The only president never elected [1] president or vice president liked to deprecate himself as “a Ford, not a Lincoln”. And while he was president, the National League representative of his favorite city [2] was definitely no Big Red Machine.
From the day Gerald Ford took the oath of office [3] until the end [4] of the final baseball season of his presidency, the New York Mets compiled a record of 192 wins and 186 losses.
Sounds about right.
Here’s to President Ford [5], a .500 or so [6] chief executive uniquely suited to the .500 or so life and times that defined not just our ballclub but our country in the mid-1970s.
An interim manager thrust to the helm of an outfit in dire need of steady, reassuring guidance following an age of tumult [7].
Low-key [8] in a town chock full o’ self-promoters.
Universally liked [9] by those with whom he served.
Probably not destined to keep the job all that long no matter who begged his pardon [10].
Made a nice run [11] there toward the end [12].
By all accounts, by whatever standards one chooses to interpret [13] the won-lost record, a good and decent man.
As presidents go, Jerry Ford wasn’t a Lincoln. He was America’s very own Roy McMillan [14].