ABASH VALLEY W
P R O F I L E S
A series of tributes to hometown heroes who have made a difference.
Birch E. Bayh Jr.
he announcement last week by the NCAA that two former Terre Haute residents--Birch Evans Bayh Jr. and John R. Wooden--are co-recipients of the coveted 2006 Gerald Ford Award surely elevates community pride several notches. The award will be presented Jan. 7, 2006, at the NCAA Convention in Indianapolis. The Ford Award honors individuals who have provided significant career leadership as advocates for intercollegiate athletics. The son of Birch E. Bayh and Leah (Hollingsworth), Birch was born on Jan. 22, 1928. A former athlete, professor and coach at Indiana State Normal residing at 242 Barton Ave., his father was the Supervisor of Physical Education for the Terre Haute Public Schools. Following graduation from high school, young Birch enrolled at Purdue University but interrupted his studies to serve with the U.S. Army in Berlin. He earned a bachelor's degree from Purdue in 1951 and was president of the senior class. He later attended Indiana State (1951-52) and Indiana University School of Law, earning a law degree in 1960. While still attending law school, he owned a 340-acre farm near Shirkieville in northwest Vigo County and entered politics, winning election at age 25 as Vigo County's representative to the Indiana House. Re-elected three times, he was Speaker of the House in 1959 and House minority leader in 1957 and 1961, the year he was admitted to the bar and won election to the U.S. Senate. Becoming the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee while serving three terms as Senator (1962 to 1980), Bayh is the only lawmaker since the Founding Fathers to author two amendments to the U.S. Constitution: the 25th Amendment on presidential and vice presidential succession; and the 26th Amendment that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. He also co-authored the Bayh-Dole Act, which revitalized the nation's patent system, and the Juvenile Justice Act. Significantly, he framed Title IX of the Higher Education Act in 1972, landmark legislation mandating equal opportunity for men and women in federally-funded education activities, including sports. Since retiring from Congress, Bayh has practiced law in Washington, D.C. During his celebrated career, he has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards. He also is author of One Heartbeat Away: Presidential Disability and Succession (1968). His marriage on Aug. 24, 1952, to the former Marvella Belle Hern of Lahoma, Okla., resulted in the birth of one child: Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III, former Indiana governor and current U.S. Senator. Marvella's tragic death from breast cancer at age 46 on April 24, 1979, after an eight-year battle, brought national awareness to the disease. Her book Marvella: A Personal Journey was a national best-seller. In January 1982, Bayh married Katherine Halpin, director of news information for ABC. The couple's only child Christopher is a recent Indiana University graduate, where he played varsity football and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors.
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File name: Birch E. Bayh profile
Date Published: Nov. 3, 2005
