[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4373-S4374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     TOOTSIE FERRELL AND THE DELAWARE SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

 Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, on May 11, eight new members were 
inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame. I congratulate all the 
honorees. They truly deserve to be recognized for their unique, 
individual contributions to athletics and to the state of Delaware.
  The inductees are: Dale Farmer, former executive director of the 
Delaware Secondary Schools Athletic Association; Robert ``Clyde'' 
Farmer, a stand-out pitcher in the local fast-pitch softball leagues of 
the 1940s and 50s; C. Walter Kadel, who coached and taught physical 
education to Wilmington's children for more than three decades; Ron 
Luddington, a bronze medal winner in the 1960 Olympics, who now coaches 
future skating champions at the University of Delaware ice rink; Betty 
Richardson, who coached championship field hockey teams at Tower Hill 
High School, and won championships of her own on the golf course; G. 
Henry White, a star rusher on the gridiron at Cape Henlopen High School 
and at Colgate University; Matt Zabitka, who has covered sports in the 
Delaware Valley for nearly half a century; and Howard ``Tootsie'' 
Ferrell, a Delawarean who played with some of the greatest baseball 
talent of all-time in the Negro League.
  An editorial in The News Journal newspaper called this group ``a very 
diverse group of honorees--one of the most varied in its history. The 
Sports Hall of Fame now represents all sorts of sports greats--white 
people, minorities, women * * *.''
  And it is in that spirit that I want to talk about one of those 
inductees right now.
  Howard ``Tootsie'' Ferrell was a pitcher in the Negro League who once 
barnstormed with Jackie Robinson who went on the break the color 
barrier, and integrate major league baseball. Ferrell got his start 
with the Newark Eagles in 1947. For the next two seasons, he played 
with the Baltimore Elite Giants. Following in the footsteps of the 
great Jackie Robinson,

[[Page S4374]]

Ferrel's contract was purchased by the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he spent 
3 seasons in the Dodgers' farm system. A nagging injury cut Ferrell's 
baseball career short. But the real reason ``Tootsie'' Ferrell never 
got his chance to play in the majors was because of the prejudice that 
kept America's pastime segregated for so many years.
  It may be hard for younger Americans to imagine a world where the 
best African-American players were not allowed to play on the same 
field with the best white players. The first appearance of an official 
color barrier in baseball came in 1868, when the National Association 
of Baseball Players voted to bar any club that had non-white members. 
Professional baseball eventually followed suit. Sadly, by the turn 
of the century there were no black players in organized, professional 
baseball.

  But exclusion from the ``white'' leagues did not stop African-
Americans from playing the game of baseball. Instead, they formed teams 
and leagues of their own. In 1920, an African-American businessman 
named Rube Foster organized a collection of independent all-black ball 
clubs into the Negro National League. In 1923, the competing Eastern 
Colored League was formed. These two leagues operated successfully for 
years--delighting crowds, showcasing the talent of African-American 
athletes, and inspiring future generations of baseball players. A new 
Negro National League was organized in 1933, and the Negro American 
League was chartered four years later. These leagues thrived until the 
color barrier was finally shattered by Jackie Robinson. And although 
all-black teams continued to play for several years, integrated major 
league baseball eventually put the Negro Leagues out of business.
  The history of the white major leagues has been well documented. 
Unfortunately, the same is not true of the Negro Leagues. While it is 
easy to look up how many home runs Babe Ruth hit or how many batters 
the great Walter Johnston struck out, the same cannot be done for Negro 
League greats like Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. As time goes by, 
there are fewer and fewer men left who played ``the other'' game of 
baseball before the color barrier was broken. That is why it is so 
important we honor men like ``Tootsie'' Ferrell. He began his baseball 
career in a league that was separate but unequal. He saw this ugly and 
unfair color barrier disappear, just as it eventually would in other 
aspects of American society.
  I congratulate Howard ``Tootsie'' Ferrell for his achievement, and I 
commend the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame for his induction.

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