Coolidge, Grace and Baseball

Here's something you didn't know about Calvin Coolidge -- although he threw out the first pitch of the season, he was known as "The Reluctant Fan," and at times had to be forced to stay in the ballpark by his wife, Grace.

An exhibit of baseball memorabilia at the Calvin Coolidge Birthplace in Plymouth, a state historical site, makes it absolutely clear who the baseball fan in the Coolidge family was -- and it wasn't Calvin.

"The real story there is his wife," said David Pietrusza of the Society for American Baseball Research. "She may have been the most famous woman fan of her era."

The president's son, John Coolidge, now 89, remembered his mother listening to games on the radio, even keeping box scores. But Calvin Coolidge himself apparently had little more than a perfunctory interest in baseball, attending because of Grace's interest in the game and political necessity. John Coolidge remembered one incident when Coolidge rose to leave a game, but was restrained by the insistent Grace, pulling at his coattails.

The Coolidge baseball collection includes autographed baseballs, period uniforms, bats, gloves and other objects from the 1920's, plus memorabilia that clearly show Grace Coolidge's love of the game. An ornately lettered appreciation given to Mrs. Coolidge in 1925 by the owners of the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators refers to Grace Coolidge as "First Lady of the Land, First Lady of Baseball."

Coolidge was a fan of the Washington Senators, at least while he was President. But Grace, true to her New England heritage (she was a native of Burlington) remained loyal to the Boston Red Sox.

-- Vermont Life, Autumn 1996