[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 121 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 121

  Honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of George Daniel Crowe.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 17 (legislative day, March 16), 2021

   Mr. Braun (for himself, Mr. Young, Mr. Brown, Ms. Warren, and Mr. 
 Markey) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
                               agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of George Daniel Crowe.

Whereas George Daniel Crowe (referred to in this preamble as ``Mr. Crowe'')--

    (1) was an extraordinary athlete;

    (2) excelled at both basketball and baseball; and

    (3) holds the rare status of having played both basketball and baseball 
at the professional level;

Whereas Mr. Crowe was born in Whiteland, Indiana, on March 22, 1921;
Whereas Mr. Crowe was raised in nearby Franklin, Indiana, where he was a 
        standout on the football, baseball, and basketball teams;
Whereas Mr. Crowe led his basketball team to the 1939 Indiana State championship 
        game, where, although his team lost to Frankfort High School, Mr. Crowe 
        displayed his talents to a State-wide audience and became the first 
        player to ever earn the prestigious distinction of Indiana Mr. 
        Basketball;
Whereas Mr. Crowe earned an athletic scholarship to attend Indiana Central 
        College, known today as the University of Indianapolis, where he played 
        basketball, baseball, and ran track;
Whereas higher education was rare for an African American in the 1930s and 
        1940s, and Mr. Crowe took advantage of the opportunity to be a student 
        athlete and graduated in 1943;
Whereas, after graduation, Mr. Crowe entered the Army during World War II and 
        served the United States admirably until 1946;
Whereas, following his service to the United States in World War II, Mr. Crowe 
        began playing professional basketball on a series of Negro League 
        basketball teams between 1946 and 1953, including the Los Angeles Red 
        Devils and the New York Renaissance (commonly known as the ``Harlem 
        Renaissance'');
Whereas, in 1947, Mr. Crowe joined the New York Black Yankees, which was a 
        baseball team in the Negro Leagues;
Whereas, after joining the New York Black Yankees, Mr. Crowe played 2 
        professional sports simultaneously;
Whereas, in 1949, 2 years after Jackie Robinson integrated Major League 
        baseball, Mr. Crowe was picked up by the Minor League Hartford Chiefs, 
        where he won the batting title with a .353 average;
Whereas Mr. Crowe was called up by the Boston Braves in 1952 and played in the 
        Major Leagues for 9 years on that team, the Cincinnati Redlegs, and the 
        St. Louis Cardinals;
Whereas, during his Major League baseball career, Mr. Crowe played primarily as 
        a first baseman and a pinch hitter;
Whereas, upon his retirement from Major League baseball, Mr. Crowe held the 
        Major League record of 14 career pinch hit home runs and had a .990 
        fielding percentage;
Whereas the most successful period of Mr. Crowe's career in the Major Leagues 
        was in 1957, when he hit 31 home runs, and 1958, when he was selected as 
        a National League All Star;
Whereas Mr. Crowe also played winter baseball for the Santurce Crabbers in the 
        Puerto Rico baseball league;
Whereas Mr. Crowe and his teammates on the Santurce Crabbers, who included 
        Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente, won the Caribbean World Series;
Whereas Mr. Crowe was a pioneer in civil rights and quietly but firmly paved the 
        way for wider opportunities in society in the United States by proving 
        his ability as an athlete and student in college and as a professional 
        athlete;
Whereas, in 1946, soon after his discharge from the Army, Mr. Crowe forced the 
        integration of the movie theater in Franklin, Indiana, when he refused 
        to leave his seat on the main floor and move to the designated Negro 
        section in the back of the theater;
Whereas the prominence of Mr. Crowe in the Franklin, Indiana, community and his 
        service in World War II, which was a war against fascism, led the movie 
        theater to be permanently integrated 1 week after Mr. Crowe refused to 
        leave his seat; and
Whereas, after his retirement from professional sports, Mr. Crowe began new 
        careers as an insurance salesman and then a school teacher in New York: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) George Daniel Crowe--
                    (A) achieved a rarely matched record of athletic 
                excellence at the high school, collegiate, and 
                professional levels; and
                    (B) set an example for all Hoosiers and people of 
                the United States--
                            (i) with his dogged determination and hard 
                        work;
                            (ii) by taking advantage of opportunities 
                        as they arose; and
                            (iii) by making the careers of countless 
                        people of the United States who followed him 
                        possible;
            (2) the story of George Daniel Crowe is--
                    (A) the story of the United States in the 20th 
                century;
                    (B) a story of overcoming oppression;
                    (C) a story of demanding what President Lincoln 
                called the ``Right to Rise'';
                    (D) a story of developing talent and achieving 
                greatness through hard work; and
                    (E) a story of trying to leave the world a better 
                place than he found it; and
            (3) on March 22, 2021, which is the 100th anniversary of 
        his birth, the Senate recognizes George Daniel Crowe as--
                    (A) a great Hoosier;
                    (B) a man of respect and achievement; and
                    (C) a man whose example can help guide the people 
                of the United States.
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