FDR and His Polio
Course | Registration opens 8/4/2025 8:00 AM EDT
When Franklin Roosevelt contracted polio at age 39 in 1921, most people thought his public life was over. People with disabilities were expected to stay home and out of sight. It was unheard of for people with severe disabilities to serve in politics, but FDR, who was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1920, changed all of that. Find out how he overcame his disability to become President, and how having polio made him a better person and politician. How did his opponents use his disability against him? How did the media treat his disability?
Barry Sparks
Barry Sparks has been a baseball fan for more than sixty years. He is a long-time member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and has written numerous articles about baseball. His articles have appeared in Baseball Digest, Sports Collectors Digest, The National Pastime, The Baseball Research Journal, The Baltimore Sun, The Phillies Report, and many others. He is the author of four books, including The Search for the Next Mickey Mantle: From Tom Tresh to Bryce Harper.