Time for an Arizona state history showdown
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Arizona Madness is here, and our state's history is in your hands!
State of play: It's time to settle the debate: Who's the most influential figure in Arizona history? You decide. The game is on.
- We set up a March Madness-style showdown featuring two 16-person brackets packed with legendary Arizonans.
- From political giants to cultural icons, these head-to-head matchups are fierce, and your votes will crown the winner.
How to play: Click the links to vote in Part 1 and Part 2 by 5pm today. Be sure to vote in both.
- We'll give you the results tomorrow morning, and there will be a new round of voting each day until we have a winner.
- It's quick. It's fun. And bragging rights are on the line.
Zoom in: While political heavyweights like U.S. Senators John McCain and Carl Hayden are naturally included, plenty of figures outside of politics have left their marks on Arizona.
- Artists and entertainers like Linda Ronstadt and Alice Cooper are part of our state's cultural heritage. And countless Arizonans grew up watching Wallace and Ladmo.
- John F. Long and Del Webb shaped state history through housing. Long's Maryvale was the first master-planned community in Arizona, opening the gates to the West Valley, and Webb turned the state into a retirement haven with Sun City.
Between the lines: Sure, you know Barry Goldwater and Sandra Day O'Connor. But we also wanted to spotlight the unsung figures.
- José María Redondo, "the father of irrigation in Yuma."
- Daniel Webster Jones, who founded the Mormon settlement that grew into Mesa.
- Frank Harrison and Harry Austin, who launched the lawsuit that granted Native Americans the right to vote in Arizona.
Flashback: Just because someone was alive before statehood, or even before it was U.S. territory, doesn't mean they didn't play a key role in shaping Arizona.
- We included wayback figures like Charles Poston, "the father of Arizona," and Jesuit missionary Eusebio Kino, who was active when Arizona was still a Spanish colony.
- And how could you have an Arizona historical figures bracket without Wyatt Earp?
Honorable mentions: Determining who to leave out was tough, and there were some notable omissions.
- John Wesley Powell's Grand Canyon expedition was a major moment in Arizona history, but he never actually lived here.
- Phoenix native Frank Luke's exploits as a fighter pilot in World War I were legendary, and Luke Air Force Base is named in his honor.
- Better known today as the Lost Dutchman, Jacob Waltz gave rise to a legend that drew generations of fortune-seekers to Arizona with his rumored gold stash in the Superstition Mountains.
- Gabby Giffords was a rising political star in Arizona before a gunman's bullet changed her life. Since that fateful day, she's become an icon and advocate for gun control and safety.