the start of the 75th Army-Navy football game at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1974. The U.S National Archives

Born: July 14, 1913 (Omaha, Nebraska)

Died: Dec. 26, 2006 (Rancho Mirage, California)

Term: 1974-1977

Tie to sports: Gerald Ford may have the most impressive athletic resume of any president.

He played college football at the University of Michigan, where he was the center on undefeated teams that won back-to-back national titles in 1932 and 1933. Ford turned down offers from the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions so he could go to law school.

During his years in the White House, he remained active, swimming daily, skiing often, and playing lots of golf and tennis.

Jimmy Carter

President Jimmy Carter waits for his turn at bat against his brother Billy’s softball team in 1978 during a weekend vacation to his hometown of Plains, Ga. Jim Wells / AP Photo

Born: Oct. 1, 1924 (Plains, Georgia)

Term: 1977-1981

Tie to sports: Jimmy Carter was obsessed with tennis, starting with the dirt court on his family’s farm growing up in Georgia, and continuing through his presidency, where he had to personally approve requests to use the White House courts.

As president, he led the U.S. boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow that would see 66 countries sit out the games in Russia.

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, right, gets some firsthand instruction from Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Lemon in 1951 in Burbank, California. Reagan had the role of Pete Alexander, the great Grover Cleveland Alexander of pitching fame, and Lemon was adding some realism to Reagan’s role. AP Photo

Born: Feb. 6, 1911 (Tampico, Illinois)

Died: June 5, 2004 (Los Angeles, California)

Term: 1981-1989

Tie to sports: Ronald Reagan played football and was captain of the swim team at Eureka College, then called Chicago Cubs games on the radio after graduation.

That led to his big break as an actor, where he played Notre Dame football player George “The Gipper” Gipp in the film “Knute Rockne, All-American.”

During his presidency, Reagan enjoyed swimming and working on his Santa Barbara ranch California, which was called Rancho del Cielo (“Heaven’s Ranch”) and served as the “Western White House.”

George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush, right, receives a manuscript of “The Babe Ruth Story” from Ruth during a ceremony on Yale’s baseball field in West Haven, Connecticut, in 1948. AP Photo

Born: June 12, 1924 (Milton, Massachusetts)

Died: Nov. 30, 2018 (Houston, Texas)

Term: 1989-1993

Tie to sports: George H. W. Bush was the captain of the Yale baseball team and played in the first two College World Series in 1947 and 1948.

During the 1948 CWS, the left-handed first baseman was able to meet Babe Ruth just months before he died, and the two took a now famous picture together on the field.

Bush continued to enjoy athletic pursuits during and after his presidency, and even threw out a ceremonial pitch when he was 91.

Bill Clinton

President-elect Bill Clinton lines up a putt at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1992. Greg Gibson / AP Photo

Born: Aug. 19, 1946 (Hope, Arkansas)

Term: 1993-2001

Tie to sports: Bill Clinton was born into poverty in Arkansas and didn’t play a lot of sports as a youth, but he told ESPN’s “Mike & Mike” show that he “almost” dunked once during a church league basketball game.

Clinton famously attended the 1994 Final Four to watch the Arkansas Razorbacks win an NCAA title and is one of only three presidents, along with Dwight Eisenhower and George W. Bush, to sink a hole in one.

George W. Bush

Former President George W. Bush throws the first pitch for Game 4 of the 2010 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, as his father, George Bush, another former president, watches. Matt Slocum / AP Photo

Born: July 6, 1946 (New Haven, Connecticut)

Term: 2001-2009

Tie to sports: George W. Bush was considered a “solid” athlete in prep school, playing varsity basketball and baseball as a senior, but only played on the freshman baseball team at Yale.

Part of an investment group that bought the Texas Rangers in 1989, his initial $800,000 investment paid off when he sold his share of the team for $15 million in 1998.

Barack Obama

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama drives to the basket against the University of North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough during a basketball game in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in April 2008. Jae C. Hong / AP Photo

Born: Aug. 4, 1961 (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Term: 2009-2017

Tie to sports: Barack Obama’s love of basketball took root long before he was in office, when he played high school hoops for the Punahou School in Hawaii.

He also made filling out his bracket for the NCAA tournament a yearly event televised by ESPN and loved to play basketball, including pickup games at the White House.

Donald Trump

The New York Military Academy varsity baseball team in 1964. Donald Trump is seated fourth from left (holding the baseball). New York Military Academy / Wikimedia

Born: June 14, 1946 (Queens, New York)

Term: 2017-present

Tie to sports: Donald Trump was a star first baseman at New York Military Academy who could hit and field.

Both the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies scouted him before he decided to attend college and pursue “real money,” according to a 2016 Rolling Stone article.

He also owned the USFL’s New Jersey Generals before the league folded in 1986 and today owns multiple golf courses around the world.

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