President Trump will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday to seven recipients, including a trio of former professional athletes.
While outgoing Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, philanthropist Miriam Adelson, and late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia are this year’s recipients whose names are relevant in the political sphere and Elvis Presley has a special place in rock and roll history, the sports world is getting its due as well. Former MLB home run king Babe Ruth and Pro Football Hall of Famers quarterback Roger Staubach and defensive end Alan Page will also receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive.
The White House’s official site describes the award as given to “individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” It is fair to say this year’s recipients have done just that and are a further indication of the impact pro athletes have made on society over the years.
Ruth helped the sport of baseball take off in the United States as one of the first national sports stars in the country. A dominant big leaguer, his .690 career slugging percentage is still an MLB record. He finished his career with 714 home runs and set the league’s all-time record in 1921 (and added to it until he retired in 1935). Ruth also had two seasons where he out-homered any other entire American League team (1920 and 1927).
Both Staubach and Page also contributed to the country off the playing field. Page, who was the NFL’s MVP in 1971, went on to be the first African-American justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court, a post he held from 1993 to 2015. Staubach, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys, served in the Navy prior to his NFL career. He volunteered to serve in Vietnam for a year, and during that tenure, he was a Supply Corps officer who commanded 41 men.
The trio join elite company as far as pro athletes who have received the honor. Such men include MLB Hall of Famers such as Jackie Robinson (the civil rights icon who broke MLB’s color barrier in 1947), Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio (both of whom gave up what would have been peak years of their careers to serve in World War II — Williams also stepped away from baseball to serve in the Korean War), and Roberto Clemente, who died in a plane crash in 1972 while on his way to provide aid to Nicaragua after an earthquake devastated the country.
With the fame and fortune many elite pro athletes amass, they often have a platform to create positive change in the world — and many of them capitalize on it. Ultimately, their work outside of their profession can have a bigger impact on the world than what they accomplish in their respective sports.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a freelance writer who has been published with USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Federalist, and a number of other media outlets.
