[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 33 (Thursday, March 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE 1000TH VICTORY OF COACH RON POLK

                                 ______
                                 

                   HON. CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 17, 2005

  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker; on February 25, Coach Ron Polk achieved 
another impressive milestone at Mississippi State University. With the 
Bulldogs defeat of the Eastern Illinois Panthers in a 3-1 game, Coach 
Polk marked his 1000th win in 26 seasons at Mississippi State 
University.
  Before a crowd of about 2,400 fans in the Polk-DeMent Stadium--which 
honors Coach Polk--the Bulldogs won their season opener and then 
celebrated this Mississippi State icon at a post game ceremony. Coach 
Polk, in his usual humble and humorous manner told reporters on scene, 
``It's just a number. All 1,000 wins means is that you haven't died yet 
and you've coached a long time. We have some really great players here 
but I haven't had time to reflect back on that success yet.'' Bulldog 
pitcher Alan Johnson said, ``We didn't feel any added pressure. Coach 
Polk didn't mention it to us one time. However, we knew we were at 999, 
going for the big win. It feels good to win the first game but it also 
feels really good to be a part of Coach Polk's 1000th win.''
  Coach Polk is the all-time most winning coach in Southeastern 
Conference history and began the 2004 season as Number 12 among 
Division I's all-time coaching ranks. His record now stands at 1234-
602-2 in 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach and 1000-490-2 in 26 
seasons at Mississippi State. He has twice been honored as the National 
Coach of the Year (1973 and 1985) and was also honored by his peers as 
the recipient of the ABCA's Lefty Gomez Award. Coach Polk has earned 
his place in the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame (1995), the 
State of Mississippi and the Mississippi State University Sports Hall 
of Fame (1998), and the Georgia Southern University Hall of Fame 
(1990). He also rates as one of only three head coaches in the history 
of college baseball to guide three different schools to the NCAA 
College World Series.
  Ron Polk authored ``The Baseball Playbook'', the Nation's leading 
college textbook for baseball, and is featured in a recently published 
book, ``6 Psychological Factors for Success: America's Most Successful 
Coaches Reveal the Path to Competitive Excellence.''
  Coach Polk has also been actively involved with coaching in 
international baseball. He has completed seven tours as a member of the 
coaching staff for the U.S.A National Baseball Team, twice serving as 
the head coach (1991 and 1998) and five times as assistant coach. Two 
of his teams represented the United States in the Olympic Games. He was 
an assistant coach on the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the 1988 
Olympics and on the bronze medal-winning U.S. team in the 1996 
Olympics. Coach Polk has also skippered Mississippi State teams in 
international competition including a goodwill summer tour of West 
Germany in 1976 and in 1982 and competition at the World Amateur 
Tournament in the Netherlands.
  And Mr. Speaker, these numbers and records and achievements do not 
include his 1997 victory as Honorary Coach of the Republicans in the 
Annual Congressional Baseball Game, which I will remind my colleagues, 
we won. I take this opportunity to salute and honor Coach Polk's 
achievements at this 1000 MSU win milestone. As this and other seasons 
continue, I know we will see the steady hand and experienced leadership 
of Coach Ron Polk. He is the lead spokesman for baseball at Mississippi 
State University, and beyond, the king of college baseball.

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