July 1, 1893: President Grover Cleveland's Secret Surgery

July 1, 1893: President Grover Cleveland undergoes surgery for oral cancer. It is kept a secret for the rest of his life, but at least he has a "rest of his life."

Cleveland had been elected President in 1884, then lost the Electoral Vote despite winning the popular vote in 1888, and regained the office in 1892. Through the election of 2020, he remains the only former President ever to regain the office. He, Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt are the only 3 men to win the popular vote for President at least 3 times. And yet, on none of those 3 occasions did Cleveland win a majority.

Just 2 months into his new term, the Panic of 1893 took place, with the stock market crashing. Cleveland took measures to stop the emergency, but the nation slipped into depression anyway. And while this was going on, he had soreness on the roof of his mouth. Clinical samples were sent anonymously to the Army Medical Museum, and the diagnosis was oral cancer.

Like a previous President, Ulysses S. Grant, he loved cigars, and it caught up with him. Unlike Grant, the tumor was in his palette, not his throat, and was operable. But, concerned that publicizing his illness would cause people to lose confidence in their President, and thus lose whatever remaining confidence they had in the economy, he had to keep his surgery a secret.

On June 30, he took a train to New York, announced as a fishing vacation. On July 1, on a yacht in the East River, away from prying eyes, he was operated on.

The tumor was removed, but when he woke up, he found he couldn't speak. A 2nd surgery had to be performed, to provide him with a rubber substitute for the upper jaw area that was removed. After that, he was fine. He was able to return to work quickly, but the economy fell further. By 1896, the depression was still ongoing, and he knew that running for another term would mean sure defeat.

He left office on March 4, 1897, and lived in Princeton, New Jersey until June 24, 1908, living to be 71 years old, long enough to see his reputation as President recover somewhat. Not until 1917 was the story of his surgery published.

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July 1, 1893 was a Saturday. There was only 1 professional sports league in North America at the time, baseball's National League. These games were played:

* The New York Giants beat the Chicago Colts, 1-0 at West Side Park in Chicago.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, 13-2 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Spiders beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 13-6 at League Park in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Senators, 5-4 at League Park in Cincinnati.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Louisville Colonels, 7-5 at Eclipse Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

* And the Boston Beaneaters beat the St. Louis Browns, 12-5 at an early version of Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

The Spiders, the Senators, the Orioles and the Colonels were all contracted out of the NL after the 1899 season. By 1900 the St. Louis team was the Cardinals. By 1903, the Chicago team was the Cubs. By 1911, the Brooklyn team was the Dodgers. By 1912, the Boston team was the Braves.