Americans were still confused, angry and unsure of what was to come when World Series time came in October of 2001. The September 11th terror attack had brought the entire nation, including baseball season, to a temporary halt. Yet just as the United States did after Pearl Harbor in 1941, Americans in 2001 put their heads down and began to move forward as best they could towards an uncertain future. After September 11, the biggest scheduled annual event on the calendar was the World Series. That fall it would be the New York Yankees facing the Arizona Diamond Backs. That one of the teams in the Fall Classic represented the city that was so terribly devastated by the 9-11 attack seemed like a significant sign to many, representing both a chance to commemorate the tragedy and a chance to rise above the catastrophe. While the events of the previous two months had thrown the country into temporary chaos, millions looked to the upcoming World Series as a way to restore some normalcy to a world turned upside down.

This unique opportunity to bring the nation together through the National Pastime was not lost upon Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. On October 10th, Selig drafted a letter to President George W. Bush, inviting him to throw out the first pitch of the World Series. As Selig wrote, “I believe your presence will send a critical message that no act of terror will ever succeed in defeating our American way of life.” President Bush, a longtime baseball fan and one-time owner of the Texas Rangers, agreed, and special preparations were made for his presence at Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. The third game was selected at the President’s insistence because it would be in New York’s Yankee Stadium, mere miles from the site where the World Trade Center towers had fallen. Many in the President’s circle thought it safer for him to appear at one of the games in Arizona, but Bush knew that it had to be in New York City. It may be hard to recall now, but to expose the President to a stadium of 55,000 people so soon after a terror attack seemed like an insurmountable and wildly risky task; yet somehow it was accomplished.

The NYPD and Secret Service worked round the clock for two days securing the Stadium, and after spending time with workers at the World Trade Center site, the President was airlifted by helicopter to the Bronx. Wearing an FDNY jacket over a bullet proof vest, President Bush walked briskly and confidently to the mound as 55,000 stood and cheered as one. Standing from the actual pitcher’s rubber, the President fired a perfect strike to not just start Game 3 of the World Series, but also help bring a sense of healing and normalcy to the nation. This is the letter that started that important moment in American history in motion. The 8 ½ x 11-inch letter is typewritten on cream MLB stationery. The Commissioner has signed the letter “Bud” in black ink that has oxidized with age. The piece shows light toning from age along with horizontal folds from mailing. A crucial and meaningful artifact of America’s past, demonstrating how our National Pastime not only provides entertainment, but serves as a vehicle for Americans to unite and move forward. This comes with a LOA from Beckett Authentication.

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