[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H1142-H1144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE LIFE OF WELLINGTON TIMOTHY MARA

  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 517) recognizing the life of Wellington Timothy 
Mara and his outstanding contributions to the New York Giants Football 
Club, the National Football League, and the United States.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 517

       Whereas Wellington Timothy Mara was born on August 14, 
     1916, in New York City;
       Whereas Wellington Mara graduated from Loyola High School 
     in New York and proceeded to Fordham University, from which 
     he graduated in 1937;
       Whereas Wellington Mara was closely involved with the 
     Fordham University football teams of 1936 through 1938, which 
     at one point won 25 straight games, and it was at Fordham 
     University that Mara befriended future National Football 
     League Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi;
       Whereas Wellington Mara was a vital participant in the New 
     York Giants Football Club since its inception and inclusion 
     in the National Football League in 1925 under the original 
     leadership of his father Timothy;
       Whereas, in 1930, Wellington Mara acquired part-ownership 
     of the New York Giants when his father divided the team 
     between Wellington Mara and his brother Jack;
       Whereas under the co-leadership of Wellington and Jack 
     Mara, the New York Giants appeared in five National Football 
     League Championship games between 1958 and 1963, and 
     Wellington Mara was in charge of accumulating the player 
     talent that engineered this remarkable accomplishment;
       Whereas, by supporting the agreement to share television 
     revenues equally among the teams of the National Football 
     League, Wellington and Jack Mara gave up significant revenue 
     for their own team, but put the National Football League on 
     the path to collective success;
       Whereas, after the untimely death of his brother Jack in 
     1965, Wellington Mara became the principal owner of the New 
     York Giants;
       Whereas, under his leadership, the New York Giants have 26 
     postseason appearances, 18 National Football League 
     divisional championships, and six National Football League 
     championships, including the Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl 
     XXV titles;

[[Page H1143]]

       Whereas the only time Mara was away from the New York 
     Giants was during World War II, when he served honorably in 
     the United States Navy in both the Atlantic and Pacific 
     theaters and earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander;
       Whereas, in addition to his outstanding leadership of the 
     New York Giants, Wellington Mara also made outstanding 
     contributions to the National Football League as a whole, 
     including serving on its Executive Committee, Hall of Fame 
     Committee, and Competition Committee;
       Whereas Wellington Mara has been inducted into the Fordham 
     Athletic Hall of Fame, and, in 2002, he was honored at the 
     Fordham Founder's dinner, which is Fordham's highest honor;
       Whereas Wellington Mara was inducted into the National 
     Football League Hall of Fame in 1997;
       Whereas Wellington Mara served his community as a member of 
     the board of the Giants Foundation, a charitable organization 
     founded by the New York Giants to provide financial and 
     social support for disadvantaged youths in the New York 
     Metropolitan Area; and
       Whereas, on October 25, 2005, Wellington Mara succumbed to 
     cancer at his home in Rye, New York: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives, on the 
     occasion of the death of Wellington Timothy Mara--
       (1) expresses its deepest condolences to his wife of 61 
     years, Ann, his 11 children, and his 40 grandchildren; and
       (2) recognizes the outstanding contributions that 
     Wellington Timothy Mara made to the New York Giants Football 
     Club, the National Football League, and the United States.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 517, introduced by 
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell). This resolution 
recognizes the life of Wellington Timothy Mara and his contributions to 
the National Football League.
  Wellington Mara was a co-owner and co-CEO of the NFL's New York 
Giants and one of the most influential and important figures in the 
history of the National Football League. The son of Timothy Mara, who 
founded the Giants organization in 1925, Mara is an alumnus of the 
Jesuit schools, Loyola School and Fordham University in New York City.
  During the early 1960s, Wellington and his brother Jack, the owners 
of the NFL's largest market, agreed to share television revenue on a 
league-wide basis, dividing the amounts of money available in cities 
like New York with smaller market teams, like the Pittsburgh Steelers 
and the Green Bay Packers. This concept of revenue sharing allowed the 
NFL to grow and is still being used today.
  Along with his many other lasting contributions to the game, Mara 
lead the Giants to six league championships, including two Super Bowls, 
nine conference championships, and 13 division championships. As an 
Eagles fan, that breaks my heart. Also, the Giants have accumulated the 
third highest number of victories in National Football League history. 
To commemorate his outstanding career, he was inducted into the Pro 
Football Hall of Fame in 1997. I urge all Members to come together to 
honor this pillar of the football community by adopting H. Res. 517.
  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, I rise in support of the resolution to recognize the 
life and accomplishments of an NFL institution, Wellington Timothy 
Mara. Mara spent nearly his entire life with the New York Giants, 
holding several positions from ball boy at the age of 9 to treasurer 
and team president.
  Professional football and the New York Giants were in Mara's blood: 
his father founded the New York Giants. Father and son built one of the 
most successful franchises in league history.
  Mara's passing this past October dealt an emotional blow to the 
Giants organization and the league at large. Mara was extremely 
involved with the team right up until his passing. He showed up at 
practice nearly every day and shared his wisdom with the players.
  Although Mara was associated most intimately with the Giants, it was 
more than his dedication to the Giants that led to his induction into 
the Professional Football Hall of Fame. In the 1960s, when the Giants 
earned a dominant portion of television revenues garnered by 
professional football, Wellington and his brother Jack made the 
generous decision to split television revenues with poor-performing 
teams. This revenue division allowed teams in smaller markets to stay 
afloat until a substantial fan base and the development of a nationwide 
television market would enable these teams to stand on their own feet. 
If it were not for the generosity of the Mara family, the National 
Football League would not be where it is today.
  Mara will be missed by many and was mourned by his family, his team, 
and the entire National Football League. A demonstration of the loss 
was witnessed when the Giants honored Mara by winning a decisive game 
over the Washington Redskins the same week of his passing.
  Mr. Speaker, I am in support of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the sponsor of 
the resolution.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Davis, 
Ranking Member Waxman, Mr. Dent, and Mr. Davis for their help in 
bringing this resolution honoring the life of Wellington Mara to the 
floor.
  This is not about sports, though. This is about a gentleman in sports 
who lived his life on and off the field as an outstanding American. 
With the retirement of Paul Tagliabue as the commissioner of the NFL, I 
hope this is not an era that is passing because this is an era which 
was an inspiration to all professional sports, and we will miss them 
all.
  I rise today in strong support of this resolution honoring Mr. Mara, 
a fellow Fordham University alumnus who passed away just a short time 
ago at the age of 89. He is survived by his wonderful wife, Ann, four 
sons, seven daughters, 41 grandchildren, and the family has been 
recently blessed with his first great grandchild. He was not always on 
the football field.
  To football fans of the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, Mara 
is synonymous with our beloved New York Giants, the team he owned for 
most of his life. Born in the city on August 14, 1916, Mara was 
introduced to professional football at an early age, as was just stated 
a few times.
  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 this 9-year-old young man 
realized how tough football is, and fell in love with the game forever.
  In 1930, Timothy Mara, Wellington's father, gave the team to his two 
sons. Jack was 22 years of age, and Wellington was 14. That is pretty 
remarkable. He became the youngest owner in the league. In the late 
1930s, Wellington Mara attended Fordham University, my alma mater. That 
was when Fordham had a proud team, a team that went on to great 
heights: the seven blocks of granite, Vince Lombardi. He befriended 
Vince Lombardi.
  Upon graduation, Mara joined the New York Giants as a full-time 
member of the team. With his brother in charge of the business, 
Wellington soon took control of all player personnel decisions. That is 
why even though there have been many problems in the NFL, like many 
sports, there is something very different about the National Football 
League. It is a family operation and the more it becomes that, the more 
we avoid the problems and pitfalls we have seen in organized sports.

[[Page H1144]]

  He integrated the Giants at a time when much of the league remained 
all white. He drafted running back Frank Gifford and offensive tackle 
Roosevelt Brown and then traded for quarterback Y.A. Tittle, all future 
Hall of Famers. He was the architect of the dominant Giant teams of 
1958-1963. No one surpassed him, paralleled perhaps by Dan Rooney of 
the Pittsburgh Steelers.
  During World War II, Mara briefly left his beloved Giants and joined 
the Navy. He served in the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters. He earned 
the rank of lieutenant commander. He returned to the Giants following 
the war.

                              {time}  1515

  In the early 1960s the Giants were the most valuable franchise in the 
league, and television was the next great revenue stream. You have 
already heard, Mr. Chairman, how we shared the revenue to make sure 
that the league survived.
  In the late 1970s, Mara further strengthened the team by hiring 
George Young as the general manager, who became the architect of the 
dominant Giant teams of the late 1980s.
  All told, in Mara's 81 years, 81 years with one football team, they 
appeared in 26 post seasons, won 16 division championships and six NFL 
titles. Those six championships represent the third most, as my friend 
from Pennsylvania pointed out.
  In 1972, Fordham University inducted Mara into the Athletic Hall of 
Fame, and in 2002, he was honored at the Fordham Founders Dinner, the 
university's highest honor.
  In 1997, Mara was introduced into the National Football League Hall 
of Fame, an honor he reluctantly accepted. He believed that since 
players and coaches made the game great, the Hall of Fame should be 
reserved for them and not for owners.
  Mara was so highly regarded by his fellow owners that just yesterday 
the National Football League renamed their official game ball ``The 
Duke,'' the nickname given to Mara as a child by the New York Giants 
players.
  I am proud to have authored House Resolution 517 honoring the life 
and work of Wellington Timothy Mara. I respectfully urge my colleagues 
join me and support the passage of this resolution of not only a great 
football player, great owner, but a darn great human being.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory and legacy 
of Wellington Mara, former co-owner of the National Football League's 
New York Giants franchise and League businessman extraordinaire, and in 
support of Congressman Pascrell's resolution recognizing the life of 
Wellington Mara and his outstanding contributions to the New York 
Giants football club, the National Football League and the United 
States of America.
  Wellington Timothy Mara was a man among men. Wellington Mara was a 
man whose entire lifetime was dedicated to the National Football League 
and his family-owned Giants. Mara, who was given the nickname ``The 
Duke'' as a youngster by Giants players, joined the Giants in 1937 as a 
part-time assistant to the president, started working full-time in 1938 
as a club secretary and later served as vice president before becoming 
the team's president after the death of his brother, Jack.
  Mara's extensive experience in organization, player personnel, 
trading and drafting helped produce 16 NFL/NFC divisional titles (two 
came after his induction into the Hall of Fame) and four NFL 
championships during his 68-season tenure that began with his 
graduation from Fordham in 1937. He engineered trades throughout the 
League solidifying deals with such stars as Frank Gifford and Roosevelt 
Brown--both future Hall of Famers--to mold the Giants into a dominant 
team in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
  From 1956 to 1963, the Giants won six divisional championships and 
the 1956 NFL title. Mara's Giants went on to win Super Bowls XXI and 
XXV.
  From 1984 to 2005, he served as president of the National Football 
Conference. He was inducted into the National Football League Hall of 
Fame in 1997 and into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame.
  In spite of a busy, grueling schedule Wellington Mara always found 
time to serve his community as a member of the board of the Giants 
Foundation, a charitable organization founded by the New York Giants to 
provide financial and social support for disadvantaged youths in the 
New York Metropolitan Area.
  Wellington Mara, who was born on August 14, 1916, in New York City, 
was respected as one of the most knowledgeable executives in pro 
football. He passed away on October 25, 2005. He leaves to cherish his 
memory his wife, Ann, his 11 children and his 40 grandchildren. He also 
leaves a legion of devoted admirers, friends and colleagues.
  The NFL game ball was known as ``The Duke'' from 1941 to 1969. The 
NFL first used a ball in honor of Mara at the suggestion of Chicago 
Bears owner George Halas, who along with Tim Mara, Wellington's father, 
arranged for Wilson to become the league's supplier of game balls. 
``The Duke'' ball was discontinued before the start of the 1970 season. 
The NFL owners recently voted unanimously to bring back ``The Duke'' 
game ball with the logo written on all game-day footballs.
  I believe it is more than befitting that the National Football League 
pay tribute to the memory of this outstanding gentleman by bringing 
back ``The Duke'' football named in his honor and that this House pay 
him tribute with the passage of this Resolution today.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution to 
honor Wellington Timothy Mara.
  Mr. Mara, a longtime constituent of mine from Westchester County, was 
a pioneer in the sports world who has left an indelible mark on the 
National Football League.
  Having been closely associated with the New York Giants since its 
inception in 1925 and having assumed partial ownership of the team at 
the age of 14, Wellington Mara played a critical role in helping the 
Giants become one of the cornerstone franchises of the NFL. Under his 
leadership, the Giants achieved greatness--26 postseason appearances, 
18 divisional championships, and six league championships, including 
two Super Bowl victories.
  In his almost 80 years associated with the Giants, Wellington Mara 
attended almost every Giants practice and home game until falling ill 
last spring. In fact, the only extended time he ever spent away from 
the team was in brave service to his country. While serving in the Navy 
during World War II, Wellington Mara proudly achieved the rank of 
Lieutenant Commander while serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific 
theaters.
  It was Wellington Mara's vision and leadership in the 1960's that may 
provide the most lasting impact on the NFL. His willingness to share 
television revenue from the largest television market with smaller 
market teams enabled a balanced economic playing field which continues 
in the NFL today.
  In addition to his leadership in the NFL, Wellington Mara was a 
generous, caring man whose compassion can be summed up in one phrase: 
once a Giant, always a Giant. He was well known for providing medical 
care for current and former players and their families, including 
finding doctors and covering their medical expenses. Additionally he 
often kept advisors and scouts on payroll long after their service to 
the team ended, simply as a means of showing appreciation for their 
service.
  Simply put, Wellington Mara was football in America. A member of the 
NFL's founding generation, Mara served on the NFL's Executive 
Committee, Hall of Fame Committee, and Competition Committee and was 
elected to the Hall of Fame himself in 1997.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to offer my condolences to the entire Mara 
family, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at the moment, and 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the adoption of 
House Resolution 517.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bradley of New Hampshire). The question 
is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent) 
that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 
517.
  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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