  morris king "mo" udall (june 15, 1922 &ndash; december 12, 1998) was an american politician who served as a u.s. representative from arizona from may 2, 1961 to may 4, 1991. a former professional basketball player with the denver nuggets during their national basketball league period, noted for his liberal views, udall was a tall (6'5"), lincolnesque figure with a self-deprecating wit and easy manner. because of his wit, columnist james j. kilpatrick deemed him "too funny to be president", which also ended up being the title of his autobiography in the 1980s. udall earned a law degree from the university of arizona in 1949. he was a member of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. ==early life== udall was born in st. johns, apache county, arizona, a son of louisa (nÃ©e lee) and levi stewart udall. he lost his right eye to a friend's pocket knife at the age of 6, while the two were attempting to cut some string, and wore a glass eye for the rest of his life. he attempted to enlist in the army during wwii, and almost succeeded, by covering his glass eye each time he was told to alternate during the eye exam. after he was medically cleared, another potential enlistee complained that he had been medically rejected for flat feet, while udall had
1922_births 1998_deaths American_Latter_Day_Saints American_athlete-politicians American_biographers American_military_personnel_of_World_War_II American_politicians_with_physical_disabilities Arizona_Democrats Arizona_Wildcats_men\'s_basketball_players Basketball_players_from_Arizona Deaths_from_Parkinson\'s_disease Democratic_Party_members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives Denver_Nuggets_(1948a50)_players Members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives_from_Arizona People_from_St._Johns,_Arizona Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_recipients Udall_family United_States_presidential_candidates,_1976