Who was the first U.S. president to host Super Bowl champions at the White House?

These days it is commonly accepted that the team that wins the annual Super Bowl, and becoming the latest champion of the National Football League, gets to go shake the hand of the sitting president of the United States in the White House. Yes, there have been some instances where this has not happened, mainly due to political or moral leanings, but the tradition is certainly in place. So where did it all begin?

Jimmy Carter welcomes the Pittsburgh Steelers

The first Super Bowl winners to make the esteemed visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was the Pittsburgh Steelers. They met with then president Jimmy Carter in 1980 after defeating the LA Rams 31-19 in Super Bowl XIV.

Interestingly, at the same formal greeting was the NHL’s Pittsburgh Pirates team, although the first Stanley Cup winners to be honoured in this way was the Penguins franchise, meeting President Bush in 1991.

First winning sports teams to go to the White House

Reports have suggested that the first sports teams to go to the White House were the Brooklyn Atlantics and the Washington Nationals a century and a half ago. They were both amateur baseball outfits and President Andrew Johnson welcomed them in. The Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first pro team, four years later, with President Ulysses S. Grant doing the honours.

NBA champions were first recognised in 1963 when the Boston Celtics met with John F. Kennedy.