Known as " Plain Bill , " Brandon led the Alabama delegation to the 1924 Democratic National Convention , the first such convention to be broadcast via radio . The convention was marked by a deadlock between the supporters of the Irish Catholic New York Governor Al Smith and former Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo ( the son-in-law of former President Woodrow Wilson ) whose candidacy was backed by the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan . Neither candidate was able to get the required two-thirds of the delegates as critical delegations , including Alabama 's , clung to their " favorite son " candidates . In Alabama 's case , the favorite son was Senator Oscar Underwood
1924 Democratic National Convention
1924 Democratic National Convention
William W. Brandon