[Pages S1586-S1590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HONORING THE PRE-NEGRO AND NEGRO LEAGUES PLAYERS AND EXECUTIVES

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 386, which was submitted
earlier today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

A resolution (S. Res. 386) honoring the Pre-Negro Leagues
and Negro Leagues baseball players and executives elected to
the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2006.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I would like to take a few minutes to talk
about a historic event that occurred on Monday. The National Baseball
Hall of Fame in Cooperstown elected 17 pre-Negro Leagues and Negro
Leagues baseball players and executives to the National Baseball Hall
of Fame Class of 2006.
Many of baseball's most noted stars of the past century got their
beginnings in the Negro Leagues. Greats such as Hank Aaron, Ernie
Banks, Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, Willie Mays, Satchel Paige, and, of
course, Jackie Robinson brought their fast-paced and highly competitive
brand of Negro Leagues baseball eventually to the Major Leagues. In
fact, there are a lot of people who think that much of the fast-paced
style of baseball today is owing to the influence of the Negro League's
brand of baseball.
Before these greats of the game were given the opportunity to
showcase their skills at the Major League level, many African-American
ballplayers with equal skill were never allowed to share the same field
as their White counterparts. Instead, such players played from the
1920s to the 1960s in over 30 communities located throughout the United
States on teams in one of six Negro Baseball Leagues, including Kansas
City and St. Louis in my home State of Missouri.
The history of this is interesting. In the late 1800s and early
1900s, African Americans began to play on military baseball teams,
college teams, company teams. The teams were integrated in those days.
Many African Americans eventually found their way onto professional
teams with White players. But racism and Jim Crow laws drove the
African-American players from their integrated teams in the early
1900s, forcing them to form their own ``barnstorming'' teams which
would travel around the country playing anyone willing to challenge
them.
But then, in 1920, the Negro National League, which was the first of
the Negro Baseball Leagues, was formed under the guidance of Andrew
``Rube'' Foster--a former player, manager, and owner of the Chicago
American Giants--and was formed at a meeting held at the Paseo YMCA in
Kansas City, MO. Soon after the Negro National League was formed, rival
leagues formed in Eastern and Southern States and brought the thrills
and the innovative play of the Negro Leagues to major urban centers and
rural countrysides throughout the United States, Canada, and Latin
America.
For more than 40 years, the Negro Leagues maintained a high level of
professional skill and became centerpieces for economic development in
their communities. The Negro Leagues constituted the third biggest
Black owned and run business in the country in those days. They brought
jobs and economic activity to many of the cities around the United
States. They played in front of crowds of 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000,
and 50,000 people. And those crowds were integrated. White and Black
fans came to watch the Negro Leagues, and they sat together.
In 1945, Major League Baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers recruited Jackie
Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs, which, of course, made Jackie
the first African American in the modern era to play on a Major League
roster. That historic event led to the integration of the Major Leagues
and ironically prompted the decline of the Negro Leagues because, of
course, Major League teams began to recruit and sign the best African-
American ballplayers.
On Monday of this week, the National Baseball Hall of Fame took a
first step in righting a historic wrong when it recognized the
distinguished careers of 17 pre-Negro League ballplayers and
executives, people who were never given the opportunity to compete in
Major League Baseball with their White counterparts. Oh, they often
played them, and very often, in barnstorming games or exhibition-type
matches, the Negro League players and teams would play the best players
of the Major Leagues, and those must have been great baseball games to
see.
But the Hall of Fame elected those 17 players and executives to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2006. The players elected on
Monday were Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, Frank Grant, Pete
Hill, Biz Mackey, Effa Manley--the first woman

[[Page S1587]]

elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and more on that in just a
minute--Joe Mandez, Alex Popez Cum Posey, Louis Santop, Mule Suttles,
Ben Taylor, Cristobal Torriente, Sol White, J.L. Wilkinson, and Jud
Wilkinson. These legends, not just of the Negro Leagues but of our
national pastime, will now join the less than 1 percent of all
professional baseball players who have been honored with induction into
the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and they will be inducted on July
30, 2006.
One of the more historic moments of Monday's selection was the
selection of Effa Manley, who was the co-owner of the Newark Eagles.
She became the first woman ever elected to the Hall of Fame. In
addition to her efforts in baseball, she played an active role in the
civil rights movement and promoted such causes as Anti-Lynching Day at
Ruppert Stadium, which was the home of the Newark Eagles.
Among those elected, several have ties to my home State of Missouri,
and it will surprise no one in the Senate that I decided to feature
them in my remarks.
Willard Brown was an outfielder with the Kansas City Monarchs who
often led the Negro American League in home runs and batting average.
He was considered by many to be the Negro American League's version of
the great Josh Gibson.
Andy Cooper was a pitcher with the Detroit Stars and Kansas City
Monarchs who had a knack for changing the speed of his pitches. He is
among the top ten leaders in career wins, strikeouts, shutouts, and
winning percentage in Negro Leagues history. Later in his career he
became the manager of the Kansas City Monarchs, leading them to three
pennants.
Jose Mendez was a right handed pitcher for the Cuban Stars, All
Nations, and Kansas City Monarchs who had a career winning percentage
just under .700 in the Negro National League. He managed the Kansas
City Monarchs to successive pennants from 1923-1925.
Mule Suttles was a first baseman and outfielder for the St. Louis
Stars, Chicago American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons and the Newark
Eagles. He was one of the most powerful home run hitters in the Negro
Leagues, ranking third all-time among Negro Leaguers in home runs and
RBIs.
Cristobal Torriente was a five-tool outfielder with a lifetime
batting average over .330 primarily with the Cuban Stars and Chicago
American Giants. For those who don't know what a five-tool outfielder
is it means he could hit for average, hit for power, run with speed,
field with above average skill and display enough arm strength to throw
out the fastest players at home plate. He is one of the all-time
offensive leaders in Negro Leagues history, ranking in the top 20 all-
time in home runs, RBIs and total bases. The record books would have
been different had these players been allowed to play in Major League
baseball.
J.L. Wilkinson was the owner of the Kansas City Monarchs, the All
Nations club and one of the first professional women's teams in the
United States. He was a pioneer of night baseball, various ballpark
promotions, and was the Negro National League's only white owner when
it was chartered in 1920. His Kansas City Monarchs were the longest
running franchise in Negro National League history and they won an
unprecedented 17 pennants, and two World Series.
I congratulate all 17 players and executives elected this week, as
well as their families and friends. This is an honor long overdue and
is sure to lead to a great celebration this summer in Cooperstown. It
will be a dramatic moment when these figures are inducted in the Hall
of Fame. However, it saddens me that this summer's historic induction
ceremony did not take place during the lifetime of these baseball
greats. I can only wish that they were still alive today to witness
baseball's long overdue recognition of their contributions on and off
the field.
There is another aspect of this selection process which is
disappointing and bittersweet for many of us because one of the legends
of Negro Leagues did not receive the necessary votes to be elected to
the Hall of Fame. That legend is John Jordan ``Buck'' O'Neil. Buck's
illustrious baseball career spans seven decades and has made him a
foremost authority of the game and one of its greatest ambassadors.
Buck is in his 90s now, and still active, still a leader in baseball
and a leader in remembering the Negro Leagues and establishing the
Negro League's Baseball museum.
I would like to tell you a little about Buck O'Neil the man and Buck
O'Neil the player. I had intended to introduce this Resolution earlier
this week, but was so disappointed by the exclusion of Buck from those
selected that I began to have second thoughts about the process for
selecting this class of inductees. I had a conversation with Buck
yesterday and he told me that going forward with this Resolution was
important not only to recognize this historic event--I mean important
in a practical way to the Negro League's baseball museum and the
remberance of the Negro Leagues, and to recognize the achievement of
these 17 players and executives--but because it was the right thing to
do. Buck O'Neil has always been about doing the right thing. No matter
what door has been slammed in his face he always picks himself up and
does what is right and what is most important to him. In this case what
is most important to him is his true love for the Negro Leagues, the
Negro Leagues players and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which he
helped to found and which he has been so active in promoting in Kansas
City.
In yesterday's Kansas City Star, columnist Joe Posnanski had this to
say about the injustice that occurred to Buck O'Neil on Monday:

All his life, Buck O'Neil has had doors slammed in his
face. He played baseball when the major leagues did not allow
black players. He was a gifted manager at a time when major
league owners would not even think of having an African
American lead their teams. For more than 30 years, he told
stories about Negro Leagues players and nobody wanted to
listen. Now, after everything, he was being told that the
life he had spent in baseball was not worthy of the Hall of
Fame. It was enough to make those around him cry. But Buck
laughed. ``I'm still Buck,'' he said. ``Look at me. I've
lived a good life. I'm still living a good life. Nothing has
changed for me.''

I ask unanimous consent to have a copy of Mr. Posnanski's article
printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See exhibit 1.)
Mr. TALENT. I thought I would take a few moments of the Senate's time
to talk a little bit about Buck's record. I think the Senate would
agree with me it would have fully justified his induction.
Buck O'Neil the player was a first baseman and Manager for the Kansas
City Monarchs from 1937 through 1955. Buck's achievements as a player
include leading his team to a Negro American league title and a date
with the Homestead Grays in the 1942 Negro World Series. In the series
Buck hit .353 and led the Monarchs to a four game sweep of the
powerhouse Homestead Grays. Buck sport a career batting average of
.288, including four .300-plus seasons. He won batting titles in 1940
and 1946, hitting .345 and .353 respectively. He was named to the East-
West All-Star Classic in 1942, 1943 and 1949 and barnstormed with the
Satchel Paige All-Stars during the 1930s and 1940s playing countless
games against the likes of the Bob Feller All-Stars. I would have given
a lot to have seen one of those games.
In 1948, Buck succeeded Frank Duncan, as manager of the Monarchs, and
continued to manage them until 1955. As the manager of the Monarchs, he
sent more Negro league veterans to the Majors than any other manager in
baseball history including Ernie Banks, Elston Howard, Connie Johnson,
Satchel Paige and Sweet Lou Johnson. He lead the Monarchs to league
titles in 1948, 1950, 1951 and 1953 and managed the West squad in the
East-West All-Star game in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955. By the way, the
West won all four of these contests.
In 1956, Buck was hired by the Chicago Cubs as a scout. Six years
later he became the first African American to coach in the Major
Leagues with the Cubs. As a scout he discovered such superstars as Lou
Brock, one of my all-time favorite Cardinals, and Joe Carter. Lou
called him on Monday by the way, expecting Buck would have been
inducted, while everybody was waiting to see the results of the vote.
In 1988, after more than 30 years with the Cubs, he returned home to
Kansas City to scout for the Kansas City Royals.

[[Page S1588]]

Today Buck serves as chairman of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum he
helped found in 1990. The work of Buck O'Neil and the Negro Leagues
Baseball Museum led the Hall of Fame to hold this special election of
Negro Leagues and Pre-Negro Leagues players.
In fact, his work after he had retired from the game as a coach may
be even more significant to the history of baseball than his exploits
as a player and a manager. Nobody has done more to build that museum
and to call the rest of us to remember the significance of the Negro
baseball league.
It was significant on so many different levels: A triumph of the
human spirit, tremendous sportsmanship, tremendously high quality of
play, vitally important to the Black community of the time, and it led
directly to the integration of the Major Leagues, which was the first
in a series of mjor civil rights landmarks in the modern era that has
led to the progress we have achieved today.
I believe there is no one who meets the criteria for induction into
the National Baseball Hall of Fame more than Buck. The combination of
his statistics on the field as a player, his years as a scout
discovering some of the best players of their generation, his years as
a manager and coach, including breaking the color barrier as the first
African-American coach in the Major Leagues, and his years of tireless
advocacy on behalf of the Negro Leagues and its players equals a resume
built for election to Cooperstown. I hope that the Baseball Hall of
Fame will take appropriate action to correct this oversight.
Finally, I would like to congratulate everyone at the Negro Leagues
Baseball Museum in Kansas City, who worked so very hard for so many
years to make this special election a reality. Their tireless advocacy
on behalf of these baseball legends is another reason why the Senate
should pass legislation that would give a national designation to the
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the only public museum in the Nation
that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting the experiences
of the players in the Negro Leagues.
I highly recommend a visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for
anybody who is in Kansas City. Whether you are a baseball fan or not,
you will be moved by what you see there. You will be encouraged and
inspired in every way by seeing how those players confronted the
injustices of their times, and with great spirit and energy and joy
even overcame those obstacles.
In closing, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Illinois,
Senator Durbin, for his assistance and his support of both the
resolution which we introduced today in honor of those athletes who
were elected on Monday and also S. Con. Res. 60, which is the national
designation resolution. I hope the Senate will swiftly pass our
resolution to honor these future Hall of Famers--I guess they are Hall
of Famers designees now--for their contributions on the field and for
their courage, sacrifice and triumph in the face of segregation.

Exhibit 1

Injustice, and then a gutless committee clams up

(By Joe Posnanski)

The living voice of the Negro Leagues did not even blink
when the door was slammed in his face one more time. Buck
O'Neil just nodded and smiled a little when he was told that
he did not get enough votes to be elected into the Baseball
Hall of Fame.
``All right,'' he said. ``That's the way the cookie
crumbles.''
That's the way baseball crumbles. Monday, an 11-member
committee of academics and authors (a 12th member, author
Robert Peterson, died two weeks ago) gathered in a room in
Tampa and voted 17 deceased Negro Leagues players and
executives into the Hall of Fame. Seventeen. To give you an
idea of how overwhelming that number is . . . only 18 Negro
Leaguers are actually in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
It took 30 years of work--most of that Buck O'Neil's hard
work--to get those 18 players inducted.
But even while doubling the Negro Leagues' Hall of Fame
population, the committee could not muster the necessary nine
votes for Buck O'Neil, who is 94 and has done more in his
life for Negro Leagues baseball than anyone else. One
committee member said O'Neil likely fell one vote short. The
balloting was secret.
When the voting was finished, no one had the guts to
explain why Buck O'Neil was kept out. He was an All-Star
player in the Negro Leagues. He was a successful manager for
the Kansas City Monarchs. He sent more Negro Leagues players
to the major leagues than anyone. He was the first black
coach in the major leagues. For the past 50 years, he has
been--as author Jules Tygiel calls him in Shades of Glory,
the Negro Leagues book commissioned by the Hall of Fame--
``the primary spokesperson for the legacy of the Negro
Leagues.''
In fact, two sources said months ago that the Hall of Fame
would have a special Negro Leagues vote with the intention of
getting Buck O'Neil in. One hall official said, ``I don't
think the Hall of Fame is complete without him.''
Thus, for the first time ever, the hall handed over the
voting to a panel of baseball historians and scholars with no
affiliation to the major leagues or the hall. This was an
extraordinary move for the Hall of Fame. They usually protect
the hall the way tigers protect their cubs. There was not one
former player on the committee and not one person who
actually observed the Negro Leagues. The committee was given
no boundaries--they were told to vote for as many people as
they saw fit.
They certainly voted free. By dumping 17 persons into the
Hall of Fame, they matched the number of persons inducted
into the hall the past seven years. But when it came to why
Buck was left out, no one was talking.
``I don't think the individuals are going to be willing to
discuss their individual votes,'' said Fay Vincent, who
served as a nonvoting chairman of the committee. ``We agreed
we would not do that.''
In other words, they decided to hide. After this travesty,
you could not blame them. On Monday, when it appeared that
O'Neil was short the votes he needed, Vincent apparently made
a frantic plea to the committee to consider O'Neil's lifetime
achievements and not just his playing days. According to the
committee member, he sounded almost desperate.
His words held no sway with this committee. They left him
out without a word of explanation. They did, however, vote in
Andy Cooper, who was (see if this sounds familiar) a fine
player and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs. He died in
1941. The book Shades of Glory is 422 pages long, including
acknowledgements. Cooper is mentioned exactly zero times.
The committee also voted in Effa Manley, the first woman
inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Her credentials? She
co-owned the Newark Eagles with her husband, Abe, for 14
seasons. The team won one championship. Also, she was
outspoken. Also, her biographer, Jim Overmyer, was on the
committee.
And so on. The injustice of Monday's vote left a trail of
disbelief and anger throughout the baseball community, but
especially in Kansas City. It had no visible effect on Buck
O'Neil, though. He began his Monday morning with a 5:30 a.m.
call from a radio show. He came to the Negro Leagues Baseball
Museum at 10 a.m. and by then he had received more than a
dozen congratulatory calls.
Everyone seemed sure he was going to get voted in.
Buck himself was not so sure. ``I've been on committees
like this,'' he said. ``I know that anything can happen.''
Still, he spent much of Monday morning calling friends in his
hometown of Sarasota, Fla., telling them that he would visit
if the vote went his way. A camera crew filmed his every
move. A half-dozen reporters followed him around.
O'Neil had been told he would hear something by 11 a.m.,
but the phone would not ring. Rumors swirled that things were
not going well in Tampa, but no one wanted to believe it.
While Buck O'Neil waited, Hall of Fame player Lou Brock--whom
O'Neil had scouted and signed--called and said he was
excited. Soon it was 11:30 and then noon, and the call from
the hall had not come.
``You know something?'' Buck said all of a sudden. ``I
could play. I was no Josh Gibson. But I could play.'' It was
his only sign of cracking. One of the few criticisms of
O'Neil's Hall of Fame case leading into the vote had been
that, while he was a good player, he was not a Hall of Fame-
caliber player. The criticism did not take in account his
countless other contributions to baseball, but you could see
that Buck was hurting a little.
At 12:30, there was no word, and a pall had fallen over the
museum. Buck seemed to sense that the vote was going against
him. He said, ``I'll be fine either way.''
At 12:34, Bob Kendrick, the marketing director of the Negro
Leagues Museum, asked everyone to leave the room, and he
said, ``Buck, we didn't get enough votes.''
All his life, Buck O'Neil has had doors slammed in his
face. He played baseball at a time when the major leagues did
not allow black players. He was a gifted manager at a time
when major league owners would not even think of having an
African-American lead their teams. For more than 30 years, he
told stories about Negro Leagues players and nobody wanted to
listen.
Now, after everything, he was being told that the life he
had spent in baseball was not worthy of the Hall of Fame. It
was enough to make those around him cry. But Buck laughed.
``I'm still Buck,'' he said. ``Look at me. I've lived a good
life. I'm still living a good life. Nothing has changed for
me.''
A few minutes later, when he was told that 17 persons had
made it, he shouted: ``Wonderful.''
That's Buck O'Neil. Who else would respond that way to such
a shameful vote? No one. I don't know what the July day will
be like when 17 persons long dead--10 of the 17 have been
gone for more than 50 years--get

[[Page S1589]]

inducted into the Hall of Fame. It's hard to believe it will
be much of a celebration. Who will speak for the dead?
``I don't know,'' Buck O'Neil said. ``I wonder if they'll
ask me to speak.''
Would he really speak at the Hall of Fame after he wasn't
voted in?
``Of course,'' Buck said. ``If they asked me.''

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider
be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 386) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

S. Res. 386

Whereas African Americans began to play baseball in the
late 1800s on military teams, college teams, and company
teams, and eventually found their way onto professional teams
with White players;
Whereas the racism and ``Jim Crow'' laws that forced
African American players from their integrated teams by 1900
compelled those dedicated players to form their own
``barnstorming'' teams that traveled throughout the United
States and offered to play any team willing to challenge
them;
Whereas, in 1920, the Negro National League was created
under the guidance of Andrew ``Rube'' Foster, a former
player, manager, and owner of the Chicago American Giants, at
a meeting held at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City, Missouri;
Whereas soon after the Negro National League was formed,
rival leagues were assembled in eastern and southern States,
bringing the thrills and innovative play of African American
ballplayers to major urban centers and rural countrysides
throughout the United States, Canada, and Latin America;
Whereas, from the 1920s to the 1960s, over 30 communities
located throughout the United States were home to teams in 1
of the 6 Negro Leagues;
Whereas the Negro Leagues maintained a high level of
professional skill and became centerpieces for economic
development in their communities;
Whereas, in 1945, the Brooklyn Dodgers of Major League
Baseball recruited Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City
Monarchs, making Robinson the first African American in the
modern era to play on a Major League Baseball roster;
Whereas the integration of Major League Baseball, which
soon followed the signing of Jackie Robinson, prompted the
decline of the Negro Leagues because the Major Leagues began
to recruit and sign the best African American ballplayers;
Whereas it has been recognized by numerous baseball
authorities that many of the greatest players ever to play
the game of baseball played in the Negro Leagues, rather than
Major League Baseball;
Whereas, on February 27, 2006, the National Baseball Hall
of Fame announced that Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper,
Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Biz Mackey, Effa Manley, Joe Mendez,
Alex Pompez, Cum Posey, Louis Santop, Mule Suttles, Ben
Taylor, Cristobal Torriente, Sol White, J.L. Wilkinson, and
Jud Wilson had been elected to the National Baseball Hall of
Fame Class of 2006;
Whereas less than 1 percent of all professional baseball
players have been honored with induction into the National
Baseball Hall of Fame;
Whereas we congratulate Ray Brown, an ace starter for the
Homestead Grays who--
(1) ranks among the top Negro Leagues pitchers in total
wins and winning percentage; and
(2) pitched a perfect game in 1945 as well as a one-hitter
in the 1944 Negro World Series;
Whereas we congratulate Willard Brown, an outfielder with
the Kansas City Monarchs who--
(1) lead the Negro American League in home runs and batting
average during numerous seasons; and
(2) was considered by many to be the Negro American League
version of Josh Gibson;
Whereas we congratulate Andy Cooper, a pitcher with the
Detroit Stars and Kansas City Monarchs who--
(1) had a knack for changing the speed of his pitches;
(2) was the all-time leader in every Detroit Stars pitching
category;
(3) was among the top 10 leaders in career wins,
strikeouts, shutouts, and winning percentage in Negro Leagues
history; and
(4) later in his career became the manager of the Kansas
City Monarchs and lead them to 3 pennants;
Whereas we congratulate Frank Grant, a second baseman with
tremendous range and a strong arm who--
(1) hit over .300 in 4 seasons with White minor league
teams until the color lines forced him out of the league in
1886;
(2) played for top-rated African American teams until 1903;
and
(3) who displayed a unique blend of speed and power in the
International League that allowed him to turn 1 out of every
4 base hits into extra bases;
Whereas we congratulate Pete Hill, a premier outfielder
who--
(1) played brilliantly for the Cuban X-Giants, Philadelphia
Giants, Chicago Leland Giants, and the Chicago American
Giants before the formation of the Negro Leagues;
(2) during his 1911 season as an American Giant, hit safely
in 115 out of 116 games; and
(3) was rated the fourth best outfielder in the renowned
1952 Pittsburgh Courier player-voted poll of the best players
of the Negro Leagues;
Whereas we congratulate Biz Mackey, a strong-armed catcher
who--
(1) ended his career with a lifetime batting average well
over .300;
(2) ranked among the top Negro Leaguers in lifetime total
bases, RBIs, and slugging percentage; and
(3) later managed the Baltimore Elite Giants and the Newark
Eagles who, under his skill and leadership, won the Negro
World Series in 1946;
Whereas we congratulate Effa Manley, the co-owner of the
Newark Eagles, who--
(1) has become the first women elected to the National
Baseball Hall of Fame; and
(2) in addition to her efforts in baseball, played an
active role in the Civil Rights Movement by promoting such
causes as Anti-Lynching Day at Ruppert Stadium, which is the
home of the Eagles;
Whereas we congratulate Jose Mendez, a right-handed pitcher
who--
(1) earned a winning percentage of just under .700 during
his memorable career as a member of the Cuban Stars, All
Nations, and Kansas City Monarchs; and
(2) managed the Kansas City Monarchs to successive pennants
from 1923-1925, during which time he compiled a 20-4 pitching
record with 7 saves;
Whereas we congratulate Alex Pompez, a successful team
owner who--
(1) owned the Cuban Stars of the Eastern Colored League and
then the New York Cubans of the Negro National League; and
(2) signed the first Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan,
and Panamanian players of the circuit;
Whereas we congratulate ``Cum'' Posey, owner of the
Homestead Grays, who--
(1) won the Negro National League pennant 8 times between
1937 and 1945; and
(2) assembled teams that were home to 11 of the 18 Negro
Leaguers currently in the Hall of Fame;
Whereas we congratulate Louis Santop, a power-hitting
catcher who--
(1) played for several of the greatest African American
teams of the pre-Negro Leagues era, including the
Philadelphia Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, and the
Brooklyn Giants;
(2) hit over .320 while slugging tape-measure homeruns
during his tremendous career in the Negro Leagues; and
(3) was rated by Rollo Wilson as the first string catcher
on his all-time Black baseball team;
Whereas we congratulate Mule Suttles, a hard-hitting first
baseman and outfielder who--
(1) played spectacularly for the St. Louis Stars, Chicago
American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Newark Eagles, and
other Negro League teams; and
(2) was 1 of the most powerful home run hitters in the
Negro Leagues, ranking third all-time among Negro Leaguers in
home runs and RBI;
Whereas we congratulate Ben Taylor, a pitcher who--
(1) transitioned into a top-ranked first baseman and clean-
up hitter for the Indianapolis ABC's at the start of his
career;
(2) served as an extremely successful player-manager from
1923-1929; and
(3) exclusively managed the Washington Potomacs, the
Baltimore Black Sox, and the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants
until 1940;
Whereas we congratulate Cristobal Torriente, a 5-tool
outfielder who--
(1) played most of his games for the Cuban Stars and
Chicago American Giants;
(2) earned an incredible lifetime batting average of over
.330; and
(3) is 1 of the all-time offensive leaders in Negro Leagues
history, ranking in the top 20 all-time in home runs, RBIs,
and total bases;
Whereas we congratulate Sol White, a tremendously gifted
baseball player who--
(1) played all infield positions during his 25-year
baseball career;
(2) was a member of the best African American independent
teams of the pre-Negro Leagues era, including the
Philadelphia Giants, which he helped found in 1902 as playing
manager;
(3) hit .359 in the White minor leagues during 5 seasons
before the color line was established; and
(4) made a timeless contribution to baseball by authoring
his book, ``Sol White's Official Base Ball Guide'', the first
history of Black baseball before 1900;
Whereas we congratulate J.L. Wilkinson, an creative and
innovative team owner who--
(1) owned the Kansas City Monarchs, the All Nations club,
and 1 of the first professional women's teams in the United
States;
(2) was a pioneer of night baseball and various ballpark
promotions;
(3) was the only White owner of the Negro National League
when it was chartered in 1920; and
(4) ran the longest running franchise in Negro National
League history during which his teams won an unprecedented 17
pennants and 2 World Series;
Whereas we congratulate Jud Wilson, an intense first and
third baseman who--
(1) ranks among the top 10 all-time in home runs, RBIs,
hits, total bases, slugging average, and batting average in
the Negro Leagues;
(2) holds a lifetime batting average over .340;

[[Page S1590]]

(3) earned from fans the nickname Boojum, after the sound
that his line drives made when slamming off the fences; and
(4) played on pennant-winning teams as a member of the
Baltimore Black Sox, Philadelphia Stars, and Homestead Grays;
Whereas those baseball legends will be inducted into the
National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 30, 2006, in
Cooperstown, New York, joining former Negro Leagues players
Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Monte
Irvin, Roy Campanella, ``Satchel'' Paige, Willie Mays, Bill
Foster, ``Buck'' Leonard, ``Bullet'' Rogan, ``Cool Papa''
Bell, Hilton Smith, ``Smokey'' Joe Williams, Josh Gibson,
``Judy'' Johnson, Leon Day, Martin Dihigo, Oscar Charleston,
``Pop'' Lloyd, Ray Dandridge, ``Rube'' Foster, ``Turkey''
Stearnes, and Willie Wells, as members of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame; and
Whereas we congratulate the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
in Kansas City, Missouri, the only public museum in the
Nation that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting
the experiences of the players in the Negro Leagues, founded
in 1990 by Negro Leagues legend Buck O'Neil, Horace Peterson,
former Kansas City Monarchs outfielder Al ``Slick'' Surratt,
and other former Negro Leagues players, for the tireless
efforts of the museum to preserve the evidence of honor,
courage, sacrifice, and triumph in the face of segregation of
those African Americans who played in the Negro Leagues
through its comprehensive collection of historical materials,
important artifacts, and oral histories of the participants
in the Negro Leagues and the impact that segregation had in
the lives of the players and their fans: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) congratulates Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper,
Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Biz Mackey, Effa Manley, Joe Mendez,
Alex Pompez, Cum Posey, Louis Santop, Mule Suttles, Ben
Taylor, Cristobal Torriente, Sol White, J.L. Wilkinson, and
Jud Wilson on being elected to the National Baseball Hall of
Fame Class of 2006;
(2) commends the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for their efforts to ensure
that these legends of baseball receive the recognition due to
players of their caliber; and
(3) respectfully requests the Enrolling Clerk of the Senate
to transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to--
(A) the National Baseball Hall of Fame; and
(B) the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

____________________