The tradition of sports teams visiting the White House dates back more than 160 years, but it only became a regular occurrence in the 1980s during the Reagan Administration. For a good 20-plus years after that, it was a benign-at-worst ritual of the sports landscape. Sure, you might’ve wished there was someone else hosting, and because only one team in each sport got the honor, you probably wished it was another squad gifting the president his replica jersey. But politics were an almost non-existent factor. Ronald Reagan hosted the 1984 Georgetown Hoyas. Bill Clinton hosted the Dallas Cowboys. The sporting world found other things to get excited about and moved on.
And then? Well, the world lost its ever-loving mind and entered an era where everything is political, including the hitherto beloved or completely ignored sports White House visit. With the recent news that the Los Angeles Dodgers are delaying their planned early April visit to the White House due to scheduling issues, we’re looking at a timeline of White House Visits by Championship Teams.
The First Visit (1865)
The first known visit to the White House by a major sports team came in August 1865, when the Brooklyn Atlantics and the Washington Nationals visited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue while Andrew Johnson was president. Nationals third baseman Arthur Gorman was an enterprising young man and a friend of the president who put together a national tournament on what is now the White House Ellipse featuring the Nationals, Atlantics, New York Empire Club, and Philadelphia Athletics.
The only problem? The Athletics crushed Gorman’s Nationals 87-12, and when the A’s learned they wouldn’t make any money from a championship against the Atlantics, they promptly skipped town (the Atlantics had beaten Empire Club 55-3; who says baseball is boring). Since the Atlantics and Nationals were both on site, Gorman arranged a White House visit for both the champs from Brooklyn and the last place Nationals (one-game run differential: negative-75). But the Nationals wouldn’t be the last losing team to be offered a visit to the White House.
The Original Dream Team (1869)
Before the 1992 U.S Men’s Olympic Basketball team toured the world like rock stars, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings toured the U.S. like rock stars, clocking 6,585 miles via steamboat, stagecoach, and train during a 57-0 regular season, itself part of an 81-game winning streak across multiple seasons. The Red Stockings were the first openly professional baseball team (prior to them, teams were paid under the table and claimed amateur status), but despite their gaudy won-loss record, they weren’t considered the best team in the sport until they beat the New York Mutuals during a barnstorming tour. That same tour saw them stop off at the White House where they smoked cigars with President Ulysses S. Grant.
Boston Legends Link (1963)
White House ceremonies celebrating sports champs didn’t start until the ‘80s, but there were a couple notable one-offs over the years. Calvin Coolidge invited the then Washington Senators to the White House twice in the 1920s—once in September 1924, a month before they’d won the franchise’s only World Series of the 20th century, and again in September 1925 when they were still the defending champs. The Senators were a notoriously awful team for the vast majority of their existence, so the double invite could’ve been a curse.
Nearly 40 years later, the Boston Celtics became the first NBA team to visit the White House, although it wasn’t the choreographed event we’re used to today. In January 1963 the Celtics were coming off the fifth of their nine consecutive world championships, and were in D.C. to play a regular season game. Coach Red Auerbach arranged for the team to take a tour of the White House, and when JFK learned his hometown Celtics were in the building, the president invited the team into the Oval Office for a quick pic. Notably absent was Celtics 5-time MVP Bill Russell who, according to a newspaper report, “overslept.”
Larry Bird (1984) and Michael Jordan (1991) Have Better Things to Do
No, Larry Legend and MJ never won an NBA chip together, but they are members of an even more select club: players to skip their team’s post Finals visit to the White House. After his Celtics won in 1984, Bird was a no-show for the team’s visit to the White House during Ronald Reagan’s first term. Bird’s decision didn’t seem to be a political one, instead it seemed more a standing-on-business-my-time-is-too-valuable stance: “If the president wants to see me, he knows where to find me.” Jordan skipped the Bulls’ visit after winning his first NBA crown in 1991 for a similarly on-brand golf outing.
George Bush Doesn’t Care About Canadian Hockey Players (1991)
George H.W. Bush was the first president to invite the NHL champions to the White House, presumably because of all the major North American sports, men’s hockey is more closely associated with Canada and Europe than the U.S., apart from once-every-half-century Olympic glory. (The U.S. women, on the other hand, are a bunch of bosses.) And in retrospect, maybe Bush the elder should’ve taken one more year do to his homework. At the ceremony honoring the 1991 Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins, Bush was approached by Pens centre, later Pens owner, and all-time hockey legend (not to mention proud Canadian) Mario Lemieux, who presented Bush with a custom Penguins sweater. To which Bush replied “And you are?” Thankfully, Lemieux was very Canadian about the whole thing, although the entire ceremony lasted only eight minutes.
Craig Hodges Takes a Stand (1991)
Michael Jordan didn’t attend the Bulls’ 1991 ceremony at George H.W. Bush’s White House, but Craig Hodges did, and it’s what he did at that ceremony that makes him one of the most underrated heroes in the history of activist athletes. Hodges was one of the greatest 3-point marksmen of his era, a three-peat winner of the All-Star 3-Point contest who led the league in shooting from behind the arc twice. He was also proud of his African-American heritage, and wore a dashiki throughout the Bulls’ ‘91 Finals-winning run.
The night before the Bulls’ visit to the White House, Hodges wrote a pointed letter to President Bush, which read in part: “The purpose of this notice is to speak on behalf of poor people, Native Americans, homeless and most specifically, African-Americans who are not able to come to this great edifice… Being a descendant of African slaves, I feel it is very important our plight be put on the list of priorities… We have a sector of our population that is being described as an endangered species, that is the young Black man.”
At the ceremony, Hodges was dressed in a white dashiki and kufi, and handed the letter to Bush’s press secretary. He never received a response from the Bush Administration. Hodges played 56 games for the Bulls in the ‘91-’92 season, and 17 of the team’s 22 games in the ‘92 playoffs, but was waived a month after Chicago’s championship. He never played in the NBA again, and his absence is widely attributed to his being blackballed for his activism, a precursor to the battle Colin Kaepernick would fight 20 years later.
Tim Thomas Goes Full Tea Party on Barack Obama (2011)
Twenty years after Craig Hodges’ letter-bearing visit to the White House, the Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. Similar to Hodges, Bruins goalie Tim Thomas had political misgivings about attending a ceremony in a White House occupied by a president he disagreed with. But where Hodges made his views known privately, Thomas announced his objections to the Obama Administration via Facebook on the night of his team’s visit, writing: “I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People… This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.” Thomas claimed his boycott “was not about politics or party,” though he had been publicly aligned with Tea Party figures like Glenn Beck. At the ceremony celebrating the Bruins, Obama was typically gracious, pointedly praising Thomas and noting that he was only the second American to win playoff MVP.
The Warriors Are Disinvited From a Party They Already RSVP’D ‘No’ To (2017)
In 2017 the Warriors won their second championship of the Steph Curry Era dynasty, and pretty much immediately indicated that they didn’t want to attend a ceremony at the first Trump Administration White House. Kevin Durant put it most succinctly, saying “We don’t f*ck with him” while he was showing off the Larry O’Brien Trophy in his hometown. But after Curry reiterated he wouldn’t accept an invitation, Trump felt the need to revoke the invitation that Steph had already declined, Tweeting: “Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!” LeBron James got off the best line though, Tweeting “U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain’t going! So therefore ain’t no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!”
Jill Biden Tries to Give Iowa An ‘E’ For Effort (2023)
Where Donald Trump got ethered for disinviting people to a party they didn’t want to go to, Jill Biden looked foolish for inviting people to a party no one thought they should go to. Caitlin Clark was just beginning to become a full blown cultural phenomenon in 2023 when her Iowa Hawkeyes played Angel Reese’s LSU Tigers in the 2023 NCAA national championship. Reese’s Tigers beat Clark’s Hawkeyes 102-85, with Reese famously turning Clark’s “You can’t see me” taunt back on her and pointing to the finger that would soon be adorned with a championship ring. During a speech the next morning First Lady Jill Biden staked her claim to C-GOAT (Cringiest Grandparent of All Time), saying “I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House…we hope LSU will come but…I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game… Winners and losers… that’s good sportsmanship!” The reaction was swift and universal, from Reese (“WE NOT COMING.”), to Representative Cori Bush (“When Black women lead, folks start moving the goalpost and changing the rules.”), to Iowa coach Lisa Bluder (“a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey.”) Jill Biden’s team quickly walked back her comment, and eventually the Tigers (and Reese) did attend a celebration in their honor (and no one else’s) at the White House.
Not All Eagles (2025)
The Eagles and President Trump have a history. After the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win in 2018, Trump invited and then disinvited the team after the organization informed his administration that the entire team wouldn’t make the visit. Trump instead hosted his own “Celebration of America.” Fast forward seven years and the Eagles were once again Super Bowl champs, and Trump was once again president. Trump had openly rooted for the Eagles’ opponent Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, but extended an invite to the team the following April. On a red carpet a week before the ceremony, Philly’s Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts was asked if he was planning to visit Trump. Hurts replied with an awkward “Um” before walking away from the question completely. In the end, 12 Eagles didn’t attend the ceremony, almost all of them Black players, with the notable exception of Saquon Barkley who golfed with and helicoptered to the event with Trump. Surprisingly, Trump pulled an Obama, praising Hurts even in his absence.