AUTRY AND NIXON: Gene Autry was not happy playing second fiddle to the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine, one of the reasons for moving the Angels to Anaheim in 1966. Orange County was one of the wealthiest and fastest growing regions in the country, and Walt Disney, a close friend of Autry, had been lobbying for the building of a stadium near his amusement park. Not to be overlooked, the area was also politically conservative, which appealed to Autry, and was a bastion for the right-wing John Birch Society. While Autry supported Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman during their presidencies, and remained a registered Democrat all his life, the men he backed in later years – Richard Nixon, Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan – were all conservative Republicans. When the Senators left Washington following the 1971 season, President Nixon switched his allegiance to the Angels. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch of the 1973 season at the Angels’ home opener, becoming the first president to throw out the season’s first ball in a city other than Washington, D.C. Nixon’s home in San Clemente was reasonably close to Anaheim Stadium, so he would occasionally attend games and sit in Gene Autry’s private box, and sometimes even go down to the clubhouse to visit with the players.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:55:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015