Coincidence? World Series Winners and Presidential Elections
This article was written by L. Robert Davids
This article was published in 1972 Baseball Research Journal
Even though Washington has lost its major league baseball club, will President Nixon still be rooting for an American League victory in the 1972 World Series? It may sound silly, but not if you consider that since 1952 a Republican candidate has been elected President every time an American League club has won the world championship in an election year, while the Democrats have taken the big prize when a National League club has been victorious. This is how it has worked out every election year since 1952. Incidentally, every World Series listed below has gone the full 7 games.
Year, World Series winner, Presidential winner
1952, New York (AL), Dwight Eisenhower (Rep.)
1956, New York (AL), Dwight Eisenhower (Rep.)
1960, Pittsburgh (NL), John F. Kennedy (Dem.)
1964, St. Louis (NL), Lyndon B. Johnson (Dem.)
1968, Detroit (AL), Richard M. Nixon (Rep.)
Editor’s note: The pattern would continue in 1972 (Oakland A’s/Richard Nixon) and 1976 (Cincinnati Reds/Jimmy Carter), but it ended in 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League won the World Series and Republican Ronald Reagan won the Presidential election.
This article originally appeared in the 1972 “Baseball Research Journal.”