In the days leading up to the Presidential Inauguration, the Baseball Continuum will be posting pictures celebrating the relation between the presidency and baseball. These are not meant to be an endorsement of either side of the political aisle nor the policies of any of the men featured within, merely a celebration of the close connection between America’s leader and America’s game.

Opening Day, 1961- President Kennedy throws out the first ball at Griffith Stadium.

(Oh, LBJ is there too, but he, obviously, was Vice President at the time.)

This photo is from the U.S. National Archives’ Flickr stream, and there are no known copyright restrictions attached to it.