[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 71 (Thursday, June 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MR. JUAN VENE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 4, 1998

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mr. Juan Vene, one 
of the most knowledgeable and experienced sports reporters and writers 
about baseball in the history of this sport.
  Mr. Vene was honored for his achievements and dedication to writing 
about baseball by the organization Latino Sports. The banquet dinner in 
his honor was held at the Grand Hyatt, in New York City, on October 30.
  Mr. Jose Rafael Machado Yanes, better known by his pen name of Juan 
Vene, was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1929.
  His career as a reporter started in 1947, and since then he has 
dedicated every single day of his life to his profession as a director, 
editor, investigative reporter, columnist, sports writer, radio and TV 
commentator. The Spanish newspaper El Diario/La Prensa in New York City 
has honored him for each of the past 11 years as the most distinguished 
reporter who writes about the Yankees and the Mets.
  Mr. Vene holds the record as the only sports reporter in the United 
States and Latin America who has covered every World Series for the 
past 37 years.
  He was born with the passion for writing and reporting about the 
sport of baseball. Mr. Vene went to Cuba in 1948 to study journalism at 
the School of Marques Sterling, University of Havana, because during 
those years Venezuela did not have an institution of higher education 
that taught this field. He graduated from the university in Cuba in 
1952. His interest in learning more about journalism motivated him to 
attend specialized seminars in the field. He also obtained a 
designation as a historian of baseball and has taught 73 courses on 
this field.
  Mr. Vene writes a daily syndicated column on baseball for numerous 
newspaper in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, 
Mexico and Venezuela. He was a sports commentator for the Voice of 
America. He is also credited with being the first to launch a Spanish-
language radio network to provide detailed coverage of the history of 
baseball, the training of baseball players, and all the games of the 
Major Leagues. The program aired in 11 countries.
  He has produced many TV shows on baseball including, ``Play Ball'', 
``El Mundo en su Marcha'', ``Los Cuadros del Pueblo'', ``La Historia 
del Beisbol'', ``Magazine'', ``Juan Vene en Accion''. He also belongs 
to the team of producers and writers of Major League Baseball 
Productions. Mr. Vene is a member of the Baseball Writer's Association 
of America and the Society for American Baseball Research. He is 
married and has four children and one grandchild.
  At age 68, Mr. Vene talks about covering baseball with the same 
excitement and passion that he has demonstrated throughout his life. 
According to an interview conducted by Bob Shannon, which was published 
in ``New World'' in London, when he was asked what he would do next in 
his life, Mr. Vene responded that he will probably write an 
encyclopedia on the history of baseball in Latin America and Spain. 
When he was asked what sports he likes other than baseball, he 
responded: ``As Babe Ruth once said, `Is there any other sport?' ''.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mr. Jose 
Rafael Machado Yanes, writing as Juan Vene, for his great contributions 
to reporting and recording the history of our beloved national sport--
baseball.

                          ____________________