[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16934]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  IN HONOR OF EMILIO MILITO NAVARRO, EUGENE GENE SMITH AND WILMER RED 
                                 FIELDS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 2000

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, today I honor Emilio ``Milito'' Navarro, 
Eugene ``Gene'' Smith, and Wilmer ``Red'' Fields; three players who 
have made a celebrated contribution to the baseball history of America.
  Emilio Navarro played for the Cuban Stars and is the last known 
living player from the Eastern Colored League. Considered an excellent 
hitter, in 1928 Emilio was the regular shortstop and lead off batter 
for the Cuban Stars and posted a .337 batting average in the following 
season. Frequently listed as ``Milito'' in the box scores, he was a 
star in his homeland of Puerto Rico, and was elected to the Puerto 
Rican Hall of Fame in 1992.
  Eugene Smith played in the Negro Leagues from 1939 to 1950 and 
pitched for the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1947. He was regarded as a power 
pitcher with a good fastball and slider, and was one of the ``Big 
Four'' on the St. Louis Stars'' pitching staff.
  Wilmer ``Red'' Fields was an ace pitcher for the Homestead Grays team 
that won the National Negro League Championship in 1948. He registered 
a 7-1 record in league games that year, appeared in the All-Star game, 
and pitched in two World Series games. After the Grays disbanded, 
Fields was offered positions with five major league teams, but turned 
all the offers down. He did, however, play for Toronto in the 
International League, as well as playing in several Latin American 
Leagues during winters.
  My fellow colleagues, please join with me in honoring these three 
admirable athletes, whose talents are being recognized at the Third 
Annual Negro/Hispanic Baseball Legends Celebration this year.

                          ____________________