September 24, 1955: President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Heart Attack

September 24, 1955: President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffers a heart attack, while vacationing with his wife Mamie's family in Colorado. Unlike previous Presidents who had long-term illnesses, like Woodrow Wilson with his 1919 stroke, and Franklin Roosevelt with his battle with heart disease and high blood pressure in 1944 and '45, he allows his Administration to give the public regular updates on his recovery.

Eisenhower began chain-smoking cigarettes while he was a Cadet at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York in the early 1910s. Like many smokers, he tried and failed to quit several times. By the time of his heart attack, he was nearly 65 years old, already one of the oldest Presidents in the country's history. Being bald made him look even older, and a country that held him in very high esteem became gravely concerned -- not just for his health, but for what his unavailability, either temporary or permanent, might mean for the nation and the world.

The heart attack required 6 weeks' hospitalization, at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, during which time Vice President Richard Nixon, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, and White House Chief of Staff Sherman Adams assumed administrative duties and provided communication with the President.

(John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee for President, was born at Fitzsimmons in 1943, because his father, Richard, was serving there at the time. During his speech accepting the nomination, he mentioned, "I was born in the West Wing." The facility was closed in 1999, and was converted into the University of Colorado's medical school.) 

Dulles and Adams were appointees that no one had voted for (although Adams had previously been elected Governor of New Hampshire), and Nixon, while popular with mainstream Republicans, was already seen by a majority of the country as a very dishonest man, and considerably more conservative than Eisenhower, making such people nervous that he might end up running the country.

"Ike" was treated by Dr. Paul Dudley White, a cardiologist with a national reputation, who regularly informed the press of the president's progress. The next Presidential election was less than 14 months away, and Ike hadn't yet said whether he was running for re-election. Instead of discounting him as a candidate for a 2nd term, White recommended a 2nd term as essential to his recovery.

Furthermore, it was deemed essential that the American people see that he was recovering. So he was taken up to the roof of the hospital, for photographs and film with hospital staff, so the people could see him, in a wheelchair to save his strength, but smiling and mentally engaged.

He recovered, but developed Crohn's disease, and on June 9, 1956, he underwent surgery for an intestinal blockage, having about 10 inches of his small intestine removed. This was downplayed.

Through the 1956 campaign, the Democratic Party, seeking to elect his 1952 opponent, former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, stressed the fact that Nixon was still the Vice President, and that, given the history of Presidential health, there was a 50-50 chance that Nixon could become President when, or even before, Eisenhower's term ended. And, unlike every other Presidential nominee since FDR in 1932, Eisenhower did not campaign widely. He won in a landslide, anyway.

On November 25, 1957, Ike suffered a stroke during a Cabinet meeting.  He recovered fairly quickly from this, as well, with Nixon, Adams and Dulles, to use a metaphor that would later be used by President Ronald Reagan, "minding the store." On August 29, 1959, on a visit to Britain, Ike complained of dizziness, and had his blood pressure checked. His condition was considered well enough to continue the trip. He left office on January 20, 1961, alive, and 70 years old, at the time the oldest President in the nation's history.

Had Ike died in office at any time from 1955 onward, Nixon would have become President. The next man in line would have been the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn of Texas.

He had another heart attack in 1965, which pretty much ended his public life. He had his gallbladder removed in 1966 -- as did, the same year, the man who was then President, Lyndon B. Johnson. Like Ike, LBJ had had a heart attack in 1955, then being the Senate Majority Leader.

When Nixon ran for President on his own in 1960, he moved away from his conservative base, and ran as an Eisenhower-style moderate. He lost a close election to John F. Kennedy. In 1962, he published his 1st book, Six Crises, and included his time as unofficial Acting President after Eisenhower's heart attack. The others were the Alger Hiss case, what became known as the Checkers Speech, his troubled 1958 tour of South America, his 1959 "Kitchen Debate" with Nikita Khrushchev, and his loss to Kennedy.

In 1968, he again ran as an Eisenhower-style moderate. He won a close election against Hubert Humphrey. A little more than 2 months into Nixon's term, Eisenhower died of what was later revealed to be his 7th heart attack. He was 78.

It's also worth noting that Nixon's daughter Tricia married Eisenhower's grandson David. And that Dr. White lived until 1973, at the age of 87.

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September 24, 1955 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The Brooklyn Dodgers were swept in a doubleheader by the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 and 6-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. In the opener, Dick Hall went the distance for the win. Carl Erskine started for the Brooks, and was shaky. The Dodgers blew a 3-0 lead, and Gene Freese hit what turned out to be a game-winning home run off Don Bessent in the bottom of the 8th inning. Jackie Robinson went 1-for-4, and then did not play in the nightcap.

In that game, Bob Friend went the distance for the win. Billy Loes started for Dem Bums, but it would be a rookie named Sandy Koufax who turned out to be the losing pitcher.

* The Baltimore Orioles swept a doubleheader from the Washington Senators, 8-5 and 1-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Bill Wight pitched a 9-hit shutout in the 2nd game. Neither the Senators' Harmon Killebrew, in his 2nd major league season, nor the Orioles' Brooks Robinson, in his 1st, appeared in either game.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Redlegs, 3-2 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. In 1954, due to Cold War paranoia, The Cincinnati Reds changed their name to "Redlegs." In 1959, they realized that this was monumentally stupid, and changed back to "Reds." Ernie Banks went 1-for-4 with an RBI in this game.

* The Cleveland Indians swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers, 8-2 and 7-0 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. (It was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961.) In the 1st game, American League Rookie of the Year Herb Score outpitched Frank Lary. Hank Aguirre had an unusual shutout in the 2nd game: He allowed only 3 hits, but walked 10 batters, and only struck out 3. Al Kaline went 2-for-7 over the 2 games.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics, 4-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Dick Donovan pitched a 5-hit shutout. Nellie Fox went 4-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Braves, 4-3 at the 1st Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Stan Musial went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews each went 2-for-4, and Mathews had a 2-run homer. Ken Boyer doubled home Red Schoendienst to win it in the bottom of the 9th.

* And it rained in New York, postponing both games that were to be played. The New York Yankees made up their game with the Boston Red Sox the next day, the last day of the regular season, as part of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees won the opener, 9-2. Two unlikely players had 3 RBIs for the Pinstripes, both rookies 2nd baseman Bobby Richardson, who would go on to become an All-Star but not a great hitter; and 1st baseman Marv Throneberry, who had just helped the Yankees' top farm team, the Denver Bears, win the American Association Pennant, and was considered their top prospect. But he never impressed them at the major league level, and was included in the trade for Roger Maris in 1959. In 1962, he returned to New York, and became a symbol of the early Mets' ineptitude.

Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams each only appeared in the 1st game as pinch-hitters. Ted reached base, Mickey didn't.

The Red Sox won the nightcap, 8-1. George Susce pitched a complete game, and Rip Coleman only lasted 3 innings. Williams went 1-for-1 with a walk, and was removed for a pinch-runner. Mantle was, again, only a pinch-hitter, and didn't reach base.

* And the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies made up their rainout as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Giants won the 1st game, 5-2. Pete Burnside outpitched Robin Roberts, who finished 23-14 on the season. The Phils won the 2nd game, 3-1. This would be the last game that Leo Durocher managed for the Giants. Willie Mays went 4-for-8 on the day, with a home run, his National League-leading 51st on the season, and 3 RBIs.

There was 1 game played in the NFL: The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants, 27-17 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.

Among the notable college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 UCLA was upset by Number 5 Maryland, 7-0 at Byrd Stadium (now SECU Stadium) in the Washington suburb of College Park, Maryland.

* Number 2 Georgia Tech beat Number 19 Florida, 14-7 at Florida Field (now Ben Hill Griffin Stadium) in Florida.

* Number 3 Oklahoma beat North Carolina, 13-6 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

* Number 4 Michigan beat Missouri, 42-7 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

* Number 6 Ohio State beat Nebraska, 28-20 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

* Number 7 University of Pittsburgh beat Syracuse, 22-12 at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York.

* Number 8 Mississippi were upset by Kentucky, 21-14 at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

* Number 9 Navy beat William & Mary, 7-0 at Thompson Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

* The day before, Number 10 University of Southern California (USC) beat Oregon, 42-15 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Number 11 Notre Dame beat Southern Methodist University (SMU), 17-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* Number 12 Texas Tech were upset by Texas Christian University (TCU), 32-0 at Jones Stadium in Lubbock.

* Number 13 Rice beat Alabama, 20-0 at Rice Stadium in Houston.

* Number 14 Army beat Furman, 81-0 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.

* Number 16 Louisiana State were upset by Texas A&M, 28-0 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

* And in New Jersey, Princeton beat Rutgers, 41-7 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to the North-East of England, and lost to Sunderland, 3-1 at Roker Park.