Why is There a Seventh-Inning Stretch During a Baseball Game and How Did it Originate?

While attending a baseball game in 1910, American President William Howard Taft stood up to stretch his legs between the top and bottom of the seventh inning.

The crowd stood out of respect because they thought the president was leaving, then as he sat back down so did the crowd, and a tradition was born.

The stretch became popular with vendors because it was a last chance to sell off their hot dogs and French fries before fans started drifting home.