A few days ago, the U.S. celebrated Presidents’ Day. Here are some things you may not know about the men who held that office.

Sports

I’m a football fan. So to learn the sport was almost banned because of its violence, surprised me. If you think the game is brutal today, I discovered it was even more so back at the turn of the twentieth century. Players wore little protective equipment and suffered serious injuries, even death. (Eighteen football players died in 1904!) This had some people calling for reform, while others just wanted to eliminate the sport. But in 1905, Theodore Roosevelt (#26) stepped in and saved the game. He met with head coaches and reps from premier colleges of the day, urging them to reduce the sport’s excessive violence. Although they agreed and published a statement to this effect, that season’s football fatalities continued to mount. The Chicago Daily Tribune dubbed it a “death harvest.”

The next season, three major universities dropped their football programs, with another hinting it would do the same. Again, Roosevelt stepped in. This time he pushed for major rule changes. Once more, everyone agreed. Though the danger of playing the game didn’t disappear, fatalities and major injuries declined. At least for a few years. In 1909, fatalities again spiked. This time, the reforms that followed laid the groundwork for the modern game of football.

Did You Know…

• After graduating from the University of Michigan, Gerald Ford (#38) turned down offers to play professional football with both the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. (But he did coach at Yale University for six seasons while attending law school.)
• Though walking on stilts may not be considered a sport, Theodore Roosevelt (#26) had that special ability and athleticism. (Supposedly, everyone in his family owned a pair of stilts, including the first lady.)
• An accomplished equestrian, Ulysses S. Grant (#18), was arrested for speeding in his horse and buggy—twice in a 24-hour period during his presidential tenure.
• Four presidents were either high school or college cheerleaders—Franklin Roosevelt (#32), Dwight Eisenhower (#34), Ronald Reagan (#40), and George W. Bush (#43).
• Benjamin Harrison (#23) was the first president to attend a baseball game.
• The first president to attend baseball’s opening day game and throw out the ceremonial first pitch was William Howard Taft (#27) in 1910.

Music

While many of our past presidents enjoyed sports, others preferred the world of music.

Did You Know…

• Richard Nixon (#37) was not only a classically trained pianist, but played four other instruments—violin, clarinet, saxophone, and accordion. And though he couldn’t read sheet music, he also wrote his own musical compositions.
• Before Bill Clinton (#42) became president, he once considered a career as a professional saxophone player.
• Becoming a concert violinist was the first career choice for John Tyler (#10). He didn’t give up his violin but while president added the gig of playing at White House parties to his resume.
• During college at the University of Virginia, Woodrow Wilson (#28) sang tenor in the school’s glee club.
• Warren G. Harding (#29) claimed to play almost every musical instrument, but his specialty was the sousaphone. (The marching band’s wrap-around-the-body tuba.)
• John Adams (#2) was responsible for creating the oldest active professional musical organization in the U.S. In 1798 he signed the act that created the United States Marine Band.

Most Talented

One president’s talent doesn’t fall into the world of sports or music. But James Garfield (#20), studied and worked just as hard as any athlete or musician to perfect his unique talent. He was ambidextrous and multilingual. Special but not earth-shattering, right? Wrong. He could write with both hands at the same time. If that wasn’t enough, he could write in two languages at the same time! He wrote in Greek with one hand while writing in Latin with the other.