FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-060

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (April 14, 2026) – This edition of Fun with Maps takes from the fans in the stands to the celebrity on the pitcher’s mound of Major League Baseball.

PLAY BALL!

The tradition of “throwing out the first pitch” in baseball began on April 14, 1910 when President William Howard Taft opened the baseball season for the Washington Nationals. 

Except for Jimmy Carter, every President since Taft has thrown out the first pitch at some time during his term, usually for the DC team but sometimes elsewhere.

Taft threw the ball to the Nationals pitcher from his seat in the stands, but today the tradition has moved to the field with “pitcher” taking the mound (or often closer in than that) and throwing to the home team catcher.  Ronald Reagan was the President who made the change to take the field.

George W. Bush was the first President to throw out the official “first pitch of the season”, at the Cincinnati Reds game in 2006 which was the earliest starting game on the first day of the season.

Here is Johnson’s map of Washington DC from 1863.  This map pre-dates a series of landfills in the Potomac, including where the Lincoln Memorial stands today.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps. Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.