The trio joins a long and illustrious list of athletes to receive the honor, including Muhammad Ali, Jesse Owens and Michael Jordan. Ruth will become the 12th professional baseball player to be honored the award, the first being another former Yankees legend, Joe DiMaggio, who was selected by Gerald Ford in 1977. Staubach and Page are the first pro football players recognized.

Ruth, born George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr. in Baltimore in 1895, played 22 seasons in the major leagues during which he hit 714 home runs to become baseball’s “Sultan of Swat.” He entered majors as a pitcher in 1915, when the home run was not a standard part of the game. Stadiums were built to keep the ball in play and maximize attendance. He died of cancer in 1948 at age 53.

Staubach, 76, quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys to Super Bowl victories in 1971 and 1977 and went to six Pro Bowls. Dallas never had a losing season in Staubach’s eight years as the full-time starter and went to the playoffs seven of those years. The sustained period of excellence under Coach Tom Landry helped the Cowboys develop the reputation as “America’s team.”

In college, he won the 1963 Heisman trophy and led Navy to a No. 2 national ranking and the 1964 Cotton Bowl, the de facto national championship game that season. The Midshipemen fell, 28-6, to No. 1 Texas.

Staubach clashed with Trump in 2016 after the president said the Army-Navy game was not “necessarily the best football.”

Staubach, who has historically campaigned for Republican political candidates, responded, “I don’t want to comment on any political stuff but, service football is extremely respectable and very competitive. They’ve won some big games. They are not in the top 10 this year or anything, but it’s still good football. I really enjoy watching service football.”

Page, 73, was one of the original members of the Minnesota Vikings' “Purple People Eaters” defensive line and later became an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He helped Notre Dame to the 1966 national championship. He was drafted by the Vikings in 1967 and was named NFL MVP in 1971. He played in four Super Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

During the final years of his football career, Page enrolled at the University of Minnesota’s law school and practiced law privately until winning a seat on the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1992. He served on the bench for 20 years.

Trump also will award the Medal of Freedom to Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), physician, philanthropist and political donor Miriam Adelson, rock and roll star Elvis Presley and late Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.

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President Donald Trump named Elvis Presley among this year’s recipients for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House announced on Saturday.

Other recipients named for “the Nation’s highest civilian honor” include baseball legend Babe Ruth, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, GOP Senator Orrin Hatch, doctor and philanthropist Miriam Adelson (wife of billionaire Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson), judge and Pro Football Hall of Famer Alan Page.

This is the first time Trump will bestow a Medal of Freedom as president.

Presley, who died in 1977, is one of three recipients to receive the distinction posthumously, including Ruth and Scalia. He’s also one of few entertainers (even if you include the world of sports) receiving a medal this year, no doubt due to most of the entertainment industry’s rejection of Trump, his rhetoric, and politics. Many musicians also spoke out against Trump for use of their music during rallies.

“Elvis Presley defined American culture to billions of adoring fans around the world,” reads a statement from the White House. “Elvis fused gospel, country, and rhythm and blues to create a sound all his own, selling more than a billion records. Elvis also served nearly 2 years in the United States Army, humbly accepting the call to serve despite his fame. He later starred in 31 films, drew record-breaking audiences to his shows, sent television ratings soaring, and earned 14 GRAMMY Award nominations. He ultimately won 3 GRAMMY Awards for his gospel music. Elvis Presley remains an enduring American icon 4 decades after his death.”

Scalia died in 2016 during Barack Obama’s presidency, but the Republicans in power refused to let the sitting commander in chief proceed with his nomination. Trump eventually filled the seat with Neil Gorsuch after taking office.

Hatch was one of the more vocal supporters of Trump’s second Supreme Court Justice appointment, Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault. Hatch told a group of female Kavanaugh protestors during the hearings to “grow up.”

Adelson founded two research centers fighting against substance abuse, in addition to the Adelson Medical Research Foundation. Along with her husband, she is one of the largest Republican donors.

As for the athletes, Page played in the NFL for 15 years before serving as a judge. In 1988, he started the Page Education Foundation, which went on to provide scholarships to nearly 7,000 students. Staubach, another Hall of Famer, won two Super Bowls as quarterback, served during the Vietnam War, and worked with charities and businesses.

Obama awarded the most Medals of Freedom over the course of his eight-year presidency. Among the 123 medals he gave out were honors for Ellen DeGeneres, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Stevie Wonder, Tom Hanks, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Cicely Tyson, Gloria Estefan, Steven Spielberg, and Barbra Streisand.

Related content:</s>Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth and Justice Antonin Scalia are among the list of seven people named by President Donald Trump to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Also included are retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach; Pro Football Hall of Famer, philanthropist and Minnesota Supreme Court Judge Alan Page; philanthropist Miriam Adelson, wife of casino magnate and major Republican donor Sheldon Adelson.

Presley, the rock and roll legend from Tupelo, Miss., died in 1977 at the age of 42; Baseball giant Ruth was 53 when he died in 1948. Scalia, who served on the Supreme Court for 30 years, died in 2016 at the age of 79.

The awards will be presented Nov. 16.

The honor, which is not necessarily given every year, can be bestowed by the president to individuals deemed to 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.

The Medal of Freedom was established by President Harry Truman in 1945 and greatly expanded by President John F. Kennedy, adding the distinctive medal of a golden star with white enamel against a red enamel pentagon behind it. It is attached to a blue sash worn around the neck.

The Medal of Freedom can be awarded posthumously and to non-Americans.

It can also bestowed more than once. Gen. Colin Powell has received two such awards, the second with distinction.</s>President Trump on Saturday named seven individuals — including three posthumous recipients — to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Those to be honored are music legend Elvis Presley, who died in 1977, and baseball great Babe Ruth, who died in 1948. The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the majority’s opinion in the landmark 2008 Heller decision upholding individual gun ownership, will also receive the award.

Miriam Adelson, Israeli-American philanthropist and prominent Republican party donor, the wife of Sheldon Adelson, will be a recipient, as will retiring GOP senator of Utah Orrin Hatch. Alan Page, a former Minnesota Viking and a Supreme Court justice for that state, will be honored, as will Vietnam veteran Roger Staubach, a Heisman Trophy winner and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys.

The award, considered to be the highest civilian honor, is bestowed to individuals “who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security of national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors,” according to a release by the White House.

The medals will be awarded on Nov. 16.</s>Music legend Elvis Presley, baseball great Babe Ruth and late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia are among seven people who will be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House said Saturday.

The award is the country's highest civilian honor, and recognizes "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," the White House said in a statement.

Three of this year's recipients will receive the award posthumously -- Presley, Ruth and Scalia.

The other honorees are; longtime Republican Senator Orrin Hatch; philanthropist and heavyweight political donor Miriam Adelson, the wife of billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson; and two NFL Hall of Famers: quarterback Roger Staubach and defensive tackle Alan Page, who went on to serve as a state supreme court justice in Minnesota.

The medals will be handed out in a ceremony at the White House on November 16.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has announced his first recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and they include the wife of a major Republican Party donor, the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history, Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth.

Trump will also posthumously recognize the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Medals are going to Miriam Adelson, a doctor and wife of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a Republican donor; Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, who is retiring after more than 41 years in the U.S. Senate; former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and Alan Page, who began a legal career after leaving the NFL.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest honor for a civilian.</s>President Donald Trump has announced his first recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and they include two athletes with strong ties to Maryland — Babe Ruth and Roger Staubach.

Ruth, one of baseball’s all-time greats, was born in Baltimore. Staubach, who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, won the Heisman Trophy playing for Navy.

Also named to receive the award on Nov. 16 was the wife of a major Republican Party donor, the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history and Elvis Presley.

Trump will also posthumously recognize the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Medals are going to Miriam Adelson, a doctor and wife of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a Republican donor; Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, who is retiring after more than 41 years in the U.S. Senate; and Alan Page, who began a legal career after leaving the NFL.

Born on Emory Street in Pigtown in 1895, Ruth played 22 years with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Boston Braves, and batted .342, hit 714 home runs and had 2,213 RBI. He played on seven World Series champions and was a charter member of the Hall of Fame in 1936. Ruth died in 1948.

Staubach was a first-team All-American and recipient of both the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Trophy in 1963 for the Mids. He led Navy to a 21-15 win over Army that year in the annual rivalry game that was delayed a week because of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. After serving in Vietnam, Staubach went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest honor for a civilian. According to a White House statement Saturday, the medal is awarded to those 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.”

Trump did not name any Medal of Freedom winners in 2017.</s>US President Donald Trump will award the 2018 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Elvis Presley, George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. and five other individuals, the White House said in a statement on Saturday.

The medal is the highest civilian honour in the United States and is given annually to people who have made outstanding contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavours.

Trump will also award the medal to Miriam Adelson, a physician who together with her husband Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire casino magnate, is a major donor to the Republican party, Jewish causes worldwide, and medical research.

Also receiving the award next week will be Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice and the first African-American to serve on that court Alan Page, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and former professional football player Roger Staubach.</s>U.S. President Donald Trump will award the 2018 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Elvis Presley, George Herman 'Babe' Ruth, Jr. and five other individuals, the White House said in a statement on Saturday.

The medal is the highest civilian honor in the United States and is given annually to people who have made outstanding contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

In addition to Ruth and Presley, Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, former professional football player Roger Staubach and former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page.

Miriam Adelson is married to billionaire Sheldon Adelson. According to the White House, the physician was chosen for founding research centers dedicated to substance abuse. The two have also established the Adelson Medical Research Foundation for life-threatening illness. They've also help support Jewish schools, Holocaust memorial organizations and Israeli military personnel.

The couple were one of the largest contributors to the GOP's efforts for the midterm election. They donated a staggering $112million to super PACs through September, CNN reports.

The White House praised the work of Hatch, who has four decades of legislative work during his time as Utah senator.

Scalia was chosen for his 'insisting that the role of federal judges is to uphold the original meaning of the Constitution — never to impose their own beliefs on the country.'

Presley was selected for his two years of Army Service. The White House also said that it relished in how Presley 'fused gospel, country, and rhythm and blues to create a sound all his own, selling more than a billion records.'

The Great Bambino set baseball records that lasted for decades, making him the obvious choice for the White House. They also cited the work Babe Ruth did through his foundation, named after the athlete, which helped underprivileged youth.

'His legacy has never been eclipsed, and he remains the personification of 'America's Pastime,' the White House added.

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach was tapped for volunteering to fight in the Vietnam War and the work he has done as a businessman. The Hall of Famer was also praised for his charitable work with the United Way.

Defensive tackle Alan Page was the other professional football player tapped for the Medal of Freedom. The former Minnesota Viking then embarked on a legal career where he became the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court in Minnesota.

Trump has yet to present a Presidential Medal of Freedom. He did give out the Medal of Honor, the U.S. highest military honor, as recently as October.</s>The press is now learning about a list of people President Donald Trump is planning to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to, Buzzfeed News is reporting. This medal is considered the highest honor for civilians, and Trump will be giving out a round of medals for the first time on Friday, November 16. Recipients include Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth, and Miriam Adelson. Adelson is one of the top donors to the Republican party and to Trump.

Adelson is a doctor who founded two research centers and is married to billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who is also one of the top donors for Trump. The Adelsons reportedly donated $100 million to Republican candidates for the 2018 election cycle. They also donated $20 million dollars to Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, along with $5 million dollars towards his inauguration. This makes them the largest donors in U.S. politics. The couple were reportedly at the White House Tuesday evening to watch the mid-term election results with Trump.

Adelson is not being honored for her donations, however. According to a statement released by the White House, she is being celebrated for her work as a doctor, philanthropist, and humanitarian. It has also been reported that the Adelsons, who openly support many pro-Israel causes, influenced Trump to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, prompting speculation that they may have had a direct influence on government operations through their substantial financial contributions.

In addition to Adelson, Trump is also awarding a medal to Justice Antonin Scalia, the conservative Supreme Court Justice who died in 2016. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch will be also receiving one. Hatch has most recently made headlines during the Brett Kavanaugh trial, after he told a group of female protesters to “grow up.” Other recipients include Justice Alan Page and Roger Staubach, two former NFL players who have done significant charity work. Page was previously inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and then became a judge on the Minnesota Supreme Court. As for Staubach, he is a Vietnam war veteran who won the Super Bowl twice with the Dallas Cowboys.

While this may seem like a lot of people, Obama still holds the title for most medals given out of any president, having awarded a total of 123 people throughout his eight years in office. This is only Trump’s first Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony, however, so he has time to catch up to Obama’s grand total.
Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth, Roger Staubach, Antonin Scalia, Orrin Hatch, doctor and philanthropist Miriam Adelson, and Alan Page are expected to be recipients for the Presidential Medal of Freedom award.