[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14397]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  IN HONOR OF 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GARFIELD HEIGHTS BASEBALL LEAGUE

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                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 23, 2002

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition and 
celebration of the Golden Anniversary of the Garfield Heights Baseball 
League. I also stand in honor of the founding members of the League: 
Arthur Grugle, Dan Kostell and John Rawlins, and all the individuals 
over the past fifty years who have volunteered countless hours to 
ensure that the League remain a viable and significant recreational 
outlet for the youth of Garfield Heights.
  The Garfield Heights Baseball League has the noteworthy distinction 
of being one of the oldest self-supporting leagues in the nation. Over 
the years, the League has grown and changed, reflecting our evolving 
society in many ways. Beginning with less than one hundred players, the 
League grew to over ninety teams playing on nine fields by the late 
seventies. Today, over 1,000 youth, both boys and girls are active 
players in the Garfield Heights Baseball League.
  In 1987, the League formed the Garfield Heights Baseball League Hall 
of Fame. This honor is reserved for those individuals who have gone 
well beyond the normal call of duty in supporting or enhancing the day-
to-day operations of the League, There are currently eighty-nine 
members in the Hall of Fame. In 1992, the League founded the Steve 
Huntz Alumni Award, named after the only League alumnus to play in the 
Major Leagues.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honor, tribute, and celebration of the 
past and present leaders of the Garfield Heights Baseball League, for 
their fifty years of commitment to the youth of Garfield Heights. These 
leaders are the guardians of the most beloved and historic game in 
American history, and because of them, the boys and girls in Garfield 
Heights will come to know the joy of fielding a ground ball, hitting 
the winning run, teamwork, and winning and losing gracefully. The 
Garfield Heights Baseball League has given its youthful ballplayers 
much more than the love of the game--they've given generations of kids 
an understanding of life's lessons in the form of a baseball game, and 
they've created cherished childhood memories that last from the early 
innings of childhood, to the bottom of the ninth, two down, tie score, 
bases loaded. Batter up.

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