A Long, Strange Trip: The Nomination and Confirmation of Justice Harry A. Blackmun - 19
were a few blocks apart in the Dayton Bluffs section of St. Paul, and they attended the same grade school.
During this period, according to Blackmun’s recollection, they “played tennis together – and argued a lot”
(AP, 1970a). They also served together as counselors at a YMCA camp on the shores of Lake St. Croix
(Lewis, 1986b). Although their paths formally parted during their late teens – Burger went to the
University of Minnesota and attended the St. Paul School of Law – they remained sufficiently close that
Blackmun served as the “best man” at Burger’s wedding in 1933 (Pollet, 1975:5).17 After this, their lives
diverged but they remained in touch as old and dear friends are wont to do. They never appeared profes-
sionally in the same court until Blackmun joined the Supreme Court, but Blackmun noted in a 1970
interview that they frequently used one another “as a sounding board” in making personal career
decisions (AP, 1970a). Blackmun’s mother, at the time of his nomination, reported that Burger her son
had weekly phone conversations and that the former, after his elevation to the Supreme Court,
volunteered to “sort out recent Supreme Court decisions” for his still appellate-judge friend (Woodward
and Armstrong, 1979:97f).
In reminiscing about his long friendship with Burger on the occasion of his nomination to the
Supreme Court, Blackmun praised his old friend but noted that
We do not always see eye to eye.18 If by chance this thing should go through, he would be the
first to expect that we would disagree. This has been the history of our life, that we’ve been able
to disagree on things and have fun doing it.… We used to joke about what we’d do if we ever
went at it hammer and tongs (AP, 1970a).
This joking slowly ground to a halt (Jenkins, 1975:29) as their tasks as Supreme Court Justices
demonstrated that disagreements coupled with authority are often not “fun,” even for the best of friends,
but the point remains that Burger was probably the prime mover in the nomination of his childhood tennis
mate and companion to the Court of Appeals. The friendship forged in Dayton Bluffs eventually moved
Blackmun to the Supreme Court.
17
Simon (1973:141) reports that Burger “received a tuition scholarship from Princeton and turned it down because
of the family financial situation.
18
Among their known political disagreements was Burger’s support of Robert LaFollette for president in 1924 while
Blackmun stayed with Coolidge (Simon, 1973:141).
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