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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, This year, the Chicago White Sox will host the
3fourth annual Double Duty Classic, an event that celebrates the
4history and tradition of Negro League baseball in Chicago and
5showcases the next generation of minority baseball players; and
 
6    WHEREAS, On June 29, 2011, elite minority high school
7baseball players from across the country will participate in an
8All-Star game at U.S. Cellular Field, where they will dress in
9uniforms honoring the Negro Leagues East-West All-Star game;
10and
 
11    WHEREAS, The annual Double Duty Classic is named in honor
12of Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, to commemorate the 78th
13anniversary of the first East-West All-Star game, played at
14Comiskey Park in Chicago; Radcliffe was a six time East-West
15Negro League All-Star and one of the most famous players in
16Negro League history; he was nicknamed "Double Duty" by writer
17Damon Runyon, who saw Radcliffe play in the 1932 Negro League
18World Series doubleheader; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Ted Radcliffe caught Satchel Paige in a shut-out
20victory and then pitched a shutout in the second game; the next
21day, Runyon wrote in his column, "It was worth the price of two
22admissions to see 'Double Duty' Radcliffe play."; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Ted Radcliffe was born in Mobile, Alabama on July
27, 1902; he went on to have a career in baseball for 32 years,
3which included time as a player, manager, secretary, mentor,
4bus driver, and later, a Major League scout for the Cleveland
5Indians; and
 
6    WHEREAS, To continue playing games into the evening that
7started in the afternoon, Ted Radcliffe and his teammates are
8known to have ignited rags soaked in kerosene and are now
9credited with the invention of night games; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Ted Radcliffe is believed to be the first African
11American to manage an all-white professional baseball team,
12which was based in North Dakota and traveled through Canada
13playing games; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Over his lifetime, Ted Radcliffe received the
15State of Illinois Historical Committee's Life Achievement
16Award, was inducted into the Illinois Department on Aging Hall
17of Fame and Mobile Sports Hall of Fame, was honored by Mayor
18Richard Daley as being an outstanding citizen, and was the
19guest of three U.S. Presidents at the White House; a WGN
20documentary about Radcliffe's life, narrated by Morgan
21Freeman, won an Emmy Award; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Double Duty Classic serves as a reminder to
2the City of Chicago and the baseball community of the history
3of Negro Leagues and provides an opportunity for elite minority
4baseball players to showcase their talents in the same manner
5as their ancestors; therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
8we join the Chicago White Sox in commemorating the life and
9legacy of Ted 'Double Duty' Radcliffe and wish for the
10continued success of the annual Double Duty Classic; and be it
11further
 
12    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
13presented to the family of Ted 'Double Duty' Radcliffe and the
14Chicago White Sox as a symbol of our esteem and respect.