On July 13, 1976, President Gerald R. Ford was formally escorted onto the field at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia by opposing managers Darrell Johnson of the Boston Red Sox and George “Sparky” Anderson of the Cincinnati Reds. Stepping onto the turf during America’s high-spirited Bicentennial summer, the President threw out the ceremonial first pitch to open the Midsummer Classic.
This specific game carried immense historical symmetry that went unnoted during the broadcast. July 13, 1976, marked the exact 43rd anniversary of the very first Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which took place at Comiskey Park in 1933. By holding the Bicentennial game in Philadelphia on this exact calendar anniversary, MLB deliberately tied the history of the national pastime directly to the birth of the republic.
Image Source: Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
