William Ralph "Shorty" Price, (October 3, 1921 – November 1, 1980) was an attorney and perennial political candidate from the state of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, mostly noted for his colorful "clown" persona. A native of Barbour County, he studied in the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

, where briefly he was a roommate of future Governor

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

. Price ran for many public offices in Alabama, but only won one election - as an alternate delegate to 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 ...

. Most notably he ran in the Democratic primaries for

Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

in 1958, 1970, 1974 and 1978. Although he never captured more than 2% of a vote, he once finished before well-known politician Coleman Brown. Price campaigned heartily against his former roommate, Wallace. His slogan was ''Shorty, Shorty, he’s our man. George Wallace belongs in the garbage can''. In 1972 he proposed to shorten the Governor's term from four to two years. Many claimed it was so he could run more often. Although he was never a political power, Price became an important part of southern political and historical folklore in the storied and rich history of colorful candidates in the south. Price was famous for his antics at Crimson Tide football games, which sometimes landed him in jail. In 1979, after Price pleaded guilty to public drunkenness and disorderly conduct charges following the Alabama-Tennessee game at Legion Field in Birmingham, Circuit Judge William Cole told him "See you next fall" after imposing a $125 fine. Sometimes, when he campaigned, he wore a red-and-white suit covered with the words "Roll Tide." Price died in an automobile accident in 1980 at the age of 59.

Sources and external links

Ourcampaigns (profile and election results)

* The Birmingham News, Nov. 8 and Dec. 17, 1979 and Nov. 2, 1980 * Trivia Book of the University of Alabama * Atlanta Magazine article {{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Shorty 1921 births 1980 deaths Alabama Democrats University of Alabama at Birmingham alumni Alabama lawyers Road incident deaths in Alabama People from Louisville, Alabama 20th-century American lawyers