James M. Jeffords: “Even a diehard Red Sox fan has to give the devil his due. Probably the most moving moment in the history of baseball was…”

“Even a diehard Red Sox fan has to give the devil his due. Probably the most moving moment in the history of baseball was when longtime New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig walked on the field to accept the tribute of his fans and teammates. On Independence Day in 1939, he told the crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considered himself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. I consider myself pretty lucky, too. I was elected to the House of Representatives in 1974. That was not the best year to be a Republican candidate. Out of an enormous freshman class of 92 new Members, which included Chris Dodd and Tom Harkin, only 17 of us were Republicans. And as Chuck Grassley and I walked down the aisle of the House, he with crutches and I with a neck brace, one Democrat muttered: There's two we almost got. Time has gotten just about all of us. With my retirement and that of Henry Hyde in the House, Chuck Grassley next year will become the last remaining Member of the Republican class of 1974, an iron horse in his own right. The silver lining for me in the electoral losses suffered by the Republicans was a chance to land senior positions on the Agriculture and Education Subcommittees that would quickly throw me into the thick of things. Throughout my career in the House, I focused on those two issues. In 1988, with the retirement of Bob Stafford, I ran for and won a seat in the Senate. Senator Stafford was a tough act to follow.”