[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 111 (Thursday, September 5, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1520-E1521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          A TRIBUTE TO THE HARLEM BIG ``LITTLE LEAGUE'' HEROES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 5, 2002

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great pride in their 
achievement to pay tribute to and recognize Harlem's national famous 
Little League team.
  In an historic achievement Harlem's Little League made the Harlem 
community and the United States proud when they successfully placed 
third in the Little League World Series. Coming from diverse ethnic 
backgrounds, the team pulled together and progressed to the semi-finals 
of the Little League Series, a notable achievement for a team which up 
to this year had not made the playoffs. On August 27, 2002, the team 
came home to a first-class victory celebration in which I was pleased 
and proud to participate.
  I hope that these kids have once again taught us that we can come 
together as a community and understand that anything is possible. And, 
today it is my pleasure to bring the Harlem Little League's achievement 
to the attention of my colleagues.

                [Fron the New York Post, Aug. 27, 2002]

                       Harlem Heroes Safe at Home

                          (By Lorena Mongelli)

       Harlem's small-fry slugger heroes got a major-league 
     welcome home yesterday by hundreds of rooting relatives and 
     frenzied fans, who admitted they never expected the team to 
     make it as far as it did in the Little League World Series.
       ``They never really said that winning was what they were 
     all about--;but this team came back as winners,'' U.S. Rep. 
     Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) crowed amid the cheering crowd at 
     Marcus Garvey Park on 122nd Street.
       Moms and dads furiously shook pompoms, friends waved signs 
     and dozens of people broke into chants of ``Go Harlem!'' as 
     the bus carrying the team pulled into the park around 4 p.m. 
     and let off the local champs, who made it to the series 
     semifinals.
       The somewhat-sheepish players said they were surprised by 
     all the hoopla--;but not exactly complaining about it. ``I 
     didn't know there were going to be all these people here--;it 
     feels good,'' star pitcher Alibay Barkley said.
       Third baseman Andrew Diaz, 12, added: ``We gave something 
     to Harlem to make them feel proud. I feel like a champ. I 
     didn't expect all these people to come and show their 
     support.''

[[Page E1521]]

       Beaming coach Morris McWilliams noted the kids' varied 
     backgrounds--;and how they pulled together to pull off a 
     third-place finish.
       ``I hope that through all this, we can come together to 
     understand that anything is possible,'' McWilliams said.

     

                          ____________________