[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 114 (Wednesday, September 5, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GEORGE KHOURY ASSOCIATION OF 
                            BASEBALL LEAGUES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 5, 2001

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing the 65th Anniversary of the George Khoury Association 
of Baseball Leagues.
  The Khoury Leagues have been working since the summer of 1936, when 
the late George Khoury and his wife Dorothy, organized and sponsored 
two leagues of youngsters in their neighborhood. The original group 
consisted of eight teams that played their games on a lot in south St. 
Louis, Missouri.
  What started as a just a neighborhood league, has since grown into a 
national network of thousands of Khoury League teams extending into 
many states and several countries. Now in its sixth decade, the Khoury 
Association is a non-profit, non-denominational organization of 
affiliated circuits or leagues.
  The national office, based in St. Louis, Missouri, provides supplies 
and materials needed to coordinate and organize local leagues. However, 
each community that participates elects its own officers and runs their 
own operations.
  There is no financial profit in the Khoury Association, only the 
profit of clean fun and the character building recreation received by 
the children who participate. The Khoury League Association was the 
first to offer an organized program for children five to seven years of 
age in four age groups. They pioneered the use of baseball diamonds 
reduced in size for each age group. They also were the first to have 
post season playoffs for all teams with others of equal standings in 
their respective leagues. They are older than Little League baseball, 
the Babe Ruth League, and other organizations which have used the 
Khoury Association as a model.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 65th 
Anniversary of the George Khoury Association of Baseball Leagues and to 
honor the many past, present, and future participants in their 
programs.

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