[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 104 (Friday, June 17, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E639-E640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     COMMEMORATING BRUCE CUNNINGHAM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KWEISI MFUME

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 17, 2022

  Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, from a very young age, this person for whom 
I stand today was into all kinds of athletic games. Not just one kind 
of sport but every sport and every kind of athlete. So, talking about 
it came naturally. He asked, why should I not make this a career?
  In Baltimore there is a gritty loyalty to its sports teams and its 
heroes. Over the span of four decades, one man has talked about and 
reported on two Super Bowl champion teams, the most decorated Olympian 
of all time and various stars in the athletic firmament from the 
greater Baltimore region with a gusto unmatched or unequaled by anyone. 
He has made everyday people feel like they were a part of the story, 
and so I am pleased today to enter into the Record my recognition for 
distinguished sportscaster and storyteller, Mr. Bruce Cunningham, who 
has recently retired from WBFF Fox 45 TV news in Baltimore.
  Many Ravens fans know only one voice as the straightforward announcer 
and analyst of the NFL team's home games. Michael Phelps' exploits were 
told true and writ large over the TV screens of viewers young and old, 
proud of their hometown hero bringing gold medal after gold medal home 
for swimming. Whether it was the Orioles after a come-from-behind win 
or a heartbreaking loss, or Navy football celebrating a win over Army, 
Bruce was sure to tell the story with imagination, spirit, and 
Baltimore braggadocio.
  I was Sports Unlimited, on Sunday nights, that was Bruce's hallmark. 
Since 1991, at its inception with Fox 45 in Baltimore, Bruce has been 
sharing his takes on everything from MLB to the Baltimore Blast soccer 
team to Maryland and Johns Hopkins lacrosse. He was there for the NCAA 
Men's Basketball Championship the University of Maryland brought home. 
He saluted Coach Brenda Frese's Lady Terrapins NCAA Championship in 
basketball. He also talked golf, tennis and other sports like boxing 
and horseracing, and he was there at Pimlico for eventual Triple Crown 
winner, American Pharaoh in 2015.
  There is something intangible about sports which unites a city, and 
Bruce Cunningham made that part of his many broadcasts. Ranging from 
the intensity of Baltimore in the Ravens' Ray Lewis and the Orioles' 
Cal Ripken, Jr. to the lesser-known stories in Maryland like Tamir 
Goldman of the Talmudical Academy in Baltimore, dubbed the ``Jewish 
Jordan'' for his basketball abilities, or Helen Maroulis, the two-time 
bronze medal-winner in women's wrestling at the Olympics from 
Rockville, Bruce has covered it all with the spirit and grit of 
Baltimore and a love for our state of Maryland not many could match.
  Now that he has decided to lead a ``normal life'' and ``get home 
before midnight on Sundays'' as he puts it, our city will not have that

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voice which closed off our weekends with highlights, insights, and the 
sports stories which not only gave us the score but let us in on so 
much more: a look at the athletes and a look at ourselves. I thank 
Bruce Cunningham for all the memories, as our grateful city and state 
will miss him dearly.

                          ____________________