[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 139 (Thursday, October 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE LIFE AND WORKS OF 
                            WELLINGTON MARA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 26, 2005

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of fellow 
Fordham University alumnus Wellington Timothy Mara, who succumbed to 
cancer yesterday at the age of 89. To football fans in the New York/New 
Jersey Metropolitan Area, Mara is synonymous with our beloved New York 
Giants, and has been for decades.
  Born in New York City on August 14, 1916, Mara was introduced to 
professional football in 1925, when his father purchased the rights to 
establish a team in New York. It was that year that Mara had his first 
job with the Giants, as a ball boy. He would later recount a story from 
that inaugural season of overhearing head coach Robert Folwell telling 
his team to ``give them hell out there.'' It was at that moment that 9-
year-old Mara realized what a tough game football must be, and fell in 
love with the game forever.
  In 1930, Timothy Mara, Wellington's father, gave the team to his two 
sons, Jack, 22, and Wellington, who was just 14. He became the youngest 
owner in the league.
  In the late 1930's, Wellington Mara attended Fordham University. By 
now an avid football fan, Mara befriended many of the university's 
football players. At that time, Fordham was a formidable national 
powerhouse, at one point winning 25 straight games. It was here Mara 
befriended legendary player, coach and fellow NFL Hall of Famer Vince 
Lombardi.
  Upon graduation in 1937, Mara joined the New York Giants operation 
full-time. With his brother in charge of the business, Wellington Mara 
soon took control of the player personnel decisions. In this role he 
drafted or traded for some of the all time great NFL players. He 
integrated the Giants at a time when much of the league remained all-
white. He drafted running back Frank Gifford and Roosevelt Brown and 
traded for quarterback Y.A. Tittle, all future Hall of Famers. He was 
the architect of the dominant Giants teams of 1958-1963 when they 
appeared in five NFL championship games, winning one championship. The 
first of these championship appearances in 1958 is known as ``the 
greatest game ever played,'' against the Baltimore Colts, the NFL's 
first ever sudden death overtime in a championship game.
  During World War II Mara joined the United States Navy. He served 
honorably in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, earning the rank 
of Lieutenant Commander.
  In the early 1960's, Jack and Wellington Mara agreed to give up 
lucrative television revenue and allow it to be equally split among all 
NFL teams. As the owners of the most valuable team in the league at the 
time, their decision to put the good of the entire league above their 
self-interest set the league on a path to the enormous prosperity it is 
enjoying today.

  When the Giants hit lean times during the 1970's, Mara placed most of 
the blame on himself. To respond he hired George Young as General 
Manager, who then was the architect of the dominant Giants' teams of 
the late 1980's. These teams won Super Bowl XXI (1987) and Super Bowl 
XXV (1991). Young won five NFL Executive of the Year awards in his 19 
seasons with the Giants.
  All told, in Mara's 81 years with the Giants, they appeared in 26 
postseasons, won 16 division championships and six NFL titles. Those 
six championships represent the third most of any franchise, behind 
only the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears.
  In addition to his service to the Giants, Mara also worked hard for 
the league as a whole to ensure collective prosperity. He served on the 
league's Competition Committee, the Hall of Fame Committee, and the 
Executive Committee, including a term as chairman from 1971-1977. He 
has been widely lauded by his fellow owners for his invaluable service 
to the league.
  In 1971-72, Fordham University inducted Mara into their Athletic Hall 
of Fame. Mara has continued his close ties to the university throughout 
his life, and in 2002 he was honored at the Fordham Founder's dinner, 
the university's highest honor.
  In 1997 Mara was inducted into the National Football League Hall of 
Fame, an honor he reluctantly accepted. He was a strong advocate of 
leaving the Hall of Fame for just players and coaches, insisting it was 
they, and not owners, who made the game great.
  Wellington Mara served his community as a member of the board of the 
Giants Foundation, a charitable organization founded by the New York 
Giants involved with providing financial and social support for 
disadvantaged youth in the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan Area.
  Mr. Speaker, I would 1ike to offer my deepest condolences to his wife 
of 61 years Ann, his 11 children and 40 grandchildren.
  Today I am proud to have introduced a House Resolution honoring the 
life and work of Wellington Timothy Mara. I respectfully urge that all 
my colleagues join me in paying our respects, and offer their support 
for this resolution.

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