April 30, 1948: The Film “State of the Union” Premieres

April 30, 1948: The film State of the Union premieres, directed by Frank Capra. Spencer Tracy plays a business lord who runs for President with absolutely no previous political experience. He cheats on his wife, and his wife knows it. The media is in his back pocket. He makes speeches that unnecessarily alienate people.

But the similarities to Donald Trump end there. He is repentant. He knows he is not meant to be president. He is not a bigot. And his hair is normal.

Ironically, Tracy's real-life mistress, Katharine Hepburn, plays the wronged wife. The mistress is played by Angela Lansbury, and she will try again to unduly influence a Presidential election, in 1962, in The Manchurian Candidate.

Despite seeming to favor underdog figures in his films, Capra was a lifelong conservative Republican who supported GOP candidates from Calvin Coolidge to Ronald Reagan. Despite directing populist films often associated with New Deal, liberal ideals, Capra personally despised Franklin D. Roosevelt, opposed government intervention, and admired certain right-wing figures.

Tracy, Hepburn and Lansbury were Democrats. Adolphe Menjou, who played a Republican strategist, was a staunch Republican in real life as well. Also appearing in the film were Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz; and a now-grown Carl Switzer, the former Alfalfa of Our Gang, as a bellboy.

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April 30, 1948 was a Friday. MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer and hockey coach Pierre Pagé were born. This was also the day the 1st Land Rover was produced. I have a separate entry for that event.

These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Stephen "Bud" Souchock wasn't a Yankee for long, but, on this day, the 1st baseman hit 2 home runs. Joe DiMaggio went 1-for-4. Ted Williams went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Giants lost to the Boston Braves, 7-2 at the Polo Grounds. Johnny Sain went the distance for the win, while Giant starter Ray Poat didn't get out of the 3rd inning.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Erv Palica went the distance for the win, while Phils starter Emil "Dutch" Leonard didn't get out of the 2nd inning. Johnny "Spider" Jorgenson went 3-for-6 with an RBI. Jackie Robinson went 1-for-5 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 3-1 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 13-7 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. It was just another day at the office for Stan Musial: Stan the Man went 5-for-6 with a home run and 4 RBIs.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 10-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ralph Kiner went 3-for-5 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* And the Cleveland Indians and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The game was made up a part of a doubleheader on August 11. The Indians won the opener, 7-5. Bob Lemon was the winning pitcher, helping his own cause by going 2-for-4, with Satchel Paige getting the save. The Browns won the nightcap, 12-4.

Over the 2 games, for the Tribe, shortstop and manager Lou Boudreau went 4-for-9 with 2 RBIs, Dale Mitchell went 6-for-10, Joe Gordon went 3-for-7 with a home run and 2 RBIs, Larry Doby went 2-for-8 with 2 walks and 3 RBIs, Jim Hegan went 3-for-6 with a walk.

For the Browns, Hank Arft went 5-for-9 with a walk and 6 RBIs, Dick Kokos went 5-for-8 with a walk and 3 RBIs, and Al Zarilla went 3-for-8 with a walk and an RBI.