[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2330-2334]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE PRE-NEGRO AND NEGRO LEAGUES PLAYERS AND EXECUTIVES

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 386, which was submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 386) honoring the Pre-Negro Leagues 
     and Negro Leagues baseball players and executives elected to 
     the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2006.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I would like to take a few minutes to talk 
about a historic event that occurred on Monday. The National Baseball 
Hall of Fame in Cooperstown elected 17 pre-Negro Leagues and Negro 
Leagues baseball players and executives to the National Baseball Hall 
of Fame Class of 2006.
  Many of baseball's most noted stars of the past century got their 
beginnings in the Negro Leagues. Greats such as Hank Aaron, Ernie 
Banks, Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, Willie Mays, Satchel Paige, and, of 
course, Jackie Robinson brought their fast-paced and highly competitive 
brand of Negro Leagues baseball eventually to the Major Leagues. In 
fact, there are a lot of people who think that much of the fast-paced 
style of baseball today is owing to the influence of the Negro League's 
brand of baseball.
  Before these greats of the game were given the opportunity to 
showcase their skills at the Major League level, many African-American 
ballplayers with equal skill were never allowed to share the same field 
as their White counterparts. Instead, such players played from the 
1920s to the 1960s in over 30 communities located throughout the United 
States on teams in one of six Negro Baseball Leagues, including Kansas 
City and St. Louis in my home State of Missouri.
  The history of this is interesting. In the late 1800s and early 
1900s, African Americans began to play on military baseball teams, 
college teams, company teams. The teams were integrated in those days. 
Many African Americans eventually found their way onto professional 
teams with White players. But racism and Jim Crow laws drove the 
African-American players from their integrated teams in the early 
1900s, forcing them to form their own ``barnstorming'' teams which 
would travel around the country playing anyone willing to challenge 
them.
  But then, in 1920, the Negro National League, which was the first of 
the Negro Baseball Leagues, was formed under the guidance of Andrew 
``Rube'' Foster--a former player, manager, and owner of the Chicago 
American Giants--and was formed at a meeting

[[Page 2331]]

held at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City, MO. Soon after the Negro 
National League was formed, rival leagues formed in Eastern and 
Southern States and brought the thrills and the innovative play of the 
Negro Leagues to major urban centers and rural countrysides throughout 
the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
  For more than 40 years, the Negro Leagues maintained a high level of 
professional skill and became centerpieces for economic development in 
their communities. The Negro Leagues constituted the third biggest 
Black owned and run business in the country in those days. They brought 
jobs and economic activity to many of the cities around the United 
States. They played in front of crowds of 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000, 
and 50,000 people. And those crowds were integrated. White and Black 
fans came to watch the Negro Leagues, and they sat together.
  In 1945, Major League Baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers recruited Jackie 
Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs, which, of course, made Jackie 
the first African American in the modern era to play on a Major League 
roster. That historic event led to the integration of the Major Leagues 
and ironically prompted the decline of the Negro Leagues because, of 
course, Major League teams began to recruit and sign the best African-
American ballplayers.
  On Monday of this week, the National Baseball Hall of Fame took a 
first step in righting a historic wrong when it recognized the 
distinguished careers of 17 pre-Negro League ballplayers and 
executives, people who were never given the opportunity to compete in 
Major League Baseball with their White counterparts. Oh, they often 
played them, and very often, in barnstorming games or exhibition-type 
matches, the Negro League players and teams would play the best players 
of the Major Leagues, and those must have been great baseball games to 
see.
  But the Hall of Fame elected those 17 players and executives to the 
National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2006. The players elected on 
Monday were Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, Frank Grant, Pete 
Hill, Biz Mackey, Effa Manley--the first woman elected to the Baseball 
Hall of Fame, and more on that in just a minute--Joe Mandez, Alex Popez 
Cum Posey, Louis Santop, Mule Suttles, Ben Taylor, Cristobal Torriente, 
Sol White, J.L. Wilkinson, and Jud Wilkinson. These legends, not just 
of the Negro Leagues but of our national pastime, will now join the 
less than 1 percent of all professional baseball players who have been 
honored with induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and 
they will be inducted on July 30, 2006.
  One of the more historic moments of Monday's selection was the 
selection of Effa Manley, who was the co-owner of the Newark Eagles. 
She became the first woman ever elected to the Hall of Fame. In 
addition to her efforts in baseball, she played an active role in the 
civil rights movement and promoted such causes as Anti-Lynching Day at 
Ruppert Stadium, which was the home of the Newark Eagles.
  Among those elected, several have ties to my home State of Missouri, 
and it will surprise no one in the Senate that I decided to feature 
them in my remarks.
  Willard Brown was an outfielder with the Kansas City Monarchs who 
often led the Negro American League in home runs and batting average. 
He was considered by many to be the Negro American League's version of 
the great Josh Gibson.
  Andy Cooper was a pitcher with the Detroit Stars and Kansas City 
Monarchs who had a knack for changing the speed of his pitches. He is 
among the top ten leaders in career wins, strikeouts, shutouts, and 
winning percentage in Negro Leagues history. Later in his career he 
became the manager of the Kansas City Monarchs, leading them to three 
pennants.
  Jose Mendez was a right handed pitcher for the Cuban Stars, All 
Nations, and Kansas City Monarchs who had a career winning percentage 
just under .700 in the Negro National League. He managed the Kansas 
City Monarchs to successive pennants from 1923-1925.
  Mule Suttles was a first baseman and outfielder for the St. Louis 
Stars, Chicago American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons and the Newark 
Eagles. He was one of the most powerful home run hitters in the Negro 
Leagues, ranking third all-time among Negro Leaguers in home runs and 
RBIs.
  Cristobal Torriente was a five-tool outfielder with a lifetime 
batting average over .330 primarily with the Cuban Stars and Chicago 
American Giants. For those who don't know what a five-tool outfielder 
is it means he could hit for average, hit for power, run with speed, 
field with above average skill and display enough arm strength to throw 
out the fastest players at home plate. He is one of the all-time 
offensive leaders in Negro Leagues history, ranking in the top 20 all-
time in home runs, RBIs and total bases. The record books would have 
been different had these players been allowed to play in Major League 
baseball.
  J.L. Wilkinson was the owner of the Kansas City Monarchs, the All 
Nations club and one of the first professional women's teams in the 
United States. He was a pioneer of night baseball, various ballpark 
promotions, and was the Negro National League's only white owner when 
it was chartered in 1920. His Kansas City Monarchs were the longest 
running franchise in Negro National League history and they won an 
unprecedented 17 pennants, and two World Series.
  I congratulate all 17 players and executives elected this week, as 
well as their families and friends. This is an honor long overdue and 
is sure to lead to a great celebration this summer in Cooperstown. It 
will be a dramatic moment when these figures are inducted in the Hall 
of Fame. However, it saddens me that this summer's historic induction 
ceremony did not take place during the lifetime of these baseball 
greats. I can only wish that they were still alive today to witness 
baseball's long overdue recognition of their contributions on and off 
the field.
  There is another aspect of this selection process which is 
disappointing and bittersweet for many of us because one of the legends 
of Negro Leagues did not receive the necessary votes to be elected to 
the Hall of Fame. That legend is John Jordan ``Buck'' O'Neil. Buck's 
illustrious baseball career spans seven decades and has made him a 
foremost authority of the game and one of its greatest ambassadors. 
Buck is in his 90s now, and still active, still a leader in baseball 
and a leader in remembering the Negro Leagues and establishing the 
Negro League's Baseball museum.
  I would like to tell you a little about Buck O'Neil the man and Buck 
O'Neil the player. I had intended to introduce this Resolution earlier 
this week, but was so disappointed by the exclusion of Buck from those 
selected that I began to have second thoughts about the process for 
selecting this class of inductees. I had a conversation with Buck 
yesterday and he told me that going forward with this Resolution was 
important not only to recognize this historic event--I mean important 
in a practical way to the Negro League's baseball museum and the 
remberance of the Negro Leagues, and to recognize the achievement of 
these 17 players and executives--but because it was the right thing to 
do. Buck O'Neil has always been about doing the right thing. No matter 
what door has been slammed in his face he always picks himself up and 
does what is right and what is most important to him. In this case what 
is most important to him is his true love for the Negro Leagues, the 
Negro Leagues players and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which he 
helped to found and which he has been so active in promoting in Kansas 
City.
  In yesterday's Kansas City Star, columnist Joe Posnanski had this to 
say about the injustice that occurred to Buck O'Neil on Monday:

       All his life, Buck O'Neil has had doors slammed in his 
     face. He played baseball when the major leagues did not allow 
     black players. He was a gifted manager at a time when major 
     league owners would not even think of having an African 
     American lead their teams. For more than 30 years, he told 
     stories about Negro Leagues players and nobody wanted to 
     listen. Now, after everything, he was being told that the 
     life he had

[[Page 2332]]

     spent in baseball was not worthy of the Hall of Fame. It was 
     enough to make those around him cry. But Buck laughed. ``I'm 
     still Buck,'' he said. ``Look at me. I've lived a good life. 
     I'm still living a good life. Nothing has changed for me.''

  I ask unanimous consent to have a copy of Mr. Posnanski's article 
printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. TALENT. I thought I would take a few moments of the Senate's time 
to talk a little bit about Buck's record. I think the Senate would 
agree with me it would have fully justified his induction.
  Buck O'Neil the player was a first baseman and Manager for the Kansas 
City Monarchs from 1937 through 1955. Buck's achievements as a player 
include leading his team to a Negro American league title and a date 
with the Homestead Grays in the 1942 Negro World Series. In the series 
Buck hit .353 and led the Monarchs to a four game sweep of the 
powerhouse Homestead Grays. Buck sport a career batting average of 
.288, including four .300-plus seasons. He won batting titles in 1940 
and 1946, hitting .345 and .353 respectively. He was named to the East-
West All-Star Classic in 1942, 1943 and 1949 and barnstormed with the 
Satchel Paige All-Stars during the 1930s and 1940s playing countless 
games against the likes of the Bob Feller All-Stars. I would have given 
a lot to have seen one of those games.
  In 1948, Buck succeeded Frank Duncan, as manager of the Monarchs, and 
continued to manage them until 1955. As the manager of the Monarchs, he 
sent more Negro league veterans to the Majors than any other manager in 
baseball history including Ernie Banks, Elston Howard, Connie Johnson, 
Satchel Paige and Sweet Lou Johnson. He lead the Monarchs to league 
titles in 1948, 1950, 1951 and 1953 and managed the West squad in the 
East-West All-Star game in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955. By the way, the 
West won all four of these contests.
  In 1956, Buck was hired by the Chicago Cubs as a scout. Six years 
later he became the first African American to coach in the Major 
Leagues with the Cubs. As a scout he discovered such superstars as Lou 
Brock, one of my all-time favorite Cardinals, and Joe Carter. Lou 
called him on Monday by the way, expecting Buck would have been 
inducted, while everybody was waiting to see the results of the vote. 
In 1988, after more than 30 years with the Cubs, he returned home to 
Kansas City to scout for the Kansas City Royals.
  Today Buck serves as chairman of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum he 
helped found in 1990. The work of Buck O'Neil and the Negro Leagues 
Baseball Museum led the Hall of Fame to hold this special election of 
Negro Leagues and Pre-Negro Leagues players.
  In fact, his work after he had retired from the game as a coach may 
be even more significant to the history of baseball than his exploits 
as a player and a manager. Nobody has done more to build that museum 
and to call the rest of us to remember the significance of the Negro 
baseball league.
  It was significant on so many different levels: A triumph of the 
human spirit, tremendous sportsmanship, tremendously high quality of 
play, vitally important to the Black community of the time, and it led 
directly to the integration of the Major Leagues, which was the first 
in a series of mjor civil rights landmarks in the modern era that has 
led to the progress we have achieved today.
  I believe there is no one who meets the criteria for induction into 
the National Baseball Hall of Fame more than Buck. The combination of 
his statistics on the field as a player, his years as a scout 
discovering some of the best players of their generation, his years as 
a manager and coach, including breaking the color barrier as the first 
African-American coach in the Major Leagues, and his years of tireless 
advocacy on behalf of the Negro Leagues and its players equals a resume 
built for election to Cooperstown. I hope that the Baseball Hall of 
Fame will take appropriate action to correct this oversight.
  Finally, I would like to congratulate everyone at the Negro Leagues 
Baseball Museum in Kansas City, who worked so very hard for so many 
years to make this special election a reality. Their tireless advocacy 
on behalf of these baseball legends is another reason why the Senate 
should pass legislation that would give a national designation to the 
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the only public museum in the Nation 
that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting the experiences 
of the players in the Negro Leagues.
  I highly recommend a visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for 
anybody who is in Kansas City. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, 
you will be moved by what you see there. You will be encouraged and 
inspired in every way by seeing how those players confronted the 
injustices of their times, and with great spirit and energy and joy 
even overcame those obstacles.
  In closing, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Illinois, 
Senator Durbin, for his assistance and his support of both the 
resolution which we introduced today in honor of those athletes who 
were elected on Monday and also S. Con. Res. 60, which is the national 
designation resolution. I hope the Senate will swiftly pass our 
resolution to honor these future Hall of Famers--I guess they are Hall 
of Famers designees now--for their contributions on the field and for 
their courage, sacrifice and triumph in the face of segregation.

                               Exhibit 1


            Injustice, and then a gutless committee clams up

                           (By Joe Posnanski)

       The living voice of the Negro Leagues did not even blink 
     when the door was slammed in his face one more time. Buck 
     O'Neil just nodded and smiled a little when he was told that 
     he did not get enough votes to be elected into the Baseball 
     Hall of Fame.
       ``All right,'' he said. ``That's the way the cookie 
     crumbles.''
       That's the way baseball crumbles. Monday, an 11-member 
     committee of academics and authors (a 12th member, author 
     Robert Peterson, died two weeks ago) gathered in a room in 
     Tampa and voted 17 deceased Negro Leagues players and 
     executives into the Hall of Fame. Seventeen. To give you an 
     idea of how overwhelming that number is . . . only 18 Negro 
     Leaguers are actually in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 
     It took 30 years of work--most of that Buck O'Neil's hard 
     work--to get those 18 players inducted.
       But even while doubling the Negro Leagues' Hall of Fame 
     population, the committee could not muster the necessary nine 
     votes for Buck O'Neil, who is 94 and has done more in his 
     life for Negro Leagues baseball than anyone else. One 
     committee member said O'Neil likely fell one vote short. The 
     balloting was secret.
       When the voting was finished, no one had the guts to 
     explain why Buck O'Neil was kept out. He was an All-Star 
     player in the Negro Leagues. He was a successful manager for 
     the Kansas City Monarchs. He sent more Negro Leagues players 
     to the major leagues than anyone. He was the first black 
     coach in the major leagues. For the past 50 years, he has 
     been--as author Jules Tygiel calls him in Shades of Glory, 
     the Negro Leagues book commissioned by the Hall of Fame--
     ``the primary spokesperson for the legacy of the Negro 
     Leagues.''
       In fact, two sources said months ago that the Hall of Fame 
     would have a special Negro Leagues vote with the intention of 
     getting Buck O'Neil in. One hall official said, ``I don't 
     think the Hall of Fame is complete without him.''
       Thus, for the first time ever, the hall handed over the 
     voting to a panel of baseball historians and scholars with no 
     affiliation to the major leagues or the hall. This was an 
     extraordinary move for the Hall of Fame. They usually protect 
     the hall the way tigers protect their cubs. There was not one 
     former player on the committee and not one person who 
     actually observed the Negro Leagues. The committee was given 
     no boundaries--they were told to vote for as many people as 
     they saw fit.
       They certainly voted free. By dumping 17 persons into the 
     Hall of Fame, they matched the number of persons inducted 
     into the hall the past seven years. But when it came to why 
     Buck was left out, no one was talking.
       ``I don't think the individuals are going to be willing to 
     discuss their individual votes,'' said Fay Vincent, who 
     served as a nonvoting chairman of the committee. ``We agreed 
     we would not do that.''
       In other words, they decided to hide. After this travesty, 
     you could not blame them. On Monday, when it appeared that 
     O'Neil was short the votes he needed, Vincent apparently made 
     a frantic plea to the committee to consider O'Neil's lifetime 
     achievements and not just his playing days. According to the 
     committee member, he sounded almost desperate.

[[Page 2333]]

       His words held no sway with this committee. They left him 
     out without a word of explanation. They did, however, vote in 
     Andy Cooper, who was (see if this sounds familiar) a fine 
     player and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs. He died in 
     1941. The book Shades of Glory is 422 pages long, including 
     acknowledgements. Cooper is mentioned exactly zero times.
       The committee also voted in Effa Manley, the first woman 
     inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Her credentials? She 
     co-owned the Newark Eagles with her husband, Abe, for 14 
     seasons. The team won one championship. Also, she was 
     outspoken. Also, her biographer, Jim Overmyer, was on the 
     committee.
       And so on. The injustice of Monday's vote left a trail of 
     disbelief and anger throughout the baseball community, but 
     especially in Kansas City. It had no visible effect on Buck 
     O'Neil, though. He began his Monday morning with a 5:30 a.m. 
     call from a radio show. He came to the Negro Leagues Baseball 
     Museum at 10 a.m. and by then he had received more than a 
     dozen congratulatory calls.
       Everyone seemed sure he was going to get voted in.
       Buck himself was not so sure. ``I've been on committees 
     like this,'' he said. ``I know that anything can happen.'' 
     Still, he spent much of Monday morning calling friends in his 
     hometown of Sarasota, Fla., telling them that he would visit 
     if the vote went his way. A camera crew filmed his every 
     move. A half-dozen reporters followed him around.
       O'Neil had been told he would hear something by 11 a.m., 
     but the phone would not ring. Rumors swirled that things were 
     not going well in Tampa, but no one wanted to believe it. 
     While Buck O'Neil waited, Hall of Fame player Lou Brock--whom 
     O'Neil had scouted and signed--called and said he was 
     excited. Soon it was 11:30 and then noon, and the call from 
     the hall had not come.
       ``You know something?'' Buck said all of a sudden. ``I 
     could play. I was no Josh Gibson. But I could play.'' It was 
     his only sign of cracking. One of the few criticisms of 
     O'Neil's Hall of Fame case leading into the vote had been 
     that, while he was a good player, he was not a Hall of Fame-
     caliber player. The criticism did not take in account his 
     countless other contributions to baseball, but you could see 
     that Buck was hurting a little.
       At 12:30, there was no word, and a pall had fallen over the 
     museum. Buck seemed to sense that the vote was going against 
     him. He said, ``I'll be fine either way.''
       At 12:34, Bob Kendrick, the marketing director of the Negro 
     Leagues Museum, asked everyone to leave the room, and he 
     said, ``Buck, we didn't get enough votes.''
       All his life, Buck O'Neil has had doors slammed in his 
     face. He played baseball at a time when the major leagues did 
     not allow black players. He was a gifted manager at a time 
     when major league owners would not even think of having an 
     African-American lead their teams. For more than 30 years, he 
     told stories about Negro Leagues players and nobody wanted to 
     listen.
       Now, after everything, he was being told that the life he 
     had spent in baseball was not worthy of the Hall of Fame. It 
     was enough to make those around him cry. But Buck laughed. 
     ``I'm still Buck,'' he said. ``Look at me. I've lived a good 
     life. I'm still living a good life. Nothing has changed for 
     me.''
       A few minutes later, when he was told that 17 persons had 
     made it, he shouted: ``Wonderful.''
       That's Buck O'Neil. Who else would respond that way to such 
     a shameful vote? No one. I don't know what the July day will 
     be like when 17 persons long dead--10 of the 17 have been 
     gone for more than 50 years--get inducted into the Hall of 
     Fame. It's hard to believe it will be much of a celebration. 
     Who will speak for the dead?
       ``I don't know,'' Buck O'Neil said. ``I wonder if they'll 
     ask me to speak.''
       Would he really speak at the Hall of Fame after he wasn't 
     voted in?
       ``Of course,'' Buck said. ``If they asked me.''

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider 
be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 386) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 386

       Whereas African Americans began to play baseball in the 
     late 1800s on military teams, college teams, and company 
     teams, and eventually found their way onto professional teams 
     with White players;
       Whereas the racism and ``Jim Crow'' laws that forced 
     African American players from their integrated teams by 1900 
     compelled those dedicated players to form their own 
     ``barnstorming'' teams that traveled throughout the United 
     States and offered to play any team willing to challenge 
     them;
       Whereas, in 1920, the Negro National League was created 
     under the guidance of Andrew ``Rube'' Foster, a former 
     player, manager, and owner of the Chicago American Giants, at 
     a meeting held at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City, Missouri;
       Whereas soon after the Negro National League was formed, 
     rival leagues were assembled in eastern and southern States, 
     bringing the thrills and innovative play of African American 
     ballplayers to major urban centers and rural countrysides 
     throughout the United States, Canada, and Latin America;
       Whereas, from the 1920s to the 1960s, over 30 communities 
     located throughout the United States were home to teams in 1 
     of the 6 Negro Leagues;
       Whereas the Negro Leagues maintained a high level of 
     professional skill and became centerpieces for economic 
     development in their communities;
       Whereas, in 1945, the Brooklyn Dodgers of Major League 
     Baseball recruited Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City 
     Monarchs, making Robinson the first African American in the 
     modern era to play on a Major League Baseball roster;
       Whereas the integration of Major League Baseball, which 
     soon followed the signing of Jackie Robinson, prompted the 
     decline of the Negro Leagues because the Major Leagues began 
     to recruit and sign the best African American ballplayers;
       Whereas it has been recognized by numerous baseball 
     authorities that many of the greatest players ever to play 
     the game of baseball played in the Negro Leagues, rather than 
     Major League Baseball;
       Whereas, on February 27, 2006, the National Baseball Hall 
     of Fame announced that Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, 
     Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Biz Mackey, Effa Manley, Joe Mendez, 
     Alex Pompez, Cum Posey, Louis Santop, Mule Suttles, Ben 
     Taylor, Cristobal Torriente, Sol White, J.L. Wilkinson, and 
     Jud Wilson had been elected to the National Baseball Hall of 
     Fame Class of 2006;
       Whereas less than 1 percent of all professional baseball 
     players have been honored with induction into the National 
     Baseball Hall of Fame;
       Whereas we congratulate Ray Brown, an ace starter for the 
     Homestead Grays who--
       (1) ranks among the top Negro Leagues pitchers in total 
     wins and winning percentage; and
       (2) pitched a perfect game in 1945 as well as a one-hitter 
     in the 1944 Negro World Series;
       Whereas we congratulate Willard Brown, an outfielder with 
     the Kansas City Monarchs who--
       (1) lead the Negro American League in home runs and batting 
     average during numerous seasons; and
       (2) was considered by many to be the Negro American League 
     version of Josh Gibson;
       Whereas we congratulate Andy Cooper, a pitcher with the 
     Detroit Stars and Kansas City Monarchs who--
       (1) had a knack for changing the speed of his pitches;
       (2) was the all-time leader in every Detroit Stars pitching 
     category;
       (3) was among the top 10 leaders in career wins, 
     strikeouts, shutouts, and winning percentage in Negro Leagues 
     history; and
       (4) later in his career became the manager of the Kansas 
     City Monarchs and lead them to 3 pennants;
       Whereas we congratulate Frank Grant, a second baseman with 
     tremendous range and a strong arm who--
       (1) hit over .300 in 4 seasons with White minor league 
     teams until the color lines forced him out of the league in 
     1886;
       (2) played for top-rated African American teams until 1903; 
     and
       (3) who displayed a unique blend of speed and power in the 
     International League that allowed him to turn 1 out of every 
     4 base hits into extra bases;
       Whereas we congratulate Pete Hill, a premier outfielder 
     who--
       (1) played brilliantly for the Cuban X-Giants, Philadelphia 
     Giants, Chicago Leland Giants, and the Chicago American 
     Giants before the formation of the Negro Leagues;
       (2) during his 1911 season as an American Giant, hit safely 
     in 115 out of 116 games; and
       (3) was rated the fourth best outfielder in the renowned 
     1952 Pittsburgh Courier player-voted poll of the best players 
     of the Negro Leagues;
       Whereas we congratulate Biz Mackey, a strong-armed catcher 
     who--
       (1) ended his career with a lifetime batting average well 
     over .300;
       (2) ranked among the top Negro Leaguers in lifetime total 
     bases, RBIs, and slugging percentage; and
       (3) later managed the Baltimore Elite Giants and the Newark 
     Eagles who, under his skill and leadership, won the Negro 
     World Series in 1946;
       Whereas we congratulate Effa Manley, the co-owner of the 
     Newark Eagles, who--
       (1) has become the first women elected to the National 
     Baseball Hall of Fame; and
       (2) in addition to her efforts in baseball, played an 
     active role in the Civil Rights Movement by promoting such 
     causes as Anti-Lynching Day at Ruppert Stadium, which is the 
     home of the Eagles;
       Whereas we congratulate Jose Mendez, a right-handed pitcher 
     who--
       (1) earned a winning percentage of just under .700 during 
     his memorable career as a member of the Cuban Stars, All 
     Nations, and Kansas City Monarchs; and

[[Page 2334]]

       (2) managed the Kansas City Monarchs to successive pennants 
     from 1923-1925, during which time he compiled a 20-4 pitching 
     record with 7 saves;
       Whereas we congratulate Alex Pompez, a successful team 
     owner who--
       (1) owned the Cuban Stars of the Eastern Colored League and 
     then the New York Cubans of the Negro National League; and
       (2) signed the first Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan, 
     and Panamanian players of the circuit;
       Whereas we congratulate ``Cum'' Posey, owner of the 
     Homestead Grays, who--
       (1) won the Negro National League pennant 8 times between 
     1937 and 1945; and
       (2) assembled teams that were home to 11 of the 18 Negro 
     Leaguers currently in the Hall of Fame;
       Whereas we congratulate Louis Santop, a power-hitting 
     catcher who--
       (1) played for several of the greatest African American 
     teams of the pre-Negro Leagues era, including the 
     Philadelphia Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, and the 
     Brooklyn Giants;
       (2) hit over .320 while slugging tape-measure homeruns 
     during his tremendous career in the Negro Leagues; and
       (3) was rated by Rollo Wilson as the first string catcher 
     on his all-time Black baseball team;
       Whereas we congratulate Mule Suttles, a hard-hitting first 
     baseman and outfielder who--
       (1) played spectacularly for the St. Louis Stars, Chicago 
     American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Newark Eagles, and 
     other Negro League teams; and
       (2) was 1 of the most powerful home run hitters in the 
     Negro Leagues, ranking third all-time among Negro Leaguers in 
     home runs and RBI;
       Whereas we congratulate Ben Taylor, a pitcher who--
       (1) transitioned into a top-ranked first baseman and clean-
     up hitter for the Indianapolis ABC's at the start of his 
     career;
       (2) served as an extremely successful player-manager from 
     1923-1929; and
       (3) exclusively managed the Washington Potomacs, the 
     Baltimore Black Sox, and the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 
     until 1940;
       Whereas we congratulate Cristobal Torriente, a 5-tool 
     outfielder who--
       (1) played most of his games for the Cuban Stars and 
     Chicago American Giants;
       (2) earned an incredible lifetime batting average of over 
     .330; and
       (3) is 1 of the all-time offensive leaders in Negro Leagues 
     history, ranking in the top 20 all-time in home runs, RBIs, 
     and total bases;
       Whereas we congratulate Sol White, a tremendously gifted 
     baseball player who--
       (1) played all infield positions during his 25-year 
     baseball career;
       (2) was a member of the best African American independent 
     teams of the pre-Negro Leagues era, including the 
     Philadelphia Giants, which he helped found in 1902 as playing 
     manager;
       (3) hit .359 in the White minor leagues during 5 seasons 
     before the color line was established; and
       (4) made a timeless contribution to baseball by authoring 
     his book, ``Sol White's Official Base Ball Guide'', the first 
     history of Black baseball before 1900;
       Whereas we congratulate J.L. Wilkinson, an creative and 
     innovative team owner who--
       (1) owned the Kansas City Monarchs, the All Nations club, 
     and 1 of the first professional women's teams in the United 
     States;
       (2) was a pioneer of night baseball and various ballpark 
     promotions;
       (3) was the only White owner of the Negro National League 
     when it was chartered in 1920; and
       (4) ran the longest running franchise in Negro National 
     League history during which his teams won an unprecedented 17 
     pennants and 2 World Series;
       Whereas we congratulate Jud Wilson, an intense first and 
     third baseman who--
       (1) ranks among the top 10 all-time in home runs, RBIs, 
     hits, total bases, slugging average, and batting average in 
     the Negro Leagues;
       (2) holds a lifetime batting average over .340;
       (3) earned from fans the nickname Boojum, after the sound 
     that his line drives made when slamming off the fences; and
       (4) played on pennant-winning teams as a member of the 
     Baltimore Black Sox, Philadelphia Stars, and Homestead Grays;
       Whereas those baseball legends will be inducted into the 
     National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 30, 2006, in 
     Cooperstown, New York, joining former Negro Leagues players 
     Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Monte 
     Irvin, Roy Campanella, ``Satchel'' Paige, Willie Mays, Bill 
     Foster, ``Buck'' Leonard, ``Bullet'' Rogan, ``Cool Papa'' 
     Bell, Hilton Smith, ``Smokey'' Joe Williams, Josh Gibson, 
     ``Judy'' Johnson, Leon Day, Martin Dihigo, Oscar Charleston, 
     ``Pop'' Lloyd, Ray Dandridge, ``Rube'' Foster, ``Turkey'' 
     Stearnes, and Willie Wells, as members of the National 
     Baseball Hall of Fame; and
       Whereas we congratulate the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum 
     in Kansas City, Missouri, the only public museum in the 
     Nation that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting 
     the experiences of the players in the Negro Leagues, founded 
     in 1990 by Negro Leagues legend Buck O'Neil, Horace Peterson, 
     former Kansas City Monarchs outfielder Al ``Slick'' Surratt, 
     and other former Negro Leagues players, for the tireless 
     efforts of the museum to preserve the evidence of honor, 
     courage, sacrifice, and triumph in the face of segregation of 
     those African Americans who played in the Negro Leagues 
     through its comprehensive collection of historical materials, 
     important artifacts, and oral histories of the participants 
     in the Negro Leagues and the impact that segregation had in 
     the lives of the players and their fans: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, 
     Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Biz Mackey, Effa Manley, Joe Mendez, 
     Alex Pompez, Cum Posey, Louis Santop, Mule Suttles, Ben 
     Taylor, Cristobal Torriente, Sol White, J.L. Wilkinson, and 
     Jud Wilson on being elected to the National Baseball Hall of 
     Fame Class of 2006;
       (2) commends the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the 
     Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for their efforts to ensure 
     that these legends of baseball receive the recognition due to 
     players of their caliber; and
       (3) respectfully requests the Enrolling Clerk of the Senate 
     to transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to--
       (A) the National Baseball Hall of Fame; and
       (B) the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

                          ____________________