Always Bring a Baseball
When Lyndon Johnson was a boy, he was a terrible baseball player. But that didn’t keep him from chasing after the older boys and trying to be part of every game. He was smarter than them. He was a natural born leader, and he knew how to get his way.
“None of us had a ball besides him,” recalls Bob Edwards, one of Johnson’s childhood playmates. “Well, Lyndon wanted to pitch. He wasn’t worth a darn as a pitcher, but if we didn’t let him pitch, he’d take his ball and go home. So, yeah, we’d let him pitch.”
Johnson’s childhood escapades foreshadowed his political future—getting what he wanted by giving other people what they needed.
Different versions of this story replayed again and again throughout Johnson’s life—from college, to his career before politics, to his time climbing the political ladder. He was a master of securing resources and doling them out to his benefit.
Money was, perhaps, the resource he wielded most wisely.
Johnson didn’t come from money. He didn’t build wealth early in his career either. While he always worked, he burned the little money he made as fast as he earned it.
When it came to money, Johnson’s talent was in building relationships with the people who had it. He built those relationships by helping people with money earn more of it. Johnson always worked hard to help others. He was known among his supporters as a man who made things happen. He helped people get jobs. He helped people receive pension payments. He brought electricity to farmers who had spent years in the dark.
Despite his hard work helping people, he often lacked the power as a junior Congressman to get things done. When he worked as hard as he could to no avail, he would beg for favors. And he used those favors to help powerful people.
One such example was the Marshall Ford Dam. This was a construction project awarded to contractors Brown & Root. It was a multi-million dollar job being completed under a New Deal program. Unfortunately, the project fell outside the scope of the program—meaning Brown & Root wouldn’t get paid.
Johnson worked his backroom, favor pleading magic to get a bill passed exempting the project from the rules. As a result, Johnson saved Brown & Root from guaranteed financial ruin. He transformed the project into an opportunity that made them wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.
Johnson brought the baseball to the game, so now he was allowed to pitch.
Herman Brown, owner of Brown & Root, saw the help Johnson could provide. In turn, he made sure Johnson was always allowed to pitch.
Through his relationship with Johnson, Brown financed FDR’s third term presidential campaign in Texas. FDR rewarded Johnson by putting him in charge of all federal contracts awarded in Texas.
These contracts were Johnson’s baseball.
Now he had unusual power in his home state. He used his power to ensure Brown & Root won the contract to build a Naval base at Corpus Christi. This contract grew to a $100 million job, forever guaranteeing Herman Brown’s loyalty to Lyndon Johnson.
Johnson leveraged Brown’s money—again—to earn even more power for himself. This time by doling it out to countless campaigns in need.
In 1940, FDR was likely to win the presidential election, but the Democrats were also likely to lose their majority in the House. With three weeks left before election day, Johnson weaseled his way into the Congressional Campaign Committee.
Democratic Congressmen were trailing in races across the country. Projections indicated the Dems were about to lose 80 seats in the House. Campaign funds were short, and spending money was the only way to win.
Republican candidates were on billboards in every district. Republican ads were on every radio station. Republican flyers filled every mailbox. The Dems were simply lacking the money to compete.
Again a master of controlling resources, Johnson came to the rescue. He used his friend Herman Brown to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars faster than anyone thought possible. Contributions flowed into the Congressional Campaign Committee from Brown and his associates. At Johnson’s instruction, the donations were accompanied by a list of candidates who should receive the funds. Because Johnson had written the lists, he chose who received the money. And before the money was sent, he personally sent telegrams to the Congressmen who were to receive the funds.
In this move of political ingenuity, Johnson ensured everyone who received money knew the money was coming from him. He controlled the resources, and he distributed them tactfully to ensure victories in districts across the country.
After the election, instead of losing 80 seats in the House, the Democrats actually gained 8 seats—entirely thanks to Johnson’s work securing and distributing funds.
As Robert Caro wrote in his first volume on Lyndon Johnson,
“Through cloakrooms and Speaker’s Lobby spread a realization that, in some way most of them did not understand, this young, junior, rather unpopular Congressman…had become a source—an important source—of campaign funds…Their only access to this new—and, apparently, substantial—source of money was through Lyndon Johnson. He controlled it. The money they needed could only be obtained through him…Whether or not they liked Lyndon Johnson, they were going to need him.”
Johnson confirmed in the campaign of 1940—as he had learned on the baseball fields of Texas—that being liked is far less important than being needed.
Having friends is valuable. Being a nice person is wonderful. Earning the admiration of those who can help you is useful. But these qualities won’t guarantee success.
Friends can be fleeting. The company you keep can change with the wind. Admiration doesn’t put food on the table.
The only way to guarantee you get what you want is to have a bargaining chip. Self interest and personal incentives always prevail. If you can give others what they want, you’ll have leverage to get what you want.
Lyndon Johnson was a master of acquiring resources and distributing them for personal gain.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t be nice. I don’t believe ruthless tactics are desirable. I don’t think everything is quid pro quo.
But I am saying it never hurts to control resources. It’s always advantageous to have things people want. And if you want a guarantee that you’ll be the pitcher, you’d better bring a baseball to the game.
