Our 38th President is no stranger to baseball, and as with most Presidents since the early 1900’s, Gerald Ford threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the 1976 home opener of the Texas Rangers (before our future 43rd President took legitimate interest in the club in 1989). And yet, it was as Vice President that Ford threw out the first pitch at Riverfront Stadium for the Cincinnati Reds that real history was made - that was the day that Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth’s home run record at 714, in the presence of Nixon’s right hand man (four days later Aaron broke the record). It is uncertain when Ford signed this Official American League (Brown) baseball, but it remains a symbol of that American pastime when our Presidents deliver the first pitch on that spring day welcoming a new season of America’s game - baseball.