Election Day brings to mind sports

Bill Bradley

While at Princeton University, he was a three-time All-American and the 1965 National Player of the Year.  In 1978, Bradley was elected senator from New Jersey, and he served for 18 years. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in 2000.

Dwight Eisenhower

At West Point, Eisenhower started as a varsity running back and linebacker in 1912. He even tackled the legendary Jim Thorpe in a game that same year.  He served as the President of the United States from 1953-61.  And I sincerely hope that I didn't need to write that last sentence.

Gerald Ford

He played center and linebacker for the University of Michigan, leading the team to undefeated seasons and national titles in 1932 and 1933. Yes, once upon a time Meeechigan won lots of football games.  In 1973, Spiro Agnew resigned as Richard Nixon's vice president and Ford was nominated to take Agnew's position. After Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal in 1974, Ford assumed the presidency.

Jack Kemp

Kemp played 13 seasons in the AFL as a quarterback, winning back-to-back AFL championships in 1964 and '65. He was a member of Congress from 1971-89 and ran for president in 1988. He was Bob Dole's running mate in an unsuccessful presidential campaign against Bill Clinton in 1996.

Jim Bunning

Bunning was a Major League pitcher from 1955-1971. During that time he played in nine All-Star Games and threw a perfect game in 1964. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1996. In 1998, Bunning was elected to the U.S. Senate from Kentucky. He previously served in the House of Representatives, representing Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, starting in 1987.

Ronald Reagan

I think for most of you reading this, the name registers as: Oh, he was president when I was born. (You bastards!)  He played football and was the captain of the swim team at Eureka College. Reagan served as governor of California from 1967-75. He then served two terms as the President of the United States from 1981-89. But you knew that....didn't you?

Steve Largent

Largent played in the NFL from 1976-89. During that time, he was named to the NFL's 1980 All-Decade Team and played in seven Pro Bowls. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1995. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Oklahoma from 1994-2002.

Tom Osborne

Osborne played three seasons in the NFL, spending time as a wide receiver for both the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers. He went on to coach the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1972-1997, during which time the team won two national championships outright and shared another.  He easily won the election for Nebraska's 3rd district seat to the House of Representatives in 2000. He was reelected in 2002 and 2004 before launching a failed bid for the Nebraska governor's seat in 2006. And for the life of me, I can't figure how that could have happened!

Jon Runyan

As a freshman at the University of Michigan in 1992, offensive tackle Jon Runyan was part of a team that went undefeated (albeit with three ties) and won the Rose Bowl. See, it even happened in modern times. In 2010 Runyan, who had moved to the Garden State during his tenure with the Eagles,  defeated incumbent John Adler for a House seat in New Jersey's third congressional district.

J.C. Watts

J.C. Watts endeared himself to the people of Oklahoma's Fourth Congressional District by leading the Oklahoma Sooners to back-to-back Orange Bowl victories. Watts ran for Congress in 1994. He became the South's first black Republican member of Congress since Reconstruction. He served as House Republican Conference Chair before deciding not to seek reelection in 2002

Justice Byron "Whizzer" White

He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He was also a Supreme Court Justice. Byron White also played basketball and baseball at the University of Colorado, but his heroics in the Buffaloes' backfield earned him the nickname "Whizzer," a moniker given him by a local newspaper columnist.