Editing Mo Udall (section)

== Early life and education ==
Udall was born in 1922 in [[St. Johns, Arizona]], one of six children (''[[New York Times]]'' says three sons, two daughters)<ref name="obit_1998_12_14_new_york_times" /> of Louisa (née Lee) and [[Levi Stewart Udall]]. His father was a lawyer who served as Chief Justice of the [[Arizona Supreme Court]] from 1946 to 1960. His mother was a writer keenly interested in Indian life and culture. His father preached the importance of responsible people entering public service.<ref name="biographical_info_arizona_edu" /><ref name="this_fella_from_arizona_1981_11_audubon" /><ref name="obit_1998_12_14_washington_post" /><ref name="will_rogers_1974_12_new_york_magazine" /><ref name=Kaufman2006>{{Citation|title=The Carter years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIzooiFd6IoC&pg=PA485 |year=2006|author=Kaufman, Burton Ira|journal=Infobase Publishing|page=485|isbn=978-0816053698|access-date=September 19, 2011}}</ref> Udall and his siblings attended local schools in St. Johns.

At age six in 1928, his right eye was cut by a friend's pocket knife while the friend and he were trying to cut some string; he lost the eye because his family lacked the money to get him prompt treatment. Udall wore a [[glass eye]] for the rest of his life, and he later indicated that the loss of his eye influenced both his personality and his politics.<ref name="this_fella_from_arizona_1981_11_audubon" /><ref name="obit_1998_12_14_new_york_times" /><ref name="obit_1998_12_14_washington_post" /><ref name="will_rogers_1974_12_new_york_magazine" /><ref name=Kaufman2006/>

He described his early rural/small-town life in the desert as harsh and primitive, in a town where "everybody worked."  Noting they had "no tractors," he added, "we had horses and plows."<ref name="this_fella_from_arizona_1981_11_audubon" />

While in high school, despite the lost eye, Udall was a star athlete in basketball, and in [[high school football|football]] as quarterback leading an undefeated team. He also marched in the school band, wrote a political column for the school paper, and took the lead in the school play.<ref name="this_fella_from_arizona_1981_11_audubon" /><ref name="will_rogers_1974_12_new_york_magazine" />