July 26 Illinois History Minute

It’s July 26th, and Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson accepted his party’s nomination for president with a speech on this day at the 1952 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Stevenson praised the Democrats as the party in no one’s pocket.

But Stevenson would lose, twice, to Republican Dwight Eisenhauer.

Two baseball pitchers who ended their careers with the Chicago White Sox were born on this day. Samuel Jones, born in 1892, was nicknamed “Sad Sam” for his sad and dejected appearance. Ellis Kinder, born in 1914, was called “Old Folks” for being a major league rookie at age 31.