[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 85 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1016-E1017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING MIKE GOTTFRIED ON HIS INDUCTION INTO THE MOBILE SPORTS 
                              HALL OF FAME

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 2008

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride and pleasure that I 
rise to honor Coach Mike Gottfried on the occasion of his

[[Page E1017]]

induction into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame (MSHOF). Begun in 1987, 
the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame was created by the Mobile Chamber of 
Commerce to recognize those sports figures whose accomplishments and 
service have greatly benefited--and reflected credit on--the city of 
Mobile.
  Coach Gottfried, an Ohio native, was a successful head football coach 
at Murray State, Cincinnati, and Kansas, before going to Pittsburgh, 
where he had wins over Notre Dame, Penn State, and West Virginia. In 
1990, he moved to Mobile at the urging of his brother, University of 
South Alabama athletics director Joe Gottfried, for what he thought 
would be a temporary stay on the way to another college football 
coaching job. Eighteen years later, Coach Gottfried is still a resident 
of Mobile and is considered by many, including Mobile's Press-Register, 
as ``one of the city's leading citizens.''
  In the late 1990s, Coach Gottfried was approached by then Mobile 
Mayor Mike Dow and then Press-Register Executive Editor Stan Tiner to 
gauge whether a postseason bowl game in Mobile could be successful. 
Using his contacts as a former head coach and as a football analyst for 
ESPN, he began building support for creating a bowl game in Mobile. 
That bowl game became the GMAC bowl, a bowl that is repeatedly rated as 
one of the top 10 bowl games to watch each year. Due in large part to 
Coach Gottfried's efforts, Mobile, with the GMAC bowl and the Senior 
Bowl, joined Miami as the only cities in the country to host two major 
college bowl games every year.
  Shortly after the founding of the GMAC bowl, Coach Gottfried and his 
wife, Mickey, founded Team Focus, a Mobile-based community outreach 
program that provides fatherless boys with role models and positive 
influences in order to build character and foster self-esteem, self-
worth and self-confidence. The program has grown rapidly, and today, 
there are camps in seven states and the District of Columbia. Last 
year, First Lady Laura Bush traveled to Mobile to commend Team Focus. 
She thanked all of the mentors for ``trying to fill that void in the 
lives of these boys and being so successful at it.''
  Madam Speaker, throughout his life, Coach Mike Gottfried has been an 
outstanding role model for both children and adults alike. I know his 
family; his wife, Mickey; and his many friends join me in 
congratulating him on this remarkable achievement and extending thanks 
for his service over the years on behalf of the city of Mobile and the 
state of Alabama.

                          ____________________