[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E74]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING JOE MADDON FOR HIS ACHIEVEMENTS IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL 
    AND FOR HIS SUPPORT IN HELPING RESTORE THE HAZLETON ``CASTLE'' 
                               AUDITORIUM

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                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 13, 2009

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Joe 
Maddon, from Hazleton, Pennsylvania, the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays 
baseball team and a leader of a citizen effort to restore the 
auditorium of the former Hazleton High School, now an elementary and 
middle school that has, for more than 80 years, been a landmark in the 
Hazleton area that is fondly referred to as ``The Castle.''
  Born in Hazleton in 1954, Mr. Maddon graduated from ``The Castle'' 
where he was a star athlete before moving on to graduate from Lafayette 
College in 1976 where he played baseball and football.
  Mr. Maddon then went on to distinguish himself in the world of 
professional baseball for more than three decades, first with the 
California/Anaheim Angels and, since 2006, with the Tampa Bay Rays, a 
team which he led to the 2008 World Series that was won by the 
Philadelphia Phillies.
  After the 2008 season, Mr. Maddon was named the American League 
Manager of the Year.
  During his remarkable career, Mr. Maddon has won accolades from 
Sports Illustrated, which described him as a ``Renaissance man from 
down-to-earth roots.'' The New York Times described him as ``one of 
baseball's more purely intelligent men in uniform.'' And the Boston 
Globe called Maddon ``the genuine article . . . universally respected, 
intelligent, wordily, eloquent and well-read.''
  Mr. Maddon has been a leader in the Tampa Bay area in raising 
awareness to the plight faced by those who are homeless and has 
actively worked to feed and shelter the victims of homelessness.
  Frequently praised as a man who has never forgotten his roots, Mr. 
Maddon has been committed to helping raise the funds necessary to 
renovate the auditorium of his former high school so that it can serve 
as a Community Arts Center.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating Joe Maddon for his 
personal and charitable achievements and also for the positive 
attention he has brought to his hometown of Hazleton and all of 
northeastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Maddon's example is an inspiration for 
others to emulate especially our young people who can look to him as a 
true role model.

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