Robert Lynch (Wisconsin politician)

Robert Emmett "Bobby" Lynch (July 30, 1878^[1] – May 1, 1959) was an American baseball player and manager, salesman, and Democratic politician from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He represented Green Bay for ten terms as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving from 1933 to 1937, and then from 1943 to 1959.

Robert Emmett Lynch was born in Chicago, Illinois,^[2] in 1878, to an Irish Catholic family. He attended the University of Notre Dame and, after graduation, was hired as the baseball coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.^[3] He went on to coach for Northwestern University, Northwestern Academy, and Clemson University. Between and after his years coaching, he had a 13-year career playing and managing for multiple minor league professional baseball clubs in the Wisconsin–Illinois League, the American Association, and the Western, Eastern, and Southern leagues.^[4]

He settled in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he had played two seasons of minor league baseball, and went to work as a sales manager for a building materials company. He was an active and prominent member of the Irish American and Catholic communities in Green Bay. In 1932, he was elected president of the diocesan council in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.^[5]

Later that year, he was elected to his first term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, running on the Democratic Party ticket. He defeated one opponent in the Democratic primary and went on to defeat the incumbent, Republican Harold C. Malchow, in the November 1932 general election.^[6] At the time, his district comprised just the city of Green Bay. He served in the 61st Wisconsin Legislature and was then re-elected in 1934, defeating Republican and Progressive challengers.^[7]

In the summer of 1936, Lynch announced that he would not run for re-election and would retire from politics.^[8] He remained active in the community for the next several years.

Just six years later, however, Lynch returned to active engagement in politics after the U.S. entry into World War II. He ran to reclaim his Assembly seat in 1942, after his successor, Harold A. Lytie, announced he would instead run for Congress that year.^[9] Lynch defeated two opponents in the Democratic Primary, and went on to defeat the Republican nominee Frank Brazner, with 63% of the vote in the general election.^[10] During this Assembly term, he also became involved in the war production effort as a spokesperson for the Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering Corporation. After returning to office in 1943, he was re-elected five more times in this district before the 1954 redistricting.^[11]

Under the 1954 redistricting plan, Lynch resided in the new 2nd Brown County district, which comprised roughly the eastern half of the city of Green Bay, along with two small neighboring towns. Nevertheless, Lynch won a ninth term in the new district, defeating Republican Emil Priewe with 53% of the vote in the November 1954 general election.^[12] He won one final term in 1956, receiving 55% against Republican W. Tom White.^[13]

Through his 20 years in the Assembly, he rose in the ranks of the Democratic caucus, serving as caucus chairman and assistant floor leader, and was the Democratic candidate for speaker in 1949.^[14]

He announced in June 1958 that he would not seek an eleventh term in the Assembly, suffering from declining health. At the time of his announcement, he recalled the intense loyalty of his voters, who had returned him to office so many times.^[15]

Lynch died less than a year later, on May 1, 1959.^[16]

Shortly after settling in Green Bay, Robert Lynch married Marie J. Fischer, who was then the private secretary to Joseph Martin, who was at that time a member of the Democratic National Committee. They were married September 12, 1917, at Eau Claire, Wisconsin.^[17] They ultimately had four children together.

Their youngest son, Eugene Michael Lynch, enlisted in the United States Army in February 1943, in the midst of World War II, and was assigned to the 14th U.S. Armored Division. He was promoted to sergeant after training and then deployed for 21 months overseas, rising to the rank of platoon sergeant before being granted a battlefield commission as a second lieutenant in March 1945. He was promoted to first lieutenant in late 1945 and earned a purple heart and a silver star after fighting in southern France, central Europe, and the Rhineland.^[18] He returned to the Army and went on to serve in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, where he earned a Distinguished Service Cross while commanding a brigade of the 25th U.S. Infantry Division in 1968.^[19] He retired as a brigadier general and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

• Bobby Lynch at Baseball-Reference.com