[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 42 (Wednesday, April 5, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H1494-H1495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 COACH JOHN WOODEN POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 4646) to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 7320 Reseda Boulevard in Reseda, California, 
as the ``Coach John Wooden Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4646

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. JOHN WOODEN POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 7320 Reseda Boulevard in Reseda, 
     California, shall be known and designated as the ``Coach John 
     Wooden Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Coach John Wooden Post Office 
     Building''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. WESTMORELAND. 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 bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4646, offered by the 
distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman). This bill would 
designate the postal facility in Reseda, California, as the Coach John 
Wooden Post Office Building.
  John Wooden is often referred to as the most successful coach in 
college basketball history. At UCLA, Mr. Wooden's team scaled 
unprecedented heights. The Bruins set all-time records with four 
perfect 30-0 seasons, 88 consecutive victories, 38 straight NCAA 
tournament victories, 20 PAC-10 championships, and 10 national 
championships in which seven of these championship victories were won 
consecutively.
  Considered one of the finest teachers the game has ever known, Coach 
Wooden's approach was centered on conditioning, skill, and teamwork. 
Coach Wooden's principles both on and off the court dictated his 
success in creating what is certainly the greatest dynasty in 
basketball history. I urge all Members to honor this dedicated and 
inspiring teacher by passing H.R. 4646. And I want to wish Coach Wooden 
a speedy recovery and a return back to his home.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might 
consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), the author of 
this resolution.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is fitting as we have concluded March 
Madness, the NCAA Championship playoff for men's basketball, that we 
reflect upon the great success of a man I think is the greatest coach 
of all time in any sport. That is the Wizard of Westwood, Coach John 
Wooden, a man who meant so much to basketball players, fans, to sport 
in general, to our society, and especially to us in his home area, the 
San Fernando Valley.
  I attended UCLA and graduated in 1975. I was there for 3 years. And 
in just my 3 years, I saw in the 1972-1973 season a 30-0 record, 
National Championship, and Coach John Wooden named Coach of the Year.
  Then in my next year at UCLA, Coach John Wooden achieved a record of 
26-4, reached the semi-finals in the national tournament, and coached 
the great Bill Walton in his final season. And then finally, not in 
Bill Walton's final season, but in Coach John Wooden's final season at 
UCLA, 1974-1975, a record of 28-3, and a National Championship. What a 
way to end a coaching career; a coaching career that included ten 
National Championships.
  Now, as the gentleman pointed out, Coach John Wooden was hospitalized 
just a few days ago. He watched the UCLA team come in second in the 
nation from his hospital bed. But I am pleased to report that he is to 
be discharged from the hospital today and has been given a basically 
clean bill of health. I hope very much that he is watching us either as 
he is about to leave the hospital or as he has just returned home to 
his home in Encino.
  Coach John Wooden was the first individual inducted to the Basketball 
Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach, and in fact, only three 
individuals to date have been so inducted. He is now 95 years old, has 
been a resident of my district for the 10 years that I have served with 
Congress, and for far longer than that.
  He was born in 1910. He went on to Purdue University, where in 1932, 
he was National Player of the Year and led his team, the Boilermakers, 
to the National Championship.
  In the 1940s, he came to us at UCLA, having first served his country 
as lieutenant in World War II. There at UCLA, he led us to 10 National 
Championships, including 7 in a row. Under his tutelage, UCLA had 7 
perfect 30-0 seasons and won 19 conference championships. His teams 
once won 88 games in a row, the longest streak in basketball history 
and I believe the longest streak in any major sport. He also won a 
record 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games.
  Wooden was the NCAA Basketball Coach of the Year six times. He was 
named Man of the Year By Sporting News in 1970, and by Sports 
Illustrated in 1973. When he reached retirement at UCLA in 1975, his 
total record was 620 wins versus 147 losses.
  But his leadership was not just on the court. He inspired so many by 
his testament to leadership, to success, to dedication, and to 
sportsmanship. He wrote several books, including Wooden On Leadership, 
also including My Personal Best: Life Lessons From An All-American 
Journey, and even a children's book, Inches and Miles: the

[[Page H1495]]

Journey to Success. He was famous for his Pyramid of Success which 
inspired so many in their adult lives to focus on team spirit, 
competitiveness, and teamwork.
  In conclusion, I cannot think of a better way to honor Coach John 
Wooden in the San Fernando Valley than naming a Federal building in 
Reseda, the Reseda Post Office, after Coach John Wooden. Reseda is the 
community located immediately adjacent to Coach John Wooden's home 
community of Encino.
  Just a few years ago, we named the Encino Post Office after another 
basketball luminary, Chick Hearn, the most famous basketball 
broadcaster of all time. And so now we will have two post offices 
located just a few miles apart honoring the two greatest basketball 
names in the history of the San Fernando Valley. Coach John Wooden's 
daughter, Nancy, lives in Reseda with her husband, as does his 
grandson-in-law Paul, who was recently honored at a celebration that I 
was able to attend--the Walk of Hearts, where we honor in Canoga Park 
the great teachers of the San Fernando Valley. Of course, just a few 
years earlier, the first teacher so honored was Coach John Wooden 
himself.
  Coach John Wooden means so much to our area, so much to sports fans 
around the country and around the world. I thank the gentleman for 
yielding me time and I think we should move forward with this bill.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. 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, as a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I 
am pleased to join with my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 4646, 
legislation naming a postal facility in Reseda, California after Coach 
Wooden. This measure which was introduced by Representative Sherman on 
December 18, 2005, and unanimously reported by our committee on March 
30, 2006, enjoys the support and co-sponsorship of the entire 
California delegation.
  John Wooden, a native of Indiana, actually began his love of the game 
by playing basketball at Martinsville High School in Martinsville, 
Indiana. He was an All-State selection in high school and an All-
American guard at Purdue University.
  After graduating from Purdue, he became a high school teacher and 
coach, gaining a record of 218 to 42 as a high school coach. After 
serving in World War II, John Wooden took a coaching position at 
Indiana State University prior to becoming the head coach at the 
University of California at Los Angeles.
  Well, we have heard all the things that he did in California, but 
those of us who were not from California were actual admirers of John 
Wooden through the whole period of watching him direct his teams, 
knowing that in all likelihood they were going to win, that it was 
virtually impossible to defeat them. So I can understand the kind of 
feeling that Representative Sherman and all of the people of that great 
area where he lived and spent the last days of his life, and still is 
there, and he is, indeed, an icon.
  So I join with you, Mr. Sherman, in urging passage of this 
resolution, and I commend you for bringing it before us and putting it 
before the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), another great coach that 
this country has known.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Mr. Sherman for 
bringing this legislation to the floor.
  I just wanted to say a couple of words about Coach Wooden. I have 
known him personally and I understand he has been ill. I hope he is 
watching today. Of course everyone has discussed his record, the seven 
straight national championships and 10 national championships in 12 
years, which is remarkable, 88 straight wins. But the thing I thought I 
would mention is that the most significant thing that I know about John 
Wooden is not his record, but it is rather the way he went about 
achieving that record.
  One thing that I picked up from him that was invaluable to me as a 
coach was that he never talked to his players about winning. You would 
think in a business that is so keyed to winning that you would 
frequently mention the word winning, but he never did. He always talked 
about process. He always talked about how you went about achieving 
excellence, starting with the way you put your socks on, the way you 
shot free throws, the way you passed the ball. He was a tremendous 
detail person, a great emphasis on fundamentals.
  One quote that he had in one of his books that I thought was 
significant was he talked about Cervantes. Cervantes mentioned that the 
journey is more important than the end. What he was saying was that it 
is not the final destination but it is how you get there. Of course, we 
are in a business here that is very end, very goal-oriented, and 
sometimes the end justifies the means. And so I have always appreciated 
that about John. It was simply what he taught his players and what he 
taught people in coaching in general about how to approach the game. So 
there could not have been a finer person chosen for this honor.
  Thank you for so honoring him and we hope that he recovers quickly 
and is out of the hospital.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the 
passage of H.R. 4646. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4646.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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