November 7, 1950: Tricky Dick vs. the Pink Lady

November 7, 1950: In midterm Congressional elections, the Democratic Party retains its majority, but loses 28 seats in the House of Representatives, from 263-171 to 235-199; and 5 in the Senate, from 54-42 to a two-seat lead of 49-47.

In the closest Senate race, in Connecticut, incumbent Democrat William Benton narrowly defeats Republican investment banker Prescott Bush, by 802 votes, averting a 48-48 tie. Bush tries again in a special election in 1952, and wins, and is re-elected in 1956, but doesn't run again in 1962, and dies 10 years later. He does not get to see his son George and, 50 years later to the day, and even more narrowly, his grandson George be elected President.

U.S. Representative Richard Nixon becomes one of California's U.S. Senators by defeating Helen Gahagan Douglas. Riding his fame as the Communist-finder who brought down former State Department official Alger Hiss 2 years earlier, Nixon had tried to tie Douglas to Communism: Since she was not an active agent, or a "Red," she was considered a "Communist sympathizer," and therefore a "Pink" or a "Pinko."

So he called her "the Pink Lady," and "pink right down to her underwear." God only knows what would have happened if Nixon had known that, while both were serving in the House, she had an affair with now-Senator Lyndon Johnson of Texas.

A former actress, and wife of actor Melvyn Douglas, she got the last laugh: She gave him the nickname that stuck with him for the rest of his life, "Tricky Dick," and lived long enough to see his downfall.

Also in California, James Roosevelt, son of FDR, is defeated by the incumbent Governor, Republican Earl Warren. In 1954, James would win the 1st of 5 terms in Congress. By then, Warren was the Chief Justice of the United States.

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November 7, 1950 was a Tuesday. Serbian soccer star Vladislav Bogićević was born.

Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. The NHL season was underway, but there were no games scheduled. There were 2 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks lost to the Indianapolis Olympians, 86-73 at the Butler Fieldhouse (now the Hinkle Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. And the Boston Celtics beat the original version of the Baltimore Bullets, 83-64 at the Baltimore Coliseum.