Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Would an All-Chicago World Series Spell Doom for Big Mac and Sarah?
by Garret A. Hobart
In the celestial relationship between our national pastime and national elections, the 1936 election is the one that stands out. In 1936, the contestants in the World Series both hailed from the same state, New York. The winning presidential candidate that year - FDR - also came from New York. As the post-season begins, both the White Sox and the Cubs are in the hunt for the World Series. Could their fate be linked to their Southside compadre, Barack Hussein Obama?
Baseball fans tend to be superstitious. Baseball fans who are involved in politics are probably doubly superstitious. In politics we are always looking for signs as to how our candidate or party is doing. There are many who believe that there is a celestial relationship between baseball and politics. An astute observer has to look hard to find the patterns. After communing with the baseball gods, it appears that the year 1936 may be the one that speaks to the outcome of our current election.
The White Sox have now qualified for the playoffs. As such, they are now one of four American League teams who have a chance to earn a spot in the fall classic. The Cubs have already qualified by winning the National League Central Division. They are the best team in the National League, and are probably the odds-on favorite to earn a spot in the fall classic. If the Cubs and the White Sox face off in the World Series it will be the fith time that two teams from the same state have faced each other in the World Series in a presidential election year. In one of those four years, a presidential candidate came from the same state as the World Series contestants.
The year was 1936. The nation was in the midst of tough economic times. The summer olympics were hosted by a fascist nation. In October, the New York Giants behind Hall of Fame hurler Carl Hubbell took on the dynastic New York Yankees. The Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig, and a rookie, Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio led the Yankees against Hubbell and the Giants. Not only were all six games of the 1936 World Series played within the boundaries of the same state, but the stadiums were within site of each other. The Yankees power won in the end. The Yankees won four games to the Giants two.
Shortly after the Yankees won, incumbent President FDR won in a landslide against Republican Alf Landon, taking all but two states. FDR won the electoral college by a margin of 523 to 8. FDR won the popular vote by a margin of 60 per cent to 36.5 per cent. OK, so landslide is an understatement. History might have been different. Lousiana Governor and Senator Huey Long had planned to run as a third party candidate in 1936. The popular Long would likely have split the Democrat vote and perhaps delivered the election to the Republicans. Perhaps coincidentally, Long was assassinated in 1935. After his re-election FDR continued to build his New Deal and the largest expansion of federal power to date.
Should both Chicago teams win their respective pennants, would that be an omen that the junior senator from Illinois will win a landslide victory and foist another huge government expansion on the republic? Stay tuned.
