The Suns had a presidential moment, by George

It was a day when politics took a holiday.

On one summer day in Hagerstown, the words Republican and Democrat didn’t matter.

There weren’t any political footballs. On that night, baseball was the only game in town.

It was June 22, 1990.

The scene was Municipal Stadium. And it was about to be graced by a previously unannounced visitor.

I watched the scene unfold from the press box while covering the Suns game against Harrisburg. It began as just an ordinary regular-season games.

A slight ruckus began in the third inning as a cavalcade of dark-colored SUVs streamed down Cleveland Avenue, behind the center-field wall.

The left-field corner gates flew open. The parade, complete with flashing lights, entered. It brought George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States, to see this suddenly extraordinary game.

Talk about being worth the price of admission for 3,874 fans.

The Suns, then a Double-A Baltimore Orioles affiliate in the Eastern League, were facing the first-place Senators, each with a few major leaguers-to-be in the lineups.

Bush and his guests — former Chicago Bears great Walter Payton, author Dan Jenkins and son Neil Bush — walked past the crowd and sat in a section that had been roped off for some mysterious reason.

Sitting with them was a serviceman, in full dress uniform, carrying a suitcase referred to as “The Football.” It held defense codes in case of a military emergency.

The area was crawling with law enforcement and Secret Service types, who worked hard to keep the public away Bush, but the makeshift planning didn’t fully work.

Bush tried his best at being one of the guys, channeling the old days when he played first base and captained the Yale baseball team.

He shook hands and signed autographs. He talked baseball with the Suns ownership, showing his knowledge of a game he loved. The owners presented him with a Suns cap, which he wore.

Many fans forgot about the game as their attention locked on watching an actual sitting president sit in the stands. He returned the favor by waving back often.

The Suns were trailing 2-1 when Bush entered. They loaded the bases, setting up a Craig Faulkner’s game-tying sacrifice fly.

“It’s nice to see that he likes baseball,” said Faulkner, who drove in three runs in what became a 6-3 Suns victory. “I know he played. Maybe he could give me some advice.”

Bush’s presence wasn’t lost on those on the field. Between innings, an umpire asked Bush to autograph a baseball. “Fire it up here,” Bush said.

“This is the highlight of my life,” he said to Bush while standing at the fence with the rest of his crew.

In reality, this was a strike of good fortune for Hagerstown.

Bush, Payton, Jenkins and U.S. Rep. Marty Russo, D-Ill., spent that afternoon playing golf at Holly Hills Country Club in Ijamsville, Md. and had dinner at a Frederick seafood restaurant. Russo didn’t attend the game.

They were supposed to see the Frederick Keys play afterward, but a sudden storm produced a rainout.

That made Hagerstown the alternative. When Bush walked into Municipal Stadium, it was believed to be the first time a president attended a minor league game.

Bob Miller, the Suns general manager, had the conversation of his career when Bush’s security contingent made contact about the president’s plans.

“There were about 12 or 15 cars and about 20 people with earplugs in their ears and badges,” Miller told Terry Headlee, who covered the news angle of the story for The Herald-Mail. “They told me what was going on — then my heart flopped.”

The plan was to try to allow Bush to attend the game without unveiling maximum security measures.

That changed when the Suns radio man announced that Bush could be attending the game on the air. Suddenly, the gates closed until metal detectors were installed and entering fans were searched.

Bush’s stay lasted only four innings. The group left in the top of the eighth and headed for Camp David for the night.

Time passed and that Suns game became one of those ordinary games again.

It once again became the game everyone attended on Friday with the death of Bush at age 94, more than 28 years later.

The Suns have never forgotten that special day. They have a plaque with Bush’s photo, while wearing that team cap, on permanent display on a first-base side wall near seats behind home plate.

With Bush’s passing, it commemorates probably the biggest home run in Hagerstown baseball history.