Thomas J. Walsh

Thomas James Walsh (June 12, 1859 – March 2, 1933) was a lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Helena, Montana who represented Montana in the United States Senate from 1913 to 1933. He had a national reputation as a liberal, opposing child labor and supporting women's suffrage. He was President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt's choice for Attorney General when he died of a heart attack on the way to Roosevelt's inauguration in 1933. More mundanely, he was the chairman of the Democratic National Convention in 1924 and in 1932.

Thomas J. Walsh in Joe Steele
Thomas J. Walsh was the chairman of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1932. It was an unruly convention, and saw days of voting as the field narrowed to Representative Joe Steele of California and Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York. One the second day, Roosevelt had a slight lead. However, Roosevelt was killed in fire in the Executive Mansion in Albany. When he was informed, Roosevelt's field-boss James Farley had no choice but to alert Chairman Walsh and release the New York delegation to vote as it saw fit. Joe Steele won the nomination.

Literary Comment
Walsh is not specifically identified as the chairman, but as so little had changed at that point, there was not reason to think he was not the chairman as he was in OTL.