September 12, 1962: President John F. Kennedy goes to Rice University in Houston, Texas, to deliver a speech about the Moon project, since it was near the space center that would be named for his Vice President and successor as President, Lyndon Johnson, a Texan who was also on hand.
A year earlier, JFK told Congress, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."
This time, at Rice Stadium, he elaborated:
We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade, and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.
Actually, while the University of Texas was already the standard for college football in the Lone Star State, from 1930 until 1961, Rice had gotten the better of Texas, 17-15. And that season's game between them would end in a tie. But in 1963, Texas won the 1st of 3 National Championships in the next 8 seasons. Since JFK made that speech, Rice has gone 2-45-1 vs. Texas, winning only in 1965 and 1994. Maybe this is the real "Kennedy Curse."
But, like Franklin Roosevelt before him, Jack Kennedy was a forward-looking Democrat. And he sought the best answers, the inspiring answers, not the easy answers.
Contrast that with the Republicans who followed him: Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, always looking for the easy answer, the "sound bite."
JFK knew: Doing the hard things was the way to test America. It had already happened: The Revolution, the "winning of the West," saving the Union and abolishing slavery, beating the Great Depression, beating the Nazis. Still to come: The Moon, civil rights, and who knows what else.
Or, as an old saying goes, "The difficult, we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer."
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September 12, 1962 was a Wednesday. These games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Whitey Ford went the distance for the win. Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4, his hit a 3-run home run, and added a walk. Roger Maris went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Yogi Berra did not play.
* The Washington Senators beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Tom Cheney of the Senators set a major league record that has never been equaled. He he struck out 13 batters through 9 innings, but the game was tied. He ended up pitching 16 innings, striking out 21 batters, before Bud Zipfel hit a home run off Oriole pitcher Dick Hall to win it 2-1 for the Senators.
By a weird coincidence, Zipfel had also driven in the Senators' other run -- all the way back in the 1st inning, on a groundout off Oriole starter Milt Pappas, following a single by Ron Stilwell and a double by Chuck Hinton.
* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-0 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Denny Lemaster pitched a 6-hit shutout. Eddie Mathews and Joe Torre hit home runs. Hank Aaron didn't, going 0-for-5, but I'm sure he was glad to get the win.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Frank Robinson hit 2 home runs. Willie Mays struck out in his 1st at-bat, and then left the game due to injury. He returned in time to help the Giants win the National League Pennant.
* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers, 8-6 and 6-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Rocky Colavito hit 2 home runs in the opener, but it wasn't enough. Over the 2 games, Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-10 with 3 RBIs, while Al Kaline went 1-for-7 with a walk.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Sherm Lollar singled Al Smith home with the winning run in the top of the 12th inning. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-4 with a walk.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Colt .45s, 1-0 at Colt Stadium in Houston. The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965. It took 3 pitchers to complete a 9-hit shutout for the Dodgers, and they did not include Sandy Koufax or Don Drysdale. Pete Richert allowed 3 hits over 3 innings, but allowed 2 singles to start the bottom of the 4th, and manager Walter Alston took him out, bringing in Ed Roebuck. He got out of the jam, and then pitched into the 9th, allowing 4 hits. Ron Perranoski got the last 2 outs.
* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels, 4-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels groundshared with the Dodgers until their stadium in suburban Anaheim could open.
* And the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.
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