[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H272-H274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING JOHN STOCKTON

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 274) honoring John Stockton for an outstanding 
career, congratulating him on his retirement,

[[Page H273]]

and thanking him for his contributions to basketball, to the State of 
Utah, and to the Nation.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 274

       Whereas John Stockton is the all-time leader in assists in 
     the history of the National Basketball Association;
       Whereas Stockton ranks among the top point guards in 
     basketball and was selected in 1996 as one of the ``50 
     Greatest Players in National Basketball Association 
     History'';
       Whereas Stockton is the league's all-time leader in steals, 
     ending his career with an incredible 3,265 steals;
       Whereas Stockton loyally played all 19 of his NBA seasons 
     with the Utah Jazz in an era dominated by free agency and 
     propelled his team to the NBA playoffs during each of those 
     years;
       Whereas Stockton won two gold medals as a member of the 
     United States men's basketball ``Dream Team'' in the 1992 
     Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta;
       Whereas Stockton has been a perennial All-Star, All-NBA 
     selection, and has made the NBA All-Defensive Team three 
     times;
       Whereas Stockton's commitment to being part of a team made 
     him successful both on the court and off as a dedicated 
     husband to his wife, Nada, and father to his six children;
       Whereas Stockton's sportsmanship and commitment to 
     basketball made him a hero to millions of Americans, 
     especially those in his dual hometowns, Salt Lake City, Utah 
     and Spokane, Washington;
       Whereas Stockton had a reputation as a true team player who 
     brought out the best in his teammates; and
       Whereas, on June 7, 2003, tens of thousands of fans 
     attended a retirement celebration in Salt Lake City, Utah: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) honors John Stockton for an outstanding career;
       (2) congratulates John Stockton on his retirement; and
       (3) thanks John Stockton for his contributions to 
     basketball, to the State of Utah, and to the Nation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H. Res. 274.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Connecticut?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 274 honors John Stockton for a truly 
outstanding career and congratulates him on his retirement.
  This body generally spends very little time honoring basketball 
players, but today we honor a player who truly deserves extra 
commemoration.
  When he retired last summer from the National Basketball 
Association's Utah Jazz, John Stockton finished his career as the 
league's all time leader in both assists and steals. Astonishingly, he 
totaled 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals during his Hall of Fame-caliber 
career. He was a 10-time NBA All Star and a member of the first and 
second ``Dream Teams,'' the gold medal-winning 1992 and 1996 U.S. 
Olympic men's basketball teams.
  Stockton played 19 years for the Utah Jazz, which is also an all-time 
NBA record for most years played for one franchise. Even more 
remarkable than his longevity and loyalty, he helped lead the Jazz into 
the playoffs following every one of his 19 NBA seasons.
  Along with his record of most overall assists, 15,806, Stockton holds 
the record for most assists in a season, 1,164, and the highest assist 
average in a season, 14.5 per game. He is second all-time to Magic 
Johnson in assists per game during a career with 10.5. He once 
distributed 28 assists in one game. In a 48-minute ball game, that is 
nearly unthinkable. In comparison, the current NBA leader in assists 
averages under 10 per game.
  As I mentioned, Stockton is also the NBA's all-time leader in steals 
with 3,265. He recorded over 700 more steals during his NBA tenure than 
the second place player had, a gentleman by the name of Michael Jordan.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this House to congratulate one of the NBA's most 
outstanding players ever, John Stockton, on the occasion of his 
retirement from the NBA, and I thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. 
Matheson) for his work to honor John Stockton.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, when John Stockton broke the career record for assists, 
9,922, the owner of his team, the Utah Jazz, suggested he should set 
his career goal at 15,000. Such an idea was laughable, even 
preposterous to some. John Stockton, though, retired at the end of the 
2002 and 2003 season with 15,806 career assists.
  Success in American professional sports is often defined by 
statistics. Mr. Stockton is a match for anyone. In addition to being 
the NBA's all-time leader in assists with more than 50 percent more 
than the next highest player, Stockton also holds the league record for 
steals in a career with more than 3,200.

                              {time}  1600

  He is a 10-time all star and was selected as one of the 50 greatest 
players in NBA history.
  What sets John Stockton apart from most athletes, however, is his 
sense of team. Mr. Stockton played for 19 seasons. And due in large 
part to his excellence, the Jazz made the playoffs in every one of 
those seasons. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. No player spent 
as many years in games with only one team. And, remember, those 15,000 
assists means 15,000 easy baskets for his teammates. That is not bad, 
especially since Stockton was considered too small to succeed when he 
was drafted out of Gonzaga in 1984.
  John Stockton is such a consummate team player that it is almost 
impossible to talk about him without also mentioning Karl Malone, 
Stockton's teammate and partner for 18 seasons. Malone's status as the 
NBA's second all-time leading scorer is directly attributable to the 
thousands of passes Stockton threw him over the years. In June, when 
Stockton retired, Malone gave this testimonial to his teammate, and I 
quote: ``I hope and I pray people here realize a couple of things,'' 
said Malone. ``There absolutely, positively will never, ever be another 
John Stockton. Ever. He gave me more than I gave him.''
  Stockton is also a family man, a father of six. He is the sort of man 
who once signed a contract for millions less than he would have 
received on the open market so that he could secure ice time at Salt 
Lake City's Delta Center for his 7-year-old son's hockey team. In an 
era when far too many athletes and other public figures put selfish 
motives and personal glory foremost in their actions, a consummate 
teammate, unselfish player, and quiet superstar like John Stockton is 
well deserving of this resolution in his honor. He is indeed a role 
model to be emulated by others along the way.
  The gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson), who is the sponsor of this 
resolution, had wanted to be here but, unfortunately, could not get 
back in time to speak, so, Mr. Speaker, he will submit his statement 
into the Record at the appropriate point.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop).
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank my two colleagues, the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson), for introducing this resolution and 
the dean of our delegation (Mr. Cannon), for working with the majority 
leadership for the timing and the scheduling of this particular 
resolution.
  I do not intend to pretend that I was a close personal friend of the 
Stocktons, but I did have several occasions to be with them, usually on 
public occasions. The one that I remember the clearest was sharing the 
owner's box at the opening game of the new triple A baseball stadium 
that we have in Salt Lake City. At that time, Mr. Stockton was there 
with his wife and his young family. One of the reporters from the Salt 
Lake paper came up and begged for a picture of the entire family to use 
on the society page for the beginning of this baseball season. John 
Stockton refused. He refused to have a picture of his family, his wife 
and his little kids there, because he did not want to expose his family 
to the kind of publicity that goes along with professional

[[Page H274]]

sports and professional athletes. I was impressed with that.
  The second thing about that entire evening that I was impressed with, 
that even though I thought it was a wonderful baseball game, as all 
baseball games are, even though it was fascinating, when it hit a 
certain time, even though there were still three innings to go, he 
insisted on leaving because it was bedtime for his three kids, and the 
most important thing for him was not his public persona, but that his 
family had a commitment. I was impressed with that.
  It is difficult or unusual at any time to have any kind of honor for 
John Stockton without mentioning Karl Malone along with it, but in this 
case I think we will have to wait until Mr. Malone retires until that 
honor continues on, and then we will probably have to share that with 
most of the California delegation at the same time.
  But on the retirement of John Stockton, I am proud of him because he 
established those old-fashioned values of hard work and commitment to 
family ahead of himself, a commitment to others ahead of himself, which 
is why he is the all-time assist leader. And it shows the personality 
that this gentleman has, and what he has done as a symbol and also as 
somebody we can emulate in the State of Utah. We appreciate his efforts 
on behalf of the Utah Jazz, especially what he has done as a symbol of 
a sports figure who does everything right, and his commitment to 
bringing standards of personal integrity to the world of athletics. I 
appreciate this opportunity to just voice my support of this particular 
resolution for a fine gentleman.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble). I do not know why a 
gentleman from North Carolina wants to speak on this issue, so I am 
going to be waiting to hear his every word.
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the nutmeg land of 
Connecticut for yielding me this time.
  I am not sure how I became a fan, but I will say this: the words 
``Stockton to Malone'' are synonymous words with winning basketball. 
And to watch those two guys play was not unlike, I say to the gentleman 
from Connecticut, watching a ballet. I mean Malone would haul down the 
rebound, dish off to Stockton, Stockton would very methodically and 
effectively move the ball into the front court and then, before you 
know it, the ball from Stockton back to Malone, and then Malone buried 
the shot. It was winning basketball, and it was unselfish basketball.
  My good friend, the chairman of the Senate Committee on the 
Judiciary, Mr. Speaker, Senator Orrin Hatch, knows that I am a Jazz 
fan. He said one day, Howard, I am going to get you out there as my 
guest. Well, it was not the Senator's fault, nor was it my fault, but 
we never got to go. Now, as a result of that, Malone has gone to 
another team, and Stockton has retired. And when you procrastinate, I 
say to the gentleman from Connecticut, it comes back to bite you. It 
was no one's fault.
  Finally, and I do not mean this to be a negative note, but many Jazz 
fans, including yours truly, believe that a no-call in a game that 
involved, I believe the Chicago Bulls and the Jazz, to what most Jazz 
fans conclude was an obvious foul, with which I am in agreement, but it 
was not called, the whistle did not sound. And I think the Bulls went 
on to win that game. Ugh, you are right; ``ugh'' is correct. And many 
Jazz fans to this day relive that no-call, as I do.
  But what a great tribute to a great basketball player. My friend 
mentioned Stockton's many attributes. I think he is the all-time leader 
in steals and assists, destined for the Hall of Fame, I am sure. But I 
commend my colleagues for doing this resolution for John Stockton. I 
hope the gentleman from Connecticut now knows why I am a Jazz fan.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I do know. I was touched by the gentleman's 
comments. But I feel that the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), who 
yielded back time, may want to be yielded some time to talk about that 
no-call and explain what the heck happened, so I yield such time as he 
may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) to explain how 
the Bulls won that game.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, what was happening is that the 
Bulls were moving so fast until the referee just could not see what was 
happening.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for explaining why that 
call was never made.
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the achievements of 
John Stockton, one of the greatest basketball players in the history of 
the sport. I would like to thank the leadership and the committee for 
their consideration of this bipartisan resolution, which I had the 
honor of introducing along with my colleague from Washington, Mr. 
Nethercutt.
  John Stockton and his nineteen years with the Utah Jazz are forever 
linked in the memories of countless fans, both in my home state of Utah 
and throughout the nation. Stockton's outstanding career and the 
example he set for young people in this country did us all proud.
  When Stockton announced his retirement at the end of the 2002-2003 
season, tens of thousands of fans attended a celebration in his honor 
at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City last June. Not only were they 
celebrating his achievements as a player, these fans turned out to 
thank John Stockton for his loyalty to the Utah Jazz in an era 
dominated by free agency.
  As the all-time leader in assists in the NBA's history, John Stockton 
always put his team first. He was also the league's all-time leader in 
steals, ending his career with an amazing 3,265 steals and he was 
selected in 1996 as one of the 50 Greatest Players in National 
Basketball Association History.'
  John Stockton gave fans everywhere someone to emulate both on and off 
the basketball court, especially those in his dual hometowns, Salt Lake 
City, Utah and Spokane, Washington. Stockton's commitment to his 
family, to the community, and to the states of Utah and Washington are 
to be commended and honored.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, so I yield back the 
balance of my time and ask for a positive vote on this very important 
resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gilchrest). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) that the 
House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 274.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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