Joseph P. Teasdale

Teasdale was born in Kansas City, Missouri to William and Adah Downey Teasdale.[2] Teasdale's father was a prominent Kansas City attorney,[3] His grandfather, William B. Teasdale, was also an attorney, prosecutor, and member of the Missouri State Senate and considered "One of the men who made Kansas City."[4] Joseph Teasdale and his three sisters were raised as devout Catholics.[5] Teasdale was a multi-sport athlete while attending Rockhurst High School and would later be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.[5] Following graduation from high school, he attended St. Benedict's College (now Benedictine College) in Atchison, Kansas where he was a member of the school's 1954 NAIA National Champion basketball team.[6] Teasdale later earned an undergraduate degree from Rockhurst University, and a law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law.[7]

From 1962 to 1966, Teasdale served as Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, where among his duties included leading the organized crime division.[7] In the early-1960s, he enlisted in the United States Air Force Reserve,[5] with his primary duty being at Whiteman Air Force Base where Airman 3rd Class Teasdale performed legal staff duties for the 442nd Military Airlift Wing.[8] Teasdale was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Jackson County, Missouri in 1966, becoming the youngest person to ever hold that office.[3] He ran his first statewide campaign in the 1972 election, seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Although he was defeated in the primary by Edward L. Dowd, his innovative campaign style earned him name recognition around Missouri and a nickname, "Walkin' Joe," inspired by his habit of walking door-to-door to greet potential supporters. It is thought that Teasdale appropriated the tactic from Florida politician "Walkin' Lawton Chiles. Teasdale campaign officials estimated that he had walked over 1,000 miles in the months leading up to the primary.[7] Even though he lost the primary to Ed Dowd it set the stage for Teasdale to run again in 1976.[9]

In 1975, Teasdale launched a bid for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Stuart Symington.[10][11] However, he would soon drop out, and switch to a second gubernatorial bid.[12] In the primary, Teasdale won in an upset over state Senate Preisdent Pro Tempore William Cason[12] and then defeated incumbent Governor Kit Bond that November.[13] Teasdale's win in the 1976 Missouri gubernatorial election was considered an upset.[3][13] Running on a platform of working for common Missourians and vowing to fight big utility company rate hikes, Teasdale painted Bond as being too friendly to big business interests.[9] The tactic proved successful with many voters angered at Bond's approval of rate hikes, and in what many considered an upset Teasdale was elected governor by 13,000 votes.[7] The victory prompted CBS News anchorman Dan Rather to quip on the air "..the story in the Midwest is not Jimmy Carter, it's Walkin' Joe Teasdale!"[3]

In 1973, Teasdale was married to the former Theresa Ferkenhoff. The couple had three sons, Bill, John, and Kevin.[5] His middle son, John, was a multisport standout at Rockhurst High School like his father before him, and later played offensive tackle at the University of Notre Dame.[17]

Teasdale died on May 8, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri, of complications from pneumonia.[18]