[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 42 (Thursday, March 21, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S2143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE CANNON STREET ALL-STARS

 Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, in the heart of Charleston, SC, lies 
Cannon Street; it's a modest street spanning just a few city blocks. 
However, within its history lies the story of what Dr. Creighton Hale, 
the former CEO of little league baseball, called ``the most significant 
amateur team in baseball history.''
  In 1955, the area surrounding this street was one of economic blight 
and social unease. In an effort to keep kids out of trouble and teach 
skills that only team sports can provide, the local YMCA organized four 
little league teams for the neighborhood kids. The Cannon Street YMCA 
All-Stars consisted of seventeen players: John Bailey, Charles Bradley, 
Vermont Brown, William Godfrey, Vernon Grey, Allen Jackson, Carl 
Johnson, John Mack, Leroy Major, David Middleton, Arthur Peoples, John 
Rivers, Norman Robinson, Maurice Singleton, Leroy Carter, George 
Gregory, and Augustus Holt. They were coached and founded by: Lee J. 
Bennett, Walter Burke, Rufus Dilligard, A.O. Graham, Robert Morrison, 
R.H. Penn, and Benjamin Singleton. The team would advance to the 
Charleston City Little League playoff games but would never be given 
the opportunity to earn a spot in the Little League World Series. It 
was not because they were unworthy players or because they could not 
afford to go. The color of their skin stifled the dreams of these 
twelve-year-old boys.
  The Charleston playoff games were boycotted in 1955 to preserve 
racial segregation. Because teams again refused to play against them, 
the Cannon Street All-Stars advanced past the state and regional 
playoffs. The National Little League invited the All-Stars to the 
Little League World Series as special guests; they could not compete 
for the title because technically they hadn't played their way to the 
championships. They returned to Charleston, dismayed and disappointed.
  As children, they embodied the very characteristics that organized 
sports aim to impart--teamwork, courage and respect. As adults they 
have worked in productive and valuable careers such as architecture, 
law enforcement and education. As they have grown older, they are now 
volunteers in their communities--giving back, yet again. While they 
never had the opportunity to compete, their story has demonstrated 
where we have come from as a nation.
  Last month members of my staff had the opportunity to meet several of 
the original Cannon Street Little Leaguers who traveled to Washington, 
DC to be recognized at Nationals Stadium before the Nationals-Phillies 
game. Their story remains powerful more than 65 years later, and I know 
my staff will never forget having the opportunity to meet them.
  Today, the neighborhood that encompasses Cannon Street has developed 
into an integral part of the Charleston education and science 
community. It is home to a number of colleges and universities and a 
world-class research hospital. The boys of the Cannon Street Little 
League Team are men who through their careers and service to the 
community have become assets to their neighborhoods. In spite of the 
adversity they encountered and the challenges they confronted, these 
young people illustrated to the world the absurdity of segregation and 
the hatred inherent in racism.
  In the 55 years since they were excluded from competing to earn a 
spot at the Little League World Series in their own right, America has 
matured. I would like to believe that a handful of twelve-year-olds 
contributed to our maturity.
  It is with great admiration that I share their story and my respect 
for these men with you, my colleagues.

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