Nixon's Crazy Plan Worked

[Fatty McGee]

One of the better written magazine length articles about it:

http://grantland.com/features/texas-arkansas-face-president-richard-nixon-1969/

"What amazes me, all these years later, is not the blatant electoral calculus of this gesture. What amazes me is that Richard Nixon, who so adored this sport that it was one of the few things he could talk fluently about with his ideological opponents — and who actually spoke of an alternate existence in which he became a sportswriter — did not anticipate the implications of getting personally involved in the declaration of a national champion, as sportswriters had been doing with a lack of definitive success for decades. What amazes me is that a man as shrewd as Nixon, who surely must have been paying attention to the Notre Dame–Michigan State–Alabama fracas of 1966, did not foresee the political thicket into which he'd wandered: At that Friday press briefing, Ziegler was queried about the undefeated (and third-ranked) Penn State's exclusion from the championship, in large part thanks to the complaints of Raymond Shafer, the Republican governor of Pennsylvania, who telegrammed the White House and held a grandstanding press conference on the subject that same day. Penn State, at the time, was coached by a feisty Brooklyn-born Republican named Joe Paterno.4

Ziegler responded by saying he was certain that the winner of the Texas-Arkansas game deserved the national championship, and then, realizing that this was an unsatisfactory response on both political fronts, he sprinted back to the Oval Office, huddled with the president, and said his boss was considering an "appropriate" gesture if Penn State also finished undefeated. A reporter asked, "What sort of gesture?" and Ziegler retreated to the Oval Office again, returning shortly afterward to say Penn State, which had not lost in 29 straight games, would be rewarded with a plaque honoring them for having the longest undefeated streak of any major college team in the nation.

This was not an amenable solution, either in the short-term or the long-term; 90,000 letters and telegrams had come pouring in from Pennsylvania, and a few Penn State alums actually picketed the White House.5 But Ziegler was running two hours late for a lunch, and when a reporter brought up the possibility of Texas and Arkansas playing a tie game, as Notre Dame and Michigan State had done in 1966, and then asked, Wouldn't Nixon be rewarding the wrong plaque to the wrong team?, Ziegler said "Gentlemen, I have done all I can.""

[popcornhog]

Great article as always with Grantland.

[BorderPatrol]

Grantland always does a fantastic job.

bp

[hawg IQ]

One of the better written magazine length articles about it:

http://grantland.com/features/texas-arkansas-face-president-richard-nixon-1969/

"What amazes me, all these years later, is not the blatant electoral calculus of this gesture. What amazes me is that Richard Nixon, who so adored this sport that it was one of the few things he could talk fluently about with his ideological opponents — and who actually spoke of an alternate existence in which he became a sportswriter — did not anticipate the implications of getting personally involved in the declaration of a national champion, as sportswriters had been doing with a lack of definitive success for decades. What amazes me is that a man as shrewd as Nixon, who surely must have been paying attention to the Notre Dame–Michigan State–Alabama fracas of 1966, did not foresee the political thicket into which he’d wandered: At that Friday press briefing, Ziegler was queried about the undefeated (and third-ranked) Penn State’s exclusion from the championship, in large part thanks to the complaints of Raymond Shafer, the Republican governor of Pennsylvania, who telegrammed the White House and held a grandstanding press conference on the subject that same day. Penn State, at the time, was coached by a feisty Brooklyn-born Republican named Joe Paterno.4

Ziegler responded by saying he was certain that the winner of the Texas-Arkansas game deserved the national championship, and then, realizing that this was an unsatisfactory response on both political fronts, he sprinted back to the Oval Office, huddled with the president, and said his boss was considering an “appropriate” gesture if Penn State also finished undefeated. A reporter asked, “What sort of gesture?” and Ziegler retreated to the Oval Office again, returning shortly afterward to say Penn State, which had not lost in 29 straight games, would be rewarded with a plaque honoring them for having the longest undefeated streak of any major college team in the nation.

This was not an amenable solution, either in the short-term or the long-term; 90,000 letters and telegrams had come pouring in from Pennsylvania, and a few Penn State alums actually picketed the White House.5 But Ziegler was running two hours late for a lunch, and when a reporter brought up the possibility of Texas and Arkansas playing a tie game, as Notre Dame and Michigan State had done in 1966, and then asked, Wouldn’t Nixon be rewarding the wrong plaque to the wrong team?, Ziegler said “Gentlemen, I have done all I can.”"

without being too political here, Nixon these days would almost be sainted as compared to happenings in political fields on one or both parties.
   Getting caught lying, cheating and using government employees to advance one's agenda is these day not only expected, but not even covered by most of the media.
  Anyway I liked the post and very well put.

[NaturalStateReb]

Really great story.  Thanks for sharing.

[rickm1976]

I never understood why they wanted to call it a national championship game.  Both teams still had to play in a bowl game.

[popcornhog]

I never understood why they wanted to call it a national championship game.  Both teams still had to play in a bowl game.

The idea of bowls counting toward a "championship" was still relatively new in 1969.

[Suidae Suis Scrofa]

My grandfather went to that game (although I didn't get the chance as I wasn't born for another 37 days).

He was in the stands about 20 - 30 rows behind president Nixon. A few months later National Geographic included a photo of Nixon at the game and my grandfather is in that photo.

-phil