[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 187 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING THE HOMESTEAD GRAYS

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 21, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in honoring the Homestead Grays, a baseball 
team deeply rooted in the District of Columbia, for its legendary 
success in the National Negro League.
  In light of the Major League Baseball World Series championship won 
by the Washington Nationals this year, we must also remember a team 
that shaped the game of baseball and brought World Series glory to the 
District long before the Nationals, the Homestead Grays. In 1948, the 
Grays won their third National Negro League World Series title against 
the Birmingham Black Barons to become one of Washington's most 
successful baseball teams.
  The Homestead Grays came to D.C. in 1940, when Clark Griffith, owner 
of the Washington Senators, saw a lucrative opportunity for the Grays 
to use Griffith Stadium while the Senators played away games. By 1943, 
the Grays, originally from Pittsburg, played over half their games in 
the nation's capital. Griffith Stadium, located in the heart of D.C.'s 
African American community and close to Howard University, became a hub 
for Black baseball.
  The Grays played at a time when the face of baseball was changing in 
America. As the National Negro League continued to demonstrate 
excellence in baseball, the sport began to integrate. It became too 
impossible for white teams to ignore African-American players. This led 
to the folding of the National Negro League in 1948 but to the rise of 
many African-American Major League Baseball players like Jackie 
Robinson.
  Found on the Ring of Honor in Nationals Park, the team's stadium, are 
several names of Homestead Grays' most iconic players, including Cool 
Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Cumberland Posey and 
Jud Wilson. These men led the Grays to three National Negro League 
World Series and 10 National Negro League pennants.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to 
join me in honoring the Homestead Grays for their enduring place in 
Washington and U.S. baseball history.

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