Richard H. Balch
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Richard Horrocks Balch (March 2, 1901 – March 15, 1984) was an
upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...
businessman and political figure. He was born on March 2, 1901, in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and graduated from
Utica Free Academy Utica Free Academy, whose predecessor, Utica Academy, opened in 1814, was a high school in Utica, New York, which operated from 1840 until 1990, when it was consolidated with Thomas R. Proctor High School. The combined entity operated briefly at ...
in 1917. He was a 1921 graduate of
Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...
, and a member of the
Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...
fraternity. From 1927 to 1942 Balch was Vice President of the Horrocks-Ibbotson Company, the world's largest fishing tackle manufacturer, and he was President of the company from 1942 until his 1968 retirement. He was a civic activist, serving on Utica's Board of Education, Water Resources Board, Red Cross, and Chamber of Commerce, and was a founder of
Utica College Utica University is a private university in Utica, New York. The university has a main campus in Utica; the Robert Brvenik Center for Business Education, in downtown Utica; and satellite locations in Syracuse, New York; Latham, New York; and S ...
. Balch was also a leader of the Oneida County group that carried out a successful effort in the 1940s and 1950s to attract new industry to the area to replace textiles mills that had relocated to the southern states. Balch was active in the Democratic party, attending several conventions as an alternate or delegate, including the national conventions of 1940 (alternate), 1944, 1948, 1952 and 1964. In 1943 he was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Mayor of Utica, and in 1944 he was elected chairman of the city's Democratic committee. At the New York state election, 1950, he was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, losing with gubernatorial candidate
Walter A. Lynch Walter Aloysius Lynch (July 7, 1894 – September 10, 1957) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. From 1940 to 1951, he served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. Early life Lynch attended Fordham Preparat ...
to the Republican ticket of
Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in 1944 and ...
and Frank C. Moore. In 1952, Balch headed
W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986) was an American politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was a founder of Harriman & Co. which merged with the older Brown Brothers to form the Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. investment ...
's campaign for
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. Balch managed the Harriman effort at the
1952 Democratic National Convention The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 21 to July 26, 1952, which was the same arena the Republicans had gathered in a few weeks earlier for their national convention from ...
in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, and his candidate was in fourth place with 123 delegates when he withdrew in favor of
Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...
, who went on to obtain the nomination. Balch was elected Chairman of the
New York State Democratic Committee The New York State Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, and it has an office in Albany, New York, Albany.
in 1952, holding the post until 1955. Balch was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor in the
New York state election, 1954 The 1954 New York state election was held on November 2, 1954, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the chief judge and three associate judges of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as ...
, but withdrew before the party convention that selected Harriman as its candidate. Balch guided almost the entire Democratic ticket to victory that November, including Harriman as governor, George B. DeLuca as lieutenant governor, and
Arthur Levitt Arthur Levitt Jr. (born February 3, 1931) is the former chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He served from 1993 to 2001 as the twenty-fifth and longest-serving chairman of the commission. Widely hailed as a ...
as State Comptroller. The only Democrat to lose statewide was Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general against
Jacob Javits Jacob Koppel Javits ( ; May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. During his time in politics, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress, a member of the United States House of Representa ...
. From 1955 to 1960 Balch served as a member of the
New York State Public Service Commission The New York Public Service Commission is the public utilities commission of the New York state government that regulates and oversees the electric, gas, water, and telecommunication industries in New York as part of the Department of Public Se ...
. He died at St. Luke's Memorial Hospital Center in
New Hartford, New York New Hartford is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 21,874. The name of New Hartford was provided by a settler family from Hartford, Connecticut. The Town of New Hartford contains a ...
on March 15, 1984.


Sources

* Newspaper article, This Week in History, Utica Observer-Dispatch, March 12, 2009 * Catalogue of Williams College, 1921–1922, published by Williams College, 1922, page 140 * The Scroll of Phi Delta Theta, published by Phi Delta Theta fraternity, 1921, Volume LXVI, Number 1, page 52 * Official Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee, 1940, page 120 * Machine Politics: a study of Albany's O'Connells, by Frank S. Robinson, 1977, page 98 * Newspaper article, Democrats Slate Experienced Men, New York Times, September 8, 1950 * Newspaper article, Balch to Guide Harriman Drive, New York Times, May 21, 1952 * Newspaper article, Harriman Arrives at Conclave Scene; Aspirant Confident, Says He Is Only Candidate to Back New and Fair Deal Issues, by Leo Egan, New York Times, July 18, 1952 * Newspaper article, Stevenson Winner On Third Ballot, Hartford Courant, July 26, 1952
Newspaper column, My Day, by Eleanor Roosevelt
December 12, 1952, reprinted by Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, * Magazine column, Political Notes: Not a Knockout, Time Magazine, December 22, 1952 * Newspaper article, Balch is Entered in Governor Race: Upstate Group Offers Name of Democratic Chairman Without Consulting Him, New York Times, September 2, 1954 * Newspaper article, Harriman Gets Democratic Nod, Eugene (Oregon) Register-Guard, September 10, 1954 * Newspaper article, New York Campaign Rushing Toward Climax, Ocala (Florida) Star-Banner, October 31, 1954 * Newspaper article

New York Times, June 15, 1955 * Newspaper article, Balch Takes Office as Member of PSC, New York Times, July 2, 1955 * Official Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee, 1956, page 529 * In Gotham's Shadow: Globalization and Community Change in Central New York, by Alexander R. Thomas, pages 36 to 37, 2003 * Annual Report of the Public Service Commission, published by New York State Public Service Commission, 1956, page 143 * The New York Red Book, 1960, Volume 69, page 666 * Newspaper article

New York Times, August 6, 1960 * Newspaper article

by Walter H. Waggoner, New York Times, March 17, 1984 {{DEFAULTSORT:Balch, Richard H. 1901 births Businesspeople from Brooklyn Williams College alumni New York (state) Democrats 1984 deaths