[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 40 (Wednesday, April 1, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H2034-H2035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING KENTUCKY COACH ORLANDO ``TUBBY'' SMITH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the University 
of Kentucky's men's basketball coach Orlando ``Tubby'' Smith. Let me 
first point out my allegiance continues to be to the Terrapins of the 
University of Maryland, as I am sure our Speaker pro tempore's does to 
the University of Kansas, Roy Williams. But I wanted to take this 
opportunity to comment on how proud I am of the accomplishments of 
Tubby Smith in taking the Wildcats of Kentucky to victory and winning 
Monday's NCAA National Championship in San Antonio, Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, I want all of my colleagues to know, particularly the 
good gentleman from Kentucky, that Tubby Smith comes from my district, 
Scotland, Maryland, a rural area near Point Lookout where the 
Chesapeake Bay meets the Potomac River. This community, as you could 
imagine, now bursts with pride for its native son Tubby Smith, and I am 
proud to join them in saluting the accomplishments of this 
distinguished resident.
  Tubby Smith was born to Mr. and Mrs. Guffrie and Parthenia Smith 46 
years ago, as the 6th eldest child of 17 on a tenant farm in St. Mary's 
County, Maryland. Guffrie Smith, Sr. held 3 jobs, driving school buses, 
cutting hair, and firing boilers at the Patuxent River Naval Air 
Station, to support his family. He and his wife still live today in the 
five-bedroom home he built on five acres in St. Mary's County.
  As to Tubby Smith, after scoring over 3,000 points for the Great 
Mills High School basketball team, Tubby attended High Point College in 
North Carolina on a scholarship.

                              {time}  2215

  He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Great Mills High 
School, in 1973, and then worked stints as an assistant coach at 
Virginia Commonwealth and South Carolina. Smith then served under the 
leadership of Coach Rick Pitino from 1989 to 1991 as an assistant coach 
at Kentucky University.
  His first collegiate head coaching job was with Tulsa University, 
combining a record of 79-43, while making two NCAA appearances in the 
Sweet 16. From there, Mr. Speaker, he became the first Georgia State 
coach to record back-to-back 20 victory seasons.
  Then, in May 1997, he was named to replace the legendary Rick Pitino 
as the head coach of one of the most successful NCAA basketball 
programs in the country at the University of Kentucky.
  Kentucky's Athletic Director Newton learned what Tubby's family and 
friends also knew, that Tubby would be respected for his outstanding 
coaching rather than simply as the program's first African-American 
coach.
  In Saint Mary's County, those who know the Smith family are not at 
all surprised by Tubby's extraordinary accomplishments. They will tell 
you a heartwarming story of an incredible mother and father who have 
raised 17 great citizens, who were taught hard work, discipline and the 
value of good education.
  Tubby's accomplishments remind me of the words spoken by Booker T. 
Washington, who said, ``I have learned that success is to be measured 
not so much by the position one reached in life as by the obstacles 
which he has overcome while trying to succeed.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to share with you some of the pride 
that the

[[Page H2035]]

Southern Maryland community has for Tubby Smith and for his family. It 
is important to learn Tubby's outlook on life, and I quote: ``To never 
forget where you came from, never forget who you are, and never forget 
where you are heading.''
  I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in congratulating Coach 
Smith and the Kentucky men's basketball national championship.

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