2
Introduction
Senator Jim Bunning’s (R-KY) life before achieving legislative office had a great deal to do
with a different kind of success. Bunning was a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Philles,
Pittsburgh Pirates, and the L.A. Dodgers over a 17-year period. With a record of 224-184 and 2,855
strikeouts, he was a seven-time All-Star and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996
1
.
Along the way, Bunning became a legend in his home state of Kentucky, and the name recognition
that he built during his Hall of Fame career was a key factor in his victory in 1998.
However, it is not just his popularity that helped him – his experience as a professional
athlete is used to describe his ability to lead. Senator Bunning’s biography from his official website
shows the emphasis placed of his athletic experience
2
. In the first four paragraphs, his athletic
record is used to describe how successful he will be in the office that he won in 1998. “[H]e is no
stranger to winning…”; “(h)e displayed a competitive spirit and a willingness to work hard...”; and
probably the most reveling sentence, “The same competitive spirit that made Jim Bunning a Hall of
Famer in baseball has also served him well in political office.” There is no doubt, based on Senator
Bunning’s biography, that his athletic experience was seen as a critical leadership training ground
for his political career.
Former athletes aren’t the only ones who tout successful sporting careers to claim leadership
credentials and attract voters. Representative Anne Meagher Northup (KY, 3
rd
District) uses the
Olympic success of her sister Mary T. Meagher to stress her patriotism, and her attachment to
success. At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, “[I]t was a wonderful time for our family and a
wonderful time to be an American…nothing makes you more proud than watching the American
flag being raised at a gold medal ceremony and listening to our national anthem.”
3
Although the
athletic experience was not her own, Rep. Northup uses the same language expressed by Senator
Bunning to stress the assets of teamwork, leadership skills, and strength that are all deemed
important skills to have long been deemed essential to an American politician, even before the post-
September 11
th
environment. Voters respond to the sports images created by candidates and
candidates for federal office are more than willing to increasingly use sports experiences and
analogies to strengthen their viability as a candidate.
As this paper makes clear, candidates for political office have looked increasingly to sporting
careers, whether their own or others, as another trait that qualifies them to hold public office. Be it
as a result of playing on the local high school football team, coaching a daughter’s softball team, or
making athletics a primary occupation, aspiring politicians increasingly utilize images of leadership
once reserved solely for military experience. For its part, the voting electorate that is more likely to
have some personal experience in sports at some level than any military experience whatsoever
regards the use of sports metaphors and portrayals of leadership through sports as legitimate
qualifications in candidates and office holders.
1
Baseball Almanac
2
Htto://bunning.sentae.gov/bio.htm
3
http://www.northupfor
congress.com/contents/about/2.shtml
Convention