Royals were served cake when they visited the White House in 1985

There’s been talk of plagiarism and politics this week, so perhaps President Barack Obama will want to choose his words carefully when he meets with the World Series champion Royals on Thursday.

After the Royals won the World Series in 1985, they were feted at the White House a mere four days later — on Halloween. Royals manager Dick Howser gave President Ronald Reagan a Royals jacket, a baseball bat and a 1985 World Series hat.

Reagan said: “You proved to America what a never-say-die spirit can do.”

Those words certainly could be used to describe the 2015 World Series champions, too.

Among the Royals players to visit the White House in 1985, according to a Kansas City Star article, were Bret Saberhagen, Frank White, Hal McRae, Steve Balboni, George Brett, Willie Wilson and Dan Quisenberry. In addition to a ceremony at the Rose Garden, the Royals’ entourage was treated to lunch and a reception at the Senate Caucus Room.

Dessert that day? A chocolate sheet cake with a Royals pennant and the words “World Champions.”

Reagan was an avid sports fan, and he’s credited with making visits from sports champions a regular occurrence.

Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson (a Humboldt, Kan., native) and the 1924 Washington Senators are thought to have been the first World Series champions to visit the White House, when they were invited by President Calvin Coolidge.

Usually, teams give the president a jersey or some other memento. But some visits have included helping the community. An ESPN story noted that the Baltimore Ravens gifted equipment to D.C. high schools, the San Antonio Spurs visited wounded military members, and the U.S. women’s soccer team held a youth clinic to promote fitness.

There’s no word on what the Royals have planned. Jonny Gomes won’t be attending, so we won’t see the American flag suit he donned when the Red Sox visited President Obama in 2014.

That was one of the memorable moments from past White House visits.

In 2005, many members of the Northwestern lacrosse team wore flip-flops for their meeting with George W. Bush and were publicly scolded.

The Auburn women’s swimming and diving team visited Bush in April 2006 and presented him with a team Speedo.

Former 49ers linebacker Sam Kennedy once put President George H.W. Bush in a headlock, which seems unthinkable.

In 1988, Danny Manning presented two Kansas letterman jackets to the President Reagan.

And in 1986, New York Giants football player Harry Carson dumped a Gatorade bucket on President Reagan. That’s a true story, with this caveat: it was full of popcorn.

So, who knows? Maybe we will see a toned-down version of a Salvy Splash on Thursday.

This story was originally published July 20, 2016 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Royals were served cake when they visited the White House in 1985."