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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Nearly 85 years have elapsed since the scandal of
3 the 1919 World Series; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Although the story has frequently seen print, fact
5 and fancy have been so confused that today it still is not
6 known what actually took place; and
 
7     WHEREAS, The star Chicago White Sox third baseman, Buck
8 Weaver, was acquitted in August of 1921 of all charges of
9 conspiracy by a jury of "12 good men and true"; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The fact that his fielding average for the Series
11 of 1919 was perfect, and the fact that in that Series he batted
12 .324 offers strong evidence that he was no party to a
13 conspiracy to "throw" the Series, and that he "played to win";
14 and
 
15     WHEREAS, He suffered lifelong ignominy as a result of the
16 scandal of 1919 and his subsequent banishment from organized
17 baseball; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Eighty-five years is far too long for any man or
19 the memory of him to be tainted for an act as to which strong
20 evidence exists that it was never committed by him; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Buck Weaver was active in civic matters in
22 Chicago, where he spent his days after the 1919 World Series
23 until his death in 1956; and
 
24     WHEREAS, Mr. Weaver was particularly active in programs for
25 the benefit of young boys and girls in youth baseball and
26 softball after his return to private life; and
 
27     WHEREAS, The General Assembly of the State of Illinois

 

 

HJ0092 - 2 - LRB093 22503 HSS 52032 r

1 recognizes the desire of the family, friends, and baseball fans
2 who have loyally supported "Buck" Weaver that he be exonerated;
3 and
 
4     WHEREAS, The General Assembly of the State of Illinois
5 believes him to have been innocent of any conspiracy to "throw"
6 the World Series of 1919; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Although he is now deceased, the General Assembly
8 of the State of Illinois feels that Buck Weaver should be
9 exonerated by baseball as he was exonerated in criminal court;
10 and
 
11     WHEREAS, The Clearbuck.com movement started in July of 2003
12 to reinstate Buck Weaver to Major League Baseball has gained
13 national recognition as an opportunity for Major League
14 Baseball to redress an historical wrong to an innocent man; and
 
15     WHEREAS, A story by Mike Bauman on MLB.com's own website in
16 January of 2004 posed the question, "Why Not Reinstate Buck
17 Weaver?"; therefore, be it
 
18     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
20 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize that George "Buck"
21 Weaver, who adopted Illinois as his home for the last 44 years
22 of his life, was exonerated of any wrong doing in the 1919
23 World Series in criminal court and maintained his innocence for
24 the remainder of his life, therefore, we urge the Commissioner
25 of Baseball to reinstate George "Buck" Weaver as a member in
26 good standing of organized baseball; and be it further
 
27     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
28 forwarded to the Commissioner of Baseball, the President of the
29 American Baseball League, the President of the National
30 Baseball League, and the family of Buck Weaver.