Seeking help in the heartland in his bid to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York turned to a family friend, Stan Musial of the Cardinals.
On April 24, 1968, Musial was selected to lead National Sportsmen for Kennedy, a committee of sports figures recruited to boost the national candidacy of the younger brother of the late President John F. Kennedy.
Though Musial disliked controversy, and usually took every precaution to avoid getting embroiled in the kind of conflict politics naturally created, he waded with eyes wide open into the tumultuous 1968 presidential campaign because of his loyalty to the Kennedys.
Ties that bind
The relationship between Musial and the Kennedys began in Milwaukee in September 1959. Musial, still a prominent player at 38, was with the Cardinals for a series with the Braves. Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, 42, was in town, campaigning for the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination.
“I was standing in front of the hotel, waiting for the bus for the game,” Musial told The Sporting News, “and a man came up to me and said, ‘You are Stan Musial and I’m glad to meet you. I’m Jack Kennedy.’ Of course I knew him. And then he said, ‘You’re too old to play ball and I’m too young to be president, but maybe we’ll fool ’em.’ ”
In 1960, when John Kennedy ran for president as the Democratic nominee against Republican Vice President Richard Nixon, Musial was part of the first National Sportsmen for Kennedy committee. Among those joining Musial on the 1960 committee were baseball’s Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Herzog and Willie Mays; football’s Sam Huff and Johnny Unitas; and basketball’s Bob Cousy.
Kennedy won the election and named his brother, Robert, to the position of Attorney General.
President Kennedy met with Musial at the 1962 All-Star Game in Washington, D.C. The next day, Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri arranged for Musial, wife Lillian and daughter Janet to receive a VIP tour of the nation’s capital.
While at the Department of Justice, the Musials were greeted by Attorney General Kennedy, who asked whether they wanted to go to the White House and visit the president. Though Musial didn’t want special favors, Robert Kennedy insisted on arranging the White House meeting, and the Musials were brought to the Oval Office to see President Kennedy.
A few days later, on July 26, 1962, a letter from Attorney General Kennedy arrived for Musial at his St. Louis restaurant. Robert Kennedy wrote, “Dear Stan, many thanks for your nice note. It was good to see you and your family when you were in Washington and I am glad you enjoyed the tour of the White House and your meeting with the president.”
Two years later, in February 1964, Attorney General Kennedy and his wife Ethel attended the swearing in ceremony for Musial at the White House when the retired ballplayer was named by President Lyndon Johnson to lead the nation’s physical fitness program.
Two months after that, on April 17, 1964, with Musial at his side, Attorney General Kennedy threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Red Sox home opener at Fenway Park.
Open competition
By March 1968, President Johnson’s popularity waned because of the United States involvement in the war in Vietnam. On March 16, Senator Robert Kennedy announced he would seek the Democratic presidential nomination. Two weeks later, President Johnson declared he wouldn’t seek re-election.
With the president out of the running, the race for the Democratic nomination centered on Kennedy, Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy. The winning candidate would need to show strength in the remaining state primaries.
Kennedy first focused on the May 7 primary in Indiana, a state considered especially challenging for an East Coast liberal.
With an eye toward boosting his appeal among Midwesterners, Kennedy tapped Musial to lead the committee of sports figures who would campaign for him. In addition to his sterling reputation, Musial also was the senior vice president of the defending World Series champion Cardinals.
Among those joining Musial on the 1968 National Sportsmen for Kennedy committee were Hank Aaron, basketball’s Bill Russell and football’s Gale Sayers, Herb Adderley and Paul Hornung.
Help with Hoosiers
On May 2, 1968, Musial played a visible role in joining Robert and Ethel Kennedy on the campaign trail in the northern Indiana towns of Elkhart and Mishawaka, near South Bend and the University of Notre Dame. An article in the next day’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, “Musial perched on the back of Kennedy’s open automobile along with Mrs. Kennedy in a motorcade through Elkhart and Mishawaka.”
The sight of Musial stumping for Kennedy helped to counter the work of celebrities such as actor Paul Newman, who campaigned for McCarthy in Indiana.
Kennedy won the Indiana primary and followed that with victories in primaries in Nebraska, South Dakota, Washington, D.C., and California.
On June 5, hours after he won the California primary, Kennedy, like his brother five years earlier, was shot by an assassin. He died on June 6 at age 42.
Humphrey won the Democratic nomination but was defeated in the election by Nixon.
Previously: Stan Musial shared a special bond with JFK
Previously: While nation mourned RFK, Cards reluctantly played
RetroSimba 
Sad and crazy times. Stan Musial was Stan the Man at whatever he put his hand to. Came across an interesting story where at the beginning of the 1900’s, John F. Fitzgerald, the maternal grandfather of JFK, Robert and Ted, came very close to purchasing the Boston Red Sox. Apparently the deal never transpired due to a veto by Ban Johnson.
Good find on John F. Fitzgerald coming close to buying the Red Sox. Thanks. Also, according to author Michael D’Antonio, who wrote “Forever Blue,” a biography of Walter O’Malley, Joseph Kennedy, the father of Jack, Robert and Ted, considered making a bid to buy the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 1950s, and talked about making his son, Jack, then a congressman, the team president. The deal, though, fell through.