[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 840 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 840

Celebrating the remarkable life and accomplishments of Floyd Patterson.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2006

    Mr. Hinchey (for himself, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. 
  Grijalva, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. 
   Carson, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Jones of North Carolina, Mr. 
   McGovern, and Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Celebrating the remarkable life and accomplishments of Floyd Patterson.

Whereas Floyd Patterson was born on January 4, 1935, in a cabin in rural Waco, 
        North Carolina, and was one of 11 children;
Whereas, when Floyd Patterson was a young child, his family moved to Brooklyn, 
        New York, where his family struggled financially and he got into some 
        trouble;
Whereas, when Floyd Patterson was ten years old, he was sent upstate to the 
        Wiltwyck School for Boys, where he began to turn his life around;
Whereas, at the age of 14, Floyd Patterson began boxing under the legendary 
        trainer Constantine ``Cus'' D'Amato, and, at the age of 17, Floyd 
        Patterson won a gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, boxing as a 
        middleweight;
Whereas, in 1956, Floyd Patterson became the youngest boxer to win the world 
        heavyweight championship;
Whereas, in 1960, Floyd Patterson became the first boxer ever to regain the 
        world heavyweight championship;
Whereas Floyd Patterson went on to fight a total of 64 fights, winning 55 of 
        those fights, 40 of which were by knockout;
Whereas Floyd Patterson, known as ``the Gentleman Boxer'', helped his opponents 
        to their feet after knocking them out;
Whereas, in 1972, Floyd Patterson retired to his 17-acre farm in New Paltz, New 
        York, and later, he served as the chairman of the New York State 
        Athletic Commission and counseled troubled teens through the New York 
        State Office of Children and Family Services;
Whereas Floyd Patterson welcomed dozens of young men into his home, to the 
        boxing ring he built in his barn, where he taught them how to box and to 
        live with the same dignity and grace that he had personified;
Whereas, in 1987, Floyd Patterson was elected into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame 
        and, in 1991, was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame;
Whereas Floyd Patterson, though small in stature for a heavyweight boxer, was 
        large in spirit, and gave so generously of himself to the young men he 
        trained and to the communities of the Hudson Valley, including his 
        generous support of the athletic facilities at New Paltz High School and 
        the State University of New York at New Paltz; and
Whereas Floyd Patterson was regarded as a hero, not only for his accomplishments 
        in the boxing ring, but for his accomplishments in all aspects of his 
        life: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That the House of Representatives celebrates the 
remarkable life and accomplishments of a great American athlete, Floyd 
Patterson, who, after overcoming adversity in his own life, went on to 
inspire others to be the same kind of leader and role model that he was 
throughout his life.
                                 <all>