[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 137 (Tuesday, October 12, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H9835-H9837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  JAY HANNA ``DIZZY'' DEAN POST OFFICE

  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2460) to designate the United States Post Office located at 
125 Border Avenue West in Wiggins, Mississippi, as the ``Jay Hanna 
`Dizzy' Dean Post Office.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2460

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The United States Post Office located at 125 Border Avenue 
     West in Wiggins, Mississippi, shall be known and designated 
     as the ``Jay Hanna `Dizzy' Dean Post Office''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the post office 
     referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to 
     the ``Jay Hanna `Dizzy' Dean Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. McHugh) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh).
  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak briefly on H.R. 2460, legislation 
that was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from Mississippi 
(Mr. Taylor) on July 1 of this year, and as consistent, again, with the 
policy of Committee on Government Reform, it has been cosponsored by 
the entire House delegation of the great State of Mississippi.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill does designate the United States Post Office 
located at 125 Border Avenue West in Wiggins, Mississippi, as the Jay 
Hanna `Dizzy' Dean Post Office. Jay Hanna Dean was born on January 16, 
1911. He made his home in Stone County, Mississippi, which is his 
wife's ancestral home.
  Dizzy Dean, as most of us know him by, loved his adopted home and was 
an ardent supporter of the community of Bond, the city of Wiggins, 
Stone County, and the State of Mississippi, as a whole. The ancestral 
home was subsequently donated by Mrs. Dean to the Baptist Children's 
Village as a home for children in the Bond community of Stone County.
  In addition to his outstanding record, his outstanding record as a 
major league baseball pitcher and a baseball telecaster featuring the 
major league baseball's Game of the Week, Dizzy made many contributions 
to his local community which was recognized by the mayor and Board of 
Aldermen of the city of Wiggins. It was they, Mr. Speaker, who 
recommended that the newly renovated and expanded post office in 
Wiggins be named after Dizzy Dean, who died on July 17 in 1974.
  Mr. Speaker, I would certainly want to commend the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Taylor) for working so closely with the community in 
bringing this bill to the floor. Again, as is true on all of these 
proposals, I deeply appreciate the cooperation of the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) and the entire Committee on Government Reform 
for their efforts in this matter.
  I would certainly urge our colleagues to support a bill which 
recognizes, really, to those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s 
who really spent many, many weekends watching the game of the week, 
sometimes to the distress of our English teachers, learning a bit of 
colorful and sometimes creative language from the great Dizzy Dean, to 
pass this bill and support what I think is a very, very worthy measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to join with the chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Postal Service, the majority chair, in support of this 
legislation.
  First and foremost, Mr. Speaker, it has been an honor to be able to 
work with my colleague, the gentleman from Mississippi, who we are 
going to hear from in just a few minutes, who was the prime sponsor of 
this legislation.
  The gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor) I think represents not 
just the State of Mississippi but, in many respects, because of his 
concern in terms of national defense and a whole range of issues 
relative to the national interest, the best of what this Congress has 
to provide in terms of legislative leadership. He is principled and 
committed, and it was a pleasure to be able to help facilitate this 
bill coming to the floor because it is important to him.
  Naming a postal facility is an appropriate honor to bestow upon 
someone who has done all of the things that we are going to hear about 
in a minute. I do not want to steal the thunder from the sponsor, but I 
do want to say that

[[Page H9836]]

it says something about his life, that his wife would donate the home 
to the Baptist Children's Village as a home for children. It shows the 
continuing legacy that I think this naming of a postal facility will 
add to.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from the great State of Mississippi (Mr. Taylor).
  Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman 
of the committee and the ranking member for their kind words. I want to 
thank Stacy Ballow from South Mississippi's congressional office for 
doing the research and putting this together.
  Mr. Speaker, Jay Hanna Dean, known by all of us as Dizzy Dean, was 
elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. He was possibly the 
biggest pitching star in the National League in the 1930s. Dean burst 
onto the major league stage with stunning success, and dominated the 
league for 5 years.
  A beloved figure in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals, Dean 
first appeared in the major leagues in 1930 at the age of 19, pitching 
a complete-game victory. He went back to the minors in 1931, and then 
started full-time with the Cardinals in 1932, winning 18 games for a 
3.30 ERA and leading the National League in strikeouts. He gained 
notoriety not just for his clutch pitching, but also for his colorful 
personality, which earned him the nickname Dizzy.
  That was just the beginning. Dean won 20 games in 1933, leading the 
league in strikeouts, again, as well as in games completed. He led the 
league with 30 victories in 1934, then again with 28 in 1935, adding 
strikeout championships both times.
  Dean led the National League in shut-outs in 1932 and 1934, and had 
an astounding .811 winning percentage in 1934. That is 30 wins and 
seven losses. He ultimately led the National League for four 
consecutive years in both complete games and strike-outs. He won the 
National League most valuable player award in 1934 and, if the Cy Young 
Award had existed then, he no doubt would have won it at least twice.
  Dizzy combined with his younger brother, Paul Daffy Dean, to win four 
games in the 1934 World Series. The Dean brothers won two games apiece. 
When Daffy pitched the no-hitter in the series, Dizzy said, ``If you 
had only told me you was going to pitch a no-hitter, I would have 
pitched one, too.''

                              {time}  1515

  Dizzy remained at the top of his form in 1936, winning 24 games with 
a 3.17 earned run average.
  Throughout his career, the Cardinals used Dean, not just as a 
starter, but as a reliever as well. He unofficially led the league with 
11 saves in 1936, despite starting 34 games and completing 28. The 
heavy usage finally caught up with him in 1937. Arm soreness limited 
him to 25 starts; and though he won 13 games and had a solid 2.69 ERA, 
it was clear that something was wrong.
  An injury he suffered in the 1937 All-Star Game complicated matters. 
His toe was broken by a line drive off the bat of Earl Averill. Dizzy 
altered his pitching motion to compensate for the broken toe, injuring 
his throwing arm in the process. Dean left the Cardinals in 1938 and 
played for a while with the Chicago Cubs. Dizzy retired as a three-
time, 20-game winner who finished with 150 career wins and 30 career 
saves.
  Dean was active for many years as an announcer for radio and 
television baseball broadcasts for both CBS and NBC during the 1940s 
and 1950s. He entertained scores of fans with his country twang and 
erratic pronunciation.
  He once said, ``I always just went out there and struck out all the 
fellas I could. I did not worry about winnin' this number of games or 
that number, and I ain't woofin' when I say that either.'' He also 
said, ``Them that ain't been fortunate enough to have a gander at 'ole 
Diz' in action can look at the records.''
  Dean was born in Lucas, Arkansas, in 1911. He married Patricia Nash 
of Bond, Stone County, Mississippi. The Deans lived in Mrs. Dean's 
ancestral home there. Jay Hanna Dean died in 1974. Mrs. Dean later 
donated their home to the Baptist Children's Village, and it is used 
today as a home for children in the Bond community of Stone County.
  I want to thank young Seth Bond, a student at Perkinston Elementary 
School in Stone County for bringing this to the attention of the mayor 
and the Board of Aldermen in Wiggins that Dizzy Dean deserved a fitting 
local memorial in recognition of his life, accomplishments, and efforts 
on behalf of Stone County.
  Wiggins is the county seat of Stone County, and the city officials 
and citizens of the county saw fit to take young Seth up on his 
suggestion. They sent me a resolution requesting that the newly 
renovated and expanded United States Post Office in Wiggins be named in 
his memory.
  I am honored to help out in Seth's request and urge the support of my 
colleagues of H.R. 2460, a bill to name that facility the Jay Hanna 
Dizzy Dean Post Office.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh) was correct in 
saying that the entire Mississippi delegation has sponsored this. But I 
would like to point out that the great gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Wamp), the most valuable player in the congressional baseball game, was 
the sixth cosponsor. I want to thank him for that.
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Traficant).
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I think it is good that we name this post 
office for Dizzy Dean. We pay tribute to many great Americans. Dizzy 
Dean is a great American. He passed more mail by more major league 
baseball players than the Postal Service.
  So I want to join and I want to commend the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Taylor) whom I understand worked with his constituent 
who brought this forward. I commend the Committee on Government Reform 
for paying tribute to this great American. He is not only a great 
baseball player; Dizzy Dean is a great American.
  Mr. McHUGH.  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. It 
is the Federal Law Enforcement Animal Protection Act. It was introduced 
by our colleagues, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller), the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman), and the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Chabot).
  Mr. Speaker, what the legislation would do is it would increase the 
penalties for harming or killing a Federal law enforcement animal. 
There are hundreds of animals that are used in our country every day to 
protect and assist police officers. Every day dogs are used to conduct 
building searches for suspected explosives, assist officers with raids, 
find missing people.
  Law enforcement officers that work with these animals consider them 
to be loyal partners who deserve respect and protection for their work. 
Criminals should not go unpunished for bringing intentional harm to 
police animals. This legislation sends a message that Federal law 
enforcement animals are valued and protected by the Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, I particularly wanted to speak on this bill because I 
represent a district that has demonstrated its respect for animals in 
many ways. In August, the canine unit of the Montgomery County Police 
Department received several protective vests for their police dogs to 
better protect them during confrontations with criminals or explosives.
  In this month, Maryland joins with 27 additional States in passing 
law enforcement animal protection laws. These States have laws that 
recognize police animals as valuable members of the law enforcement 
community. The time is far overdue to give the same Federal protection 
to our law enforcement animals, that kind of protection that many 
States already provide.
  I am pleased that my colleagues have given support to this valuable 
legislation.
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for speakers on 
our side, and I would assume the case to be so on the majority side.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not have any further requests for time. Let me in 
closing just again thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), 
ranking member, and also to compliment the gentleman from Mississippi 
(Mr. Taylor) again. I appreciate his remarks about, indeed, the great 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp) as

[[Page H9837]]

a teammate of his. In the spirit of bipartisanship that we strike on 
these bills, I will not mention the score of the game in which the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp) was rightfully named the MVP. But I 
think his support of this bill lends an even greater credence.
  I urge my colleagues that we support this bill and, indeed, honor a 
very colorful and very great American.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2460.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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