Introduction A statue of Ronald Reagan stands in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington D C Tom Williams CQ-Roll Call Group Getty Images 6
Imagine for a moment the events of March 30 1981 Ronald Reagan the 40th U S president has just been shot and seriously wounded he is rushed to the hospital and in the midst of chaos and panic he cracks a joke quipping to doc tors that he hoped they were all Republicans the party with which Reagan was affiliated As an actor-turned-governor-turned president Ronald Reagan was no stranger to maintain ing a public face and it was perhaps his ability to maintain such calm under pressure that endeared him to so much of the country and fittingly earned him the nickname the Great Communicator As with just about every presi dent Reagan’s time in office had both high and low points but for many Reagan became and remains a representation of the American ideal Reagan’s extraordinary journey from sportscaster to actor from governor to presi dent from liberal to conservative is recounted in the following pages Reagan’s résumé was a varied one to say the least with entries that may not seem typ ical of a U S president in fact it may even seem that his political career came as a sec ond act Taken together however the three areas most significant to his life athletics 7
