Frank Lausche
Frank John Lausche (/ˈlaʊʃi/;[1] November 14, 1895 – April 21, 1990) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 47th mayor of Cleveland and the 55th and 57th governor of Ohio, and also served as a United States Senator from Ohio for two terms (1957–1969).
Frank Lausche
Thomas J. Herbert
April 21, 1990 (aged 94)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Jane Sheal
Youth and baseball career[edit]
Lausche was born on November 14, 1895, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Frances (née Milavec) and Louis Lausche. His family was of Slovenian origin.[2] Lausche attended St. Vitus Grade School grades one to four, St. Francis Grade School in grade five and Madison Grammar School grades six to eight. He then went to Central Institute Preparatory School. He dropped out of school in 1911, when his older brother died, to help support his family.[3] He played baseball locally when not working, and was recruited as a third baseman to the amateur White Motor team, which won a national championship. He was noticed by scouts and reported to the Duluth White Sox in Duluth, Minnesota, of the Class D Northern League in the spring of 1916.[4] He started the season batting .422, but developed trouble hitting curve balls, and was released after 31 games. He signed with a semi-pro team in Virginia, Minnesota. He performed poorly for two weeks before returning to Cleveland, and amateur ball.[5]
During the spring of 1917, Lausche reported to the Class B Lawrence Barristers, Lawrence, Massachusetts, of the Eastern League. He started well, but was released after 27 games. He enlisted in the United States Army that summer, and reported to Camp Gordon, near Atlanta, Georgia. He was noticed playing baseball, and was asked to join the camp baseball team. He was promoted to second lieutenant after eight months, and assigned to officers' training school. His high batting average "spared him a trip across the ocean to the front lines."[6] The team manager at the camp was Charles Frank, who in peacetime owned and managed the Atlanta Crackers of the Class AA Southern Association. After World War I ended in November, 1918, but before Lausche was discharged in January, 1919, Frank offered Lausche a six-month contract, at $225 per month if he would report at spring training.[7] Lausche had also completed high school while in the Army.[8]
Legal career[edit]
Lausche entered the Cleveland-Marshall School of Law early on 1919, and decided to continue in law school that spring, rather than report to spring training.[9] He graduated from the law school in 1921. He was ranked second in his class at John Marshall School of Law and quickly became known as one of Cleveland's better trial lawyers.[10] Lausche served as Municipal Court judge from 1932 to 1937 and Common Pleas Court judge from 1937 to 1941, before winning election as Mayor of Cleveland in 1941.
Retirement and death[edit]
In retirement, Lausche and his wife, Jane, lived in Bethesda, Maryland.[11] Jane Lausche died November 24, 1981, and, having converted to the Roman Catholic faith, was buried at Calvary Cemetery in southeast Cleveland.[12] Lausche continued to live in Bethesda until contracting pneumonia in January 1990. He was flown back to Cleveland, and was admitted to the Slovenian Home for the Aged on February 20, where he died of congestive heart failure on April 21, 1990, at the age of 94.[13]
Lausche's funeral was at St. Vitus Church, with Bishop Anthony Edward Pevec delivering the homily. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery. His tombstone was incorrectly inscribed with a birth date of 1898.[14]
Honours and legacy[edit]
Lausche was named a Knight of St John of Malta by Pope John Paul II, "the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed by the Catholic Church".[15]
The State of Ohio's office building in Cleveland Ohio is named after Lausche, as is the Lausche Building at the Ohio Expo Center (site of the Ohio State Fair). In 2005, James E. Odenkirk authored the book Frank J. Lausche: Ohio's Great Political Maverick, an in-depth look at Lausche's political career. In the early 1990s, Ohio's Lincoln was published.
Lausche Avenue (formerly Glass Avenue), a street that spans between East 60th and East 64th Streets adjacent St. Vitus church in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood on Cleveland's East Side, is named for Lausche, whose family were members of the parish as well as residents of the neighborhood.[16]
A bust of Lausche is displayed at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Cleveland's Collinwood neighborhood, and an exhibit of Lausche artifacts is displayed at Cleveland's Slovenian Museum and Archives.[17]