[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 97 (Friday, June 20, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING LIGHTHOUSE FIELD

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 20, 2014

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor 
Lighthouse Field now celebrating 100 years of service to the community, 
set in motion when the Pennsylvania Railroad Company deeded over 15 
acres of land to the Lighthouse on June 13, 1914.
  The history of Lighthouse Field dates back to June 13, 1910, when 
Charles Hamilton completed the first round trip airplane flight between 
two major cities, landing at Lighthouse Field and signaling the 
beginning of the commercial viability of airplane travel. At one time 
Lighthouse Field hosted the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey 
Circus. In 1938, half of the United States Olympic Soccer Team was from 
Philadelphia with most of those players learning the sport at 
Lighthouse Field. By 1940 the Lighthouse Boys Club soccer program was 
the largest single soccer organization in the world and the most famous 
goal in American soccer history was scored by Walter Bahr, a product of 
the Lighthouse Boys Club, while playing on the 1950 World Cup team. In 
1952, in anticipation of the Manchester United Soccer Club playing an 
exhibition game at Lighthouse Field, which over 3,000 people attended, 
Manchester United paid for the installation of concrete bleachers that 
are still used at Lighthouse Field. Also in the 1940's the Philadelphia 
Phillies occasionally practiced at Lighthouse Field. In 1984 the Army 
National Guard began using Lighthouse Field to host training exercises. 
In 2012 the Lighthouse partnered with Teens 4 Good to open an Urban 
Farm Program at Lighthouse Field. The Boy Scouts of America have also 
used Lighthouse Field to host a weekend camping exhibition for 500 
scouts complete with camp fires and bow and arrow exhibitions.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues 
join me in congratulating Lighthouse Field for a century of serving as 
a safe haven for our city's children and for standing as a beacon of 
excellence and innovation for the evolving needs of our community.

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