Ohio Governor Gravesites: #55 and #57 Frank J. Lausche

Frank J. Lausche

Born: November 14, 1895

Died: April 21, 1990

Political Party: Democrat

Term of Office: January 8, 1945-January 13, 1947

and

January 10 1949-January 3, 1957

Buried: Calvary Cemetery Cleveland, Ohio

No. 34 of 58

    Frank Lausche was born in Cleveland in 1895. As a young man he played baseball in both amateur and minor leagues. He served in the Army during WW1, earning the rank of Second Lieutenant. After the war he went to law school.

   After 12 years practicing law he became a Judge. He spent 5 years as a Common Pleas Judge before becoming a Municipal Court Judge. His time as a Judge led to his election as the Mayor of Cleveland in 1941.

   In 1944, Lausche was elected Governor of Ohio, becoming the states first Catholic Governor. He was known as a moderate Democrat who was fiscally Conservative. He often crossed party lines and went against the demands of his own party to do what he felt was best for everyone. After a single, 2 year term he narrowly lost re election to Thomas J. Herbert in 1946. Lausche ran again in 1948 and beat Herbert in the re match. Lausche would go on to serve 4 consecutive- 2 year terms as Governor. During his successful reelection bids he beat out contenders Charles Phelps Taft II (son of President William Howard Taft) in 1952 and future Governor Jim Rhodes in 1954. This made Lausche the only 5 term Governor of Ohio, serving about 10 years total. He is also the 2nd longest serving Governor of Ohio, 2nd only to Jim Rhodes who would later serve 4, 4 year terms.

     Because of his moderate views. Lausche was considered as a Vice Presidential candidate by both Harry S. Truman in 1948 and Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952.

    Lausche won a seat in the U. S. Senate in 1956 as he was leaving the Governorship. He then won reelection to the Senate in 1962. In the Senate his middle of the road views caused him to be called a Democrat with a small d, and earning the nick name "Frank the Fence". In 1968, Lausche lost the support of labor unions and lost the Democratic nomination for Senate to future Governor John J. Gilligan. Gilligan went on the lose the general election.

    After leaving the Senate, Lausche retired to his home in Maryland until he contracted pneumonia in January 1990. He was sent back to Cleveland where he died 3 months later.

   Governor Lausche was the 1st of 6 new Governor gravesite visits that I made in late March of 2017. The weather was starting to get nicer and it was the last weekend before we would become super busy with the kids in Soccer, then Baseball/Softball ect... I seized the opportunity to go to the Cleveland area, where there are Governor gravesites scattered all over. We took our time and saw what we could within reason, before getting a filling dinner at Melt's, then heading home. There are still a few in that area that I didn't get to. So eventually another trip up that way will be in order.