LACONIA, N.H. - U.S. presidents are pretty powerful but this was the first time White House hopeful John McCain was asked to defrost a dead baseball legend who was placed in cryonic suspension.
Voter Jack Polidoro appealed to McCain to have Red Sox legend Ted Williams’ cremated, saying that was the player’s intention rather than be frozen in an Arizona laboratory as was done shortly after his death in 2002.
He said that as senator from Arizona, and possibly president if he wins in November, McCain was the man to make it happen.
His son John Henry Williams, who died in 2004, maintained he was carrying out the baseball star’s final wish. Williams was considered by many to be the best hitter in baseball history and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966.
McCain, who described Williams as a childhood hero and said it was the first time he had been asked about the baseball legend, gently let the voter down telling him that he didn’t think even the president had the power to do anything about Williams’ fate, and he felt it right to respect the wishes of the family.
But he added: “If there’s any person who ever deserved the dignity that he’s not receiving today, I think it’s Ted Williams.”
– Photo credit: Reuters/Claudia Parsons (McCain receives a certificate of appreciation from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Laconia, N.H.)
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[...] Gently turns down NH man’s request to have Ted Williams’ frozen remains cremated. Though he agrees the Red Sox great deserves more dignity. tiiQuigoWriteAd(755778, 1290697, 600, 240, -1); [...]
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