Full Text of HR0443 97th General Assembly
HR0443 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, This year, the Chicago White Sox will host the | 3 | | fourth annual Double Duty Classic, an event that celebrates the | 4 | | history and tradition of Negro League baseball in Chicago and | 5 | | showcases the next generation of minority baseball players; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, On June 29, 2011, elite minority high school | 7 | | baseball players from across the country will participate in an | 8 | | All-Star game at U.S. Cellular Field, where they will dress in | 9 | | uniforms honoring the Negro Leagues East-West All-Star game; | 10 | | and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The annual Double Duty Classic is named in honor | 12 | | of Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, to commemorate the 78th | 13 | | anniversary of the first East-West All-Star game, played at | 14 | | Comiskey Park in Chicago; Radcliffe was a six time East-West | 15 | | Negro League All-Star and one of the most famous players in | 16 | | Negro League history; he was nicknamed "Double Duty" by writer | 17 | | Damon Runyon, who saw Radcliffe play in the 1932 Negro League | 18 | | World Series doubleheader; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Ted Radcliffe caught Satchel Paige in a shut-out | 20 | | victory and then pitched a shutout in the second game; the next | 21 | | day, Runyon wrote in his column, "It was worth the price of two | 22 | | admissions to see 'Double Duty' Radcliffe play."; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Ted Radcliffe was born in Mobile, Alabama on July | 2 | | 7, 1902; he went on to have a career in baseball for 32 years, | 3 | | which included time as a player, manager, secretary, mentor, | 4 | | bus driver, and later, a Major League scout for the Cleveland | 5 | | Indians; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, To continue playing games into the evening that | 7 | | started in the afternoon, Ted Radcliffe and his teammates are | 8 | | known to have ignited rags soaked in kerosene and are now | 9 | | credited with the invention of night games; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Ted Radcliffe is believed to be the first African | 11 | | American to manage an all-white professional baseball team, | 12 | | which was based in North Dakota and traveled through Canada | 13 | | playing games; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Over his lifetime, Ted Radcliffe received the | 15 | | State of Illinois Historical Committee's Life Achievement | 16 | | Award, was inducted into the Illinois Department on Aging Hall | 17 | | of Fame and Mobile Sports Hall of Fame, was honored by Mayor | 18 | | Richard Daley as being an outstanding citizen, and was the | 19 | | guest of three U.S. Presidents at the White House; a WGN | 20 | | documentary about Radcliffe's life, narrated by Morgan | 21 | | Freeman, won an Emmy Award; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The Double Duty Classic serves as a reminder to | 2 | | the City of Chicago and the baseball community of the history | 3 | | of Negro Leagues and provides an opportunity for elite minority | 4 | | baseball players to showcase their talents in the same manner | 5 | | as their ancestors; therefore, be it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 7 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 8 | | we join the Chicago White Sox in commemorating the life and | 9 | | legacy of Ted 'Double Duty' Radcliffe and wish for the | 10 | | continued success of the annual Double Duty Classic; and be it | 11 | | further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to the family of Ted 'Double Duty' Radcliffe and the | 14 | | Chicago White Sox as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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