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John Lindsay, the mayor of New York City from 1966 to 1973, developed an innovative strategy for his underdog re-election campaign in 1969. As explained in new award-winning research by Nicholas Hirshon, assistant professor of communication at William Paterson University, Lindsay won over middle-class voters by associating with the New York Mets during their unlikely march to the World Series.
Heading into the 1969 mayoral race, Lindsay was largely blamed for a jump in violent crime, a botched response to a major snowstorm, and angry strikes by transit workers, firefighters, and teachers. He lost the Republican primary and ran as a third-party candidate.
But Hirshon argues that Lindsay’s association with the Mets turned public perception around.
Hirshon’s study in the March issue of American Journalism, based on archival research and interviews with Lindsay’s aides and Mets players, reveals Lindsay’s many attempts to align with the Mets, including his clubhouse champagne shower after the team clinched the pennant, his role in organizing the ticker-tape parade, and his allusions to the team in speeches. “In presenting Lindsay alongside the Miracle Mets, the press encouraged New Yorkers to rally around their mayor in the same way that they were rallying around their team,” Hirshon writes.
Since Lindsay, each of the three New York City mayors who have won a second term – Ed Koch (in office from 1978 to 1989), Rudy Giuliani (1994-2001), and Michael Bloomberg (2002-2013) – served a first term during which the Mets or Yankees won the pennant.
And this year, with Bill de Blasio facing weak approval numbers, the Mets are strong contenders to win the pennant again, perhaps setting up de Blasio for a Lindsay-like resurgence.
Nicholas Hirshon is an assistant professor of communication at William Paterson University, in Wayne, New Jersey. He is also a media historian and author of two books. Hirshon’s published research on John Lindsay and the New York Mets won a top award from the American Journalism Historians Association.
To schedule an interview, contact Maria Daniels – William Paterson University marketing/PR: danielsm11@wpunj.edu / 973-720-2949
