State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

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90_HR0538

                                              LRB9007686KBkbC
 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION
 2        WHEREAS, The members of  the  General  Assembly  wish  to
 3    honor  Coach  Ray  Meyer on his outstanding career, his life,
 4    and his achievements; and
 5        WHEREAS, Ray Meyer is considered to be the  patriarch  of
 6    DePaul  University  Basketball,  serving  the  team, the Blue
 7    Demons, as coach for forty-two years;  in  1984  Coach  Meyer
 8    made  the  decision to step down as coach of the Blue Demons,
 9    but until his retirement in August of 1997 remained on campus
10    as an important part of the University; and
11        WHEREAS, Ray Meyer has  been  a  part  of  the  sport  of
12    basketball nearly all his life; as a young man, he played for
13    St. Patrick High School in Chicago, winning the National High
14    School  Basketball  Championship  in  1932;  collegiately  he
15    played  on  the  University  of  Notre  Dame basketball team,
16    serving as team captain for two years, seeing his team go  to
17    the  national championship in 1936, and graduating from Notre
18    Dame with a Bachelor's Degree in sociology; and
19        WHEREAS, Ray Meyer went home to Chicago where  he  worked
20    as a social worker; he returned to Notre Dame to serve as the
21    assistant  basketball  coach,  and two years later became the
22    Head Coach at DePaul University, where  for  forty-two  years
23    Coach  Meyer  saw  his teams ups and downs, their high points
24    and their low, and many, many victories; and
25        WHEREAS, As coach of the Blue Demons, Ray Meyer  saw  his
26    team go to the NCAA Tournament thirteen times, in addition to
27    seven trips to the NIT where  in 1945 the Blue Demons won the
28    NIT  when  it  was  considered  the most prestigious national
29    tournament; the Blue Demons advanced to the NCAA  Final  Four
30    tournament  twice  in  the  career  of  Ray Meyer, where they
31    accomplished third place finishes in both 1943 and 1979;  Ray
32    Meyer  is one of only six NCAA, Division 1 coaches to top the
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 1    700 victory mark; Meyer had 37  winning  seasons  and  twelve
 2    20-win  seasons;  in his last seven years as coach, Ray Meyer
 3    took his team to seven straight tournaments; and
 4        WHEREAS, Ray Meyer was named the United States Basketball
 5    Writers Association coach of the year in 1978  and  1980;  in
 6    1980  and  1984  he  was  named  coach  of  the  year  by the
 7    Associated Press; in 1980 he was named Kodak Man of the  Year
 8    by  the  National  Association  of Basketball Coaches, and in
 9    1984 won the NIT-NACDA Award; Ray Meyer is a  member  of  the
10    Naismith  Basketball  Hall  of Fame, the Illinois and Chicago
11    Sports  Hall  of  Fame,  the  Illinois   Basketball   Coaches
12    Association  Hall  of  Fame, and the DePaul Hall of Fame; Ray
13    Meyer is also  a  past  winner  of  the  Lincoln  Academy  of
14    Illinois Award; and
15        WHEREAS,  Ray  Meyer  continued  to  be  a part of DePaul
16    University, where he served as both the University Good  Will
17    ambassador  and  basketball radio commentator, and was active
18    in fund raising work for the University, assisting  both  the
19    President and the Athletic Director in their efforts; and
20        WHEREAS, Today Ray Meyer, the author of two books and the
21    Director  of  his sports camp for fifty-five years, continues
22    to be a  popular  guest  on  local  and  national  radio  and
23    television  sports  shows,  the  subject  of  many  newspaper
24    articles, and a frequent guest speaker; and
25        WHEREAS,  For  over forty-six years, Ray Meyer shared his
26    life with his wife, Margaret Mary "Marge" Delaney, herself an
27    accomplished basketball star at Siena High School for  girls;
28    together  they  raised  six  children,  Thomas, Barbara, Pat,
29    Merriane, Joey, and Robert; therefore, be it
30        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
31    NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that we
32    congratulate  Ray Meyer on being Coach, for his career as the
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 1    leader and mentor of the DePaul  Blue  Demons,  and  for  his
 2    continued    service   to   college   basketball   and   good
 3    sportsmanship; Ray Meyer is truly a proud son of the State of
 4    Illinois; and be it further
 5        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
 6    presented  to  "Coach"  Ray  Meyer,  along  with  our sincere
 7    congratulations on a job well done.

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