[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17346]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         IN HONOR OF WADE BOGGS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM DAVIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 25, 2005

  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Wade Boggs, who 
will be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame this weekend. Wade 
represents the latest addition to Tampa Bay's proud history of 
achievement in sports, particularly baseball.
  Wade's success has come full-circle, from his beginnings in Tampa 
area Little League games, to the start of his pre-professional career 
at Plant High School, and finally the conclusion of his career with the 
Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
  Wade has been a strong community leader for the Tampa Bay area. 
Currently he assists the coaching staff of Wharton High School's 
baseball team, where his son Brett looks to follow in his dad's 
footsteps.
  Even a partial listing of Wade's career successes would be too 
lengthy, but one of Tampa's proudest moments is certainly when Wade got 
his 3,000th hit at home in a Devil Rays uniform. The Devil Rays will 
never forget Wade, as he hit the first home run in Tampa Bay's history.
  Two of baseball's greatest rivals also share Tampa's pride in Wade's 
achievements. The Boston Red Sox gave Boggs his first chance at a 
career in baseball when they drafted him right out of high school. As a 
player in the team's minor league ranks, Boggs bounded from New York, 
to North Carolina, and New England. In 1992, Wade signed with the New 
York Yankees, whose spring training facilities in Tampa once more 
brought him home.
  In 1998, as an expansion team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed Wade 
to be a part of their inaugural season. There, Wade carried on his 
well-known idiosyncrasies such as eating chicken before every game and 
hitting exactly 150 ground balls during batting practice.
  Wade Boggs personifies the values of baseball, both on and off the 
field, and serves as an inspiration to many. The Tampa Bay area is 
privileged to count Wade among its sons, and congratulate him on his 
latest success.

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