Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.

• School University of Delaware, Syracuse University
• High School Archmere Academy

• Born November 20, 1942 in Scranton, PA USA

Biographical Information

"'As much as I lacked confidence in my ability to communicate verbally, I always had confidence in my athletic ability,' Biden wrote in his memoir, 'Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics.' 'Sports were as natural to me as speaking was unnatural.'" - from an article about Joe Biden's involvement in sports [1]

Joe Biden is the President of the United States, having defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election, whose outcome was not determined for a number of days because of the slow counting of ballots, mainly absentee and mail-in ballots, in a number of key states. He was inaugurated on January 20, 2021.

Biden had a long political career before his election and in fact at 77 was the oldest man to be elected President. He was a member of the United States Senate for Delaware from 1973 to 2009, then served as Vice-President during both of Barack Obama's terms as President, from 2009 to 2017. He had previously run unsuccessfully for President in 1988 and 2008, but never got much traction. However, his stint as Vice-President greatly increased his profile, and Democratic Party voters picked him over a large field of candidates in the Democratic Party primaries. One of his opponents in that campaign, Kamala Harris, was his pick for Vice-President and became the first woman to be elected to the office.

Biden was born in a middle class family in Scranton, PA but moved to Claymont, DE as a teenager due to tough economic times. He studied law and practiced briefly, but went into politics as a young age, first as a city councilor in New Castle, DE in 1970, and then as Senator. His first marriage ended in tragedy as his wife and young daughter were killed in an automobile accident in December of 1972, shortly after his election to the Senate, although his two sons survived. He remarried in 1977.

He played both football and baseball in high school and was considered a better athlete than student at the time. While he was a high school outfielder, it was clear football was his top sport. He also played freshman football at the University of Delaware. He is known to be a baseball fan and a supporter of the Philadelphia Phillies, attending a number of games as Vice-President, in addition to visiting spring training and the Little League World Series.

Shortly after he was declared the winner of the 2020 election, the Washington Nationals issued him an invitation to throw the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day the following April. This was meant to revive a tradition dating back to William Howard Taft, but that Donald Trump had skirted during his four years in office. While he did not immediately accept the invitation, he did make a pronouncement on a baseball matter in his first weeks as president, as he said in an interview with ESPN on March 31st that he supported calls to move the 2021 All-Star Game away from Atlanta, GA, because of the adoption by the state of Georgia of voting laws transparently aimed at making it harder for African-Americans to exercise their right to vote. He had qualified this law as "Jim Crow in the 21st Century" in his first press conference as President a few days earlier. His words had an immediate impact, as two days later, Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the game would be moved to another location. Like Trump, he never did throw a ceremonial first pitch during his mandate.

In late July of 2024, Biden dropped his bid for re-election and a potential rematch with Trump, instead throwing his support behind his Vice-President, Kamala Harris, who lost that Fall's election to Trump.

He bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom to three individuals connected with baseball: in 2024, he gave it posthumously to Jim Thorpe, for whom baseball was only a small part of his impressive athletics achievements, then in the final days of his administration in January 2025, he honored basketball great and HIV/AIDS activist Earvin "Magic" Johnson, a minority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and David Rubenstein, a major contributor to the preservation of public institutions in Washington, DC who had recently become the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

"The News Journal also reports that Biden was a member of Archmere’s baseball team. Available box scores show that he played outfield and usually batted in the latter half of the lineup." - from an article about Joe Biden's play in high school baseball [2]

Preceded by Donald Trump

United States President 2021 - 2025

Succeeded by Donald Trump

Further Reading

• Associated Press: "Nats make their pitch to Biden, invite him to throw 1st ball", USA Today, November 8, 2020. [3]
• Sanjana Karanth and Amanda Terkel: "Joe Biden Backs Moving MLB All-Star Game Out Of Georgia Over Voting Law", The Huffington Post, March 31, 2021. [4]
• Brian Murphy: "Magic Johnson, O's owner Rubenstein receive Presidential Medal of Freedom", mlb.com, January 4, 2025. [5]