Stan Musial: Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1969

Born: November 21, 1920

1936: Played semi-pro ball

1938: Signed by St Louis Cardinals as a pitcher

1938-41: Minor Leagues

Debut: September 17, 1941 (Cardinals)

1942: Cards win World Series

1943: Batting Champ (.357)

1943: MVP

1943: Cards lose World Series

1944: Cards win World Series

1945-6: World War II service

1946: Declined offer to play in Mexican League

1946: Earned his nickname “The Man” from Brooklyn fans

1946: Batting Champ (.365)

1946: MVP

1946: TSN Player of the Year

1946: Cards win World Series

1947: Played season with appendicitis

1948: Missed Triple Crown by one rained out home run

1948: Batting Champ (.376)

1948: MVP

1950: 30-game hit streak

1951: TSN Player of the Year

1952: Pitched in a game for only time in Major League Career

1950-52: Batting Champ (.346, .355 and .336)

1954: Hit five home runs in a double header

1955: Hit GW HR in All Star Game

1956: Set NL record for extra base hits

1957: Consecutive game streak ends at 895 with fractured shoulder bone

1957: Batting Champ (.351)

1957: Lou Gehrig Award

1958: 3000^th hit

1959: First player with 400 HR and 3000 hits

1962: Oldest player ever (41) with a 3 HR game

1963: Retired as NL’s all-time hit leader (since broken)

1963-6: VP of Cardinals

1964-7: LBJ’s fitness advisor

1964: Cards win World Series

1967: Card’s GM (stepped down in less than a year rather than be desk bound)

1967: Cards win World Series

1968: Cards lose World Series

1969: Elected to HOF

1999: All Century Team

2007: Earned Navy Memorial’s Lone Sailor Award

2011: Presidential Medal of Freedom

2013: Died

Accomplishments:

3x World Champion

3x MVP

2x ML Player of the Year

24x All Star

1957 Lou Gehrig Award winner

7x Batting Champ

All Century Team

NL All Time Hit Leader at retirement

30 Game Hit Streak

895 consecutive game streak

.331

3630 Hits

475 HR

1951 RBI

1599 walks-696 Strikeouts

725 doubles

177 triples

1949 Runs

.417 OBP

.559 Slugging

.976 OPS

6134 TB

Led league in games: 5x

Led league in runs: 5x

100+ runs: 11x

Led league in hits: 6x

200+ hits: 6x

Led league in doubles: 8x

30+ doubles: 16x

40+ doubles: 9x

50+ doubles: 3x

Led league in triples: 5x

10+ triples: 8x

15+ triples: 3x

20+ triples: 2x

20+ HR: 10x

30+ HR: 6x

Led league in RBI: 2x

100+ RBI: 10x

Led league in walks (105): 1953

100+ walks: 3x

Hit .300+: 17x

Hit .350+: 5x

.400 OBP: 14x

Led league in OBP: 6x

Led league in slugging: 6x

.500 slugging: 16x

.600 slugging: 6x

.702 slugging (1948)

Led league in OPS: 7x

1.01OPS: 8x

Led league in TB: 6x

300 TB: 12x

429 TB (1948)

Led league in IBB: 2x

Postseason: .256, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .742 OPS (4 World Series)

Presidential Legacies: Cold War Democrats (and Ike): 1945-1969

The next set of presidents faced a drastically changed world. Following World War II, Europe was in shambles, the Soviet Union was throwing its weight around, and America was the last man standing. As such, the post-war presidents filled the vacuum left by collapsed European powers. America became the world’s policeman. As such, the United States moved to thwart Soviet expansionism. The U.S. did this for three reasons. First, the Soviets moved into Eastern Europe and refused to leave. Second, the Soviets’ stated purpose was worldwide revolution. Third, Hitler already plunged the world into a global conflict that took millions of lives. Stalin was not that much different than the German dictator. So, checking Soviet expansionism became a way to stop World War III.

Harry Truman was the first president to face this threat. His response was decisive and set the policy that was essentially followed by his successors through 1991. When George Kennan wrote his long telegram arguing that the U.S.S.R. respected strength and would back down if confronted, Truman made it his own. American policy toward the Russians would be based on containment. Communism would not be allowed to spread beyond its current borders. In order to achieve these ends, Truman pumped money in the form of the Marshall Plan into Europe. The plan got Western Europe back on its feet by the early fifties. He backed the Democratic forces in Greece and Turkey when Communism threatened. They survived. When North Korea invaded South Korea, Truman sent in MacArthur. Despite Chinese intervention, South Korea remained free. Despite his foreign policy achievements, including ending World War II, Truman was unpopular. Due to his low approval ratings and advanced age, he stepped down from office. However, his Containment Policy survived the Truman Presidency by forty years.

Truman’s immediate successor was General Eisenhower. Ike continued his predecessor’s policies and balanced the budget. Ike also created the Interstate Highway System which created Modern America. The system was designed with defense in mind. It ended up creating the suburbs. Americans were no longer shackled. They did not have to either live in the country or the city. They could now more easily go on cross country vacations, work far from home, and so on.

Eisenhower faced international crises as well, but being Ike, he was able to confront them and calm the nation. John F. Kennedy being John F. Kennedy, and not General Eisenhower, gave the Soviets no pause. After a failed attempt to overthrow Cuba’s Fidel Castro, the Soviets decided to place offensive nuclear missiles on the island. What followed was a textbook example of crisis management. Kennedy ordered a blockade. Technically, this was an act of war. However, Robert Kennedy was negotiating behind the scenes and an agreement was reached. The Soviets backed down. The world did not incinerate. The Soviets would remove the missiles from Cuba. The U.S. would remove antiquated missiles from Turkey. The Soviets would not mention the deal. America would not remove Castro. The Cuban Missile Crisis ended and the world survived.

While Kennedy stepped to the edge, Lyndon Johnson went over it. Lyndon Johnson managed to anger everyone. His Great Society angered Conservatives, led to large deficits in subsequent decades, and is generally considered a failure. His Civil Rights policies angered the South and sent the entire region over to the G.O.P. Freeing African-Americans (with more Republican support than Democratic) should have been his crowning glory. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Fair Housing Act of 1968 are overshadowed by Vietnam.

The Vietnam War destroyed Johnson. As it dragged on, more people became disillusioned. After three years, the administration told Americans that the war was almost over. Then, the enemy launched a daring attack on the Tet New Year. In 1968, they attacked every major city in South Vietnam and fought in the American Embassy in Saigon. The U.S. won a major victory, but it did not look like it on television. Walter Cronkite declared the war lost. Johnson later announced he would not seek another term as president. The Democratic Party after 1968 fell to the McGovernites and has yet to recover.

Media Bias: 1963-1980

The press loved Massachusetts aristocrat John Kennedy. When he died and was replaced by a (gasp) Texan, it was yet another politician without the right pedigree. As a Texan, Johnson was another outsider. He was a pretender to the throne and a vulgar man. He had a ranch. LBJ was everything the press hated. They turned on him the first chance they had. The press even printed pictures of LBJ holding his dog up by its ears. It reaffirmed their image of Johnson as a vile and uncultured man. In 1964, the press pulled for the Republican Rockefeller. However, the GOP nominated Barry Goldwater. Goldwater was worse than Johnson, so they went after him with full fury. Goldwater lost and then the press went back to criticizing Johnson. When Georgetown burned during the urban uprisings, someone told LBJ that Georgetown was on fire. Many press insiders lived there. Johnson's responded "I've waited 35 years to hear that!" The press helped drive him from office.

They also helped drive Richard Nixon from office. Had Nixon been an insider, they would have ignored Watergate. But, Nixon defeated good establishment liberals in his run for the house, the senate, and the presidency. He also brought down Alger Hiss. What drove them the craziest was his use of media to get his message across. Whether it was the “Silent Majority” speech or the trip to China, Nixon used the press images for favorable coverage while reporters seethed. The press never forgave him for that.

Nixon’s successor, Gerald Ford, came from Michigan. He even graduated from the University of Michigan. The press accepted him at first, but quickly went after him. Ford pardoned Nixon to get Watergate behind the country. The press began to work to undermine his presidency. They portrayed Ford as dimwitted and clumsy. Press coverage of Gerald Ford can be summed up with the headline: Ford to City: Drop Dead.

The press sided with Ford’s opponent, Jimmy Carter, in 1976. Carter was not Nixon. He was also a feel good story. The press played up Carter and attacked Ford (Ford did help doom himself with a debate gaffe). Carter made some silly mistakes in the press when he admitted he lusted in his eyes, saw a UFO, and by claiming to have been attacked by a killer rabbit (not making this up). Carter’s novelty disappeared quickly. The press enjoyed making Carter’s brother look like a fool. When all was said and done, Carter was another outsider. He was from Georgia. The press hoped he’d be one of them, but he wasn’t. The press did not rally to him until Ronald Reagan became the Republican Nominee.

The New Right scared the press. They were the ultimate outsiders. These Goldwater-ites were everything the press was not. They were not East Coast. They were not Ivy League. They were not Elites. They distrusted government. They distrusted power. They distrusted liberalism. The press pumped the candidacy of George H.W. Bush. Bush failed. Reagan won the GOP nod. They attacked Reagan as dumb, unsophisticated, and simple. They claimed he’d start World War III and civilization would end with a Reagan Presidency. The press went nuts. Then, Reagan won. The Reagan Revolution changed the dynamic. The press changed its tone and went after Republicans and gave Democrats a free ride. The GOP epicenter was no longer the East Coast. It had moved to the heartland while the Democratic epicenter remained elitist. The press sided with the East Coast while the GOP sided with the heartland and the blue collar voter.

What Could Have Been...

Two presidents could have been amongst the greats. They racked up impressive legislative victories and reformed government. One helped usher in the Second Reconstruction while the other changed the Cold War paradigm. However, their own obsessive compulsive behaviors led to tragedy. LBJ got bogged down in Vietnam which cost 58,000 American lives, his programs are directly responsible for the deficits that followed in the 1970s and 1980s, and Johnson lost the South for the Democrats which guaranteed GOP ascendancy over the last 40 years. Richard Nixon was forced to resign because of Watergate and some have argued his China policy led directly to recent Chinese ascendancy (I guess the Chinese had nothing to do with it). In the end, those two mistakes (Vietnam for Johnson and Watergate for Nixon) will cling to these two men's legacies forever and overshadow their real contributions.
Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969): Won 1964 election with 61% of the vote
Civil Rights Act (1964)Medicare/Medicaid
Urban Renewal
War on Poverty
Education Reform
Voting Rights Act (1965)
Conservation
Clean air and water
Fair Housing Act (1968)

Richard Nixon (1969-1974):
Re-elected with 60% of the vote
Opened China
Ended Vietnam War
Detente
School Integration
Created the EPA and OSHA
Conservation
Clean air and water
Setup the GOP takeover of the South

Both men had impressive records. However, poor choices led to unequaled unpopularity and historical oblivion.

The Daisy Girl

BOOM! That is the sound of LBJ's demolition of Barry Goldwater in 1964. It's also the sound of the now infamous "Daisy Girl" ad. In it, a little girl is picking peddles off a flower. The next moment, she is vaporized by a mushroom cloud. The implication: Goldwater would lead America into a nuclear conflict with Russia. The Dems even co-opted Goldwater's campaign slogan "In your heart, you know he's right." They changed it to "In your Heart, you know he might." Goldwater's policies would eventually get Ronald Reagan elected president, but in 1964, they seemed extreme. Ironically, LBJ would be the one to lead the nation to war unnecessarily.
The 1960s were the halcion days of liberalism and Goldwater was a reaction to it. During his nomination speech, he said "extremism in defense of liberty is no vice." Richard Nixon said he knew the election was over at that point. The Dems turned that diddy around on Goldwater. They said that now even Goldwater knows he's an extremist.
Most of the negative campaigning was probably academic. Lyndon Johnson was the incumbent president in 1964 and was running as the heir to Kennedy's "Camelot." The nation was still in mourning over Kennedy's death and LBJ played on that sympathy.
As a result of Goldwater gaffes, skillful Democratic portrayals of Goldwater, and public sympathy following JFK's death, Johnson won 61%- 39% in the popular vote and 486-52 in the electoral college. Goldwater won his home state of Arizona and the Deep South. The South was angry at LBJ's passage of the Civil Rights Act. It was the beginning of the end for the Dems in the South.
Goldwater remained in the Senate until 1987. It was Goldwater that got Nixon to resign in 1974. It was Goldwater's libertarianism that helped lead to the rise of the right and Ronald Reagan.
Johnson served as President until 1969. His Great Society made him the last reform president before George W. Bush. Like Bush, an unpopular war combined with policies of debatable results, made LBJ very unpopular. Unlike Bush, he decided not to run for re-election.