[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 25, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  A BASEBALL HERO FROM MARCUS HOOK, PA

                                 ______


                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 25, 1994

  Mr. WELDON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mickey Vernon, one of 
the favorite sons of my hometown of Marcus Hook, PA. Mickey was one of 
the baseball's greatest first basemen of all-time, and this week he 
will serve as the grand marshal of the Marcus Hook Memorial Day Parade.
  Mickey played 21 years in the big leagues, 13 of those right here in 
our Nation's Capital where he played at Griffith Stadium for the 
Washington Senators. He was a slick-fielding lefthanded first baseman 
with a short, compact lefty swing, and he was a fixture in the middle 
of the Senators' lineup throughout the forties and early fifties.
  In 1946, Mickey won the first of his two American League batting 
titles, hitting 0.353 while banging out a league-leading 51 doubles and 
knocking in 85 runs. He won a second Silver Bat in 1953, when he again 
lead the league with a 0.337 average and 43 doubles. That year, he also 
swatted 15 home runs and drove in a career-best 115 runs.
  For his career, Mickey batted 0.286, drove in 1,311 runs, and hit 490 
doubles. He played in seven All-Star games, and held career records for 
first basemen in assists, put-outs, chances, and games played, 2,237. 
He was durable and consistent, playing 115 or more games for 14 
straight years.
  This kind of day-in, day-out production is all the more remarkable 
when one considers how baseball of the 1940's and 1950's differed from 
the baseball of today. Mickey Vernon and his teammates rode for hours 
on end in cramped trains, not in luxury charter airplanes. They played 
games in the white heat of the scorching summer sun, not under the cool 
evening skies. They wore heavy wool uniforms, not light double knits.
  When Mickey played, there were only 16 teams in 2 leagues. There were 
few slots open for major leaguers, and each player no matter how good 
had to prove himself every spring. Few ballplayers in those days had 
the luxury of rich multiyear contracts.
  Typical of many ballplayers of his era, Mickey lost 2 years of his 
career, 1944-45, because he answered his country's call to service 
during World War II. We can only imagine what Mickey's lifetime totals 
would have been had he played those two seasons in the prime of his 
career.
  Through it all, Mickey Vernon was a dogged competitor and a true 
gentleman. When his playing and managing days were over, after he had 
plied his trade for the Senators and the Red Sox and the Indians, 
Mickey Vernon came home to his roots. He came back to Delaware County, 
PA. Today he is 76 years old, and he still lives in Nether Providence, 
just a few miles from Marcus Hook.
  It is fitting that this Memorial Day marks the beginning of a new 
push to have Mickey Vernon inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 
Cooperstown, NY. Local baseball fans have organized a ``Mickey Vernon 
for the Hall of Fame Committee.'' The committee has organized a 
petition drive to have the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee give Mickey 
his rightful place among the all-time greats of the game. I will do all 
I can to assist in this worthy effort.
  Mickey Vernon is a hero in my hometown. Marcus Hook is a close-knit, 
working-class town on the Delaware River. The people of Marcus Hook 
have community spirit and family pride, and many bonds still tie us 
together. One of those bonds is our great pride in the career and 
achievements of our friend Mickey Vernon. Even today, more than 30 
years after his retirement, kids in Marcus Hook still play ball in the 
Mickey Vernon Little League.
  Thanks to Mickey Vernon, our hometown has a cherished place in the 
grand history of America's game. Few towns in America can claim to be 
birthplace of a genuine baseball hero, and the people of Marcus Hook 
are very proud to call Mickey Vernon one of our own.

                          ____________________