[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 11, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E351]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING HARRY STATHAM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 11, 1998

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a great 
basketball coach and a great man.
  Harry Statham, the athletic director of McKendree College in Lebanon, 
Illinois, is the NAIA's winningest active basketball coach. On 
Saturday, January 10, 1998, the McKendree Bearcats defeated Barat 
College. That game marked the 700th win of Coach Statham's long and 
successful career at the college.
  Statham began his coaching career while he was still an undergraduate 
as the boys basketball coach at O'Fallon Junior High. After graduating 
from McKendree College in 1960, he enrolled at the University of 
Illinois at Champaign. While earning a master of science degree in 
physical education at U of I, Statham served as a graduate assistant 
for the men's basketball and track teams. He coached at two high 
schools in Southern Illinois before returning to McKendree College in 
1968 as the athletic director and men's basketball head coach.
  Coach Statham has lead the Bearcats to 27 post-season appearances, 
including five trips to the NAIA National Championships. Last season 
the Bearcats finished in the NAIA's ``Elite Eight,'' the best 
tournament finish in the school's history. In 1988 the Bearcats 
established an NAIA record for most points scored by two teams when 
they prevailed over Huron College 124-107. This record of 231 total 
points scored still stands today. McKendree also holds the record for 
successful free throws in one game when they shot 39 of 39 in 1979. In 
the 1986-87 season, McKendree led the nation in scoring with a 105-
point per game average.
  Forty-one of the men who have played under Coach Statham have 
received post-season honors, including four All-American athletes. Two 
of Coach Statham's players have been drafted into the professional 
ranks. Dale Haverman was drafted by the Seattle Sonics in 1977 and Paul 
Funkhouser was drafted by the Chicago Bulls and the Carolina Cougars of 
the American Basketball Association in 1970.
  Coach Statham, who lives in Belleville, Illinois with his wife, Rose, 
was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of 
Fame in 1987. He has been named the NAIA-IBCA Coach of the Year six 
times and the NAIA District 20 Coach of the Year six times. Mr. 
Speaker, I am pleased to announce that this month Coach Statham will be 
inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Coach Harry Statham for an impressive career.

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