[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 22580-22581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                REMEMBERING ROBERT WILLIAM ANDREW FELLER

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, on November 3, 1918, an American hero--
Robert William Andrew Feller--was born in Dallas County, IA, near the 
town of Van Meter. Sadly, this same hero died on December 15, 2010.
  Van Meter is nestled between the steady and rolling Raccoon River on 
the north side of town, and the lush and sweeping prairie hills on the 
south side of town.
  In most ways, it is your typical rural Iowa town. There is a post 
office, a few churches, a bank, a car wash and gas station, and a bar 
and grill.
  There are just under a thousand residents living in Van Meter. And so 
the Van Meter Bulldogs--from kindergarten through the twelfth grade--
still all go to school together in the same building.
  But unlike every other small town in Iowa, or America for that 
matter, there rests in Van Meter on Mill Street a museum paying tribute 
to the town's hero and favorite son--Bob Feller.
  Bob Feller was born and grew up on a farm just outside of Van Meter. 
Early on his father, who was a farmer, and his mother, who was a nurse 
and teacher, realized that their young Robert had a talent.
  That talent was playing baseball. Specifically, hurling curve balls 
and sliders and fastballs at whoever dared to step up to the plate 
against young Bob Feller.
  Bob Feller was so focused on baseball and so in love with the sport 
that his father built a regulation baseball diamond on their Dallas 
County farm naming it ``Oak View Park.'' Bob and his family recruited 
other players and formed a team appropriately called ``The Oakviews.''
  Bob Feller said his farm work and chores were what helped to develop 
his throwing speed and arm strength. His throwing speed and arm 
strength are what earned him the nicknames of ``Rapid Robert'' and 
``Bullet Bob'' and ``The Heater from Van Meter.''
  Leveraged with a high left-leg kick and whip-like arm, Bob Feller 
delivered some of the fastest stuff ever to come down from a pitcher's 
mound. Batters trembled facing him at home plate. Umpires needed to pay 
close attention. The crowds were always in awe. And Feller's pitches 
were blurs.
  It wasn't too long before word spread about this baseball wonder. 
Soon--and still in his teens and not even having graduated high school 
yet--Feller was pitching to some of his boyhood heroes in front of 
crowds of tens of thousands of people all across America. He dazzled 
all who saw him play.
  Barely old enough to shave, he found himself playing Major League 
Baseball for the Cleveland Indians in 1936. He faced the greatest 
baseball stars of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, 
Hank Greenberg, Mickey Mantle, Nellie Fox.
  Frequent opponent and purist hitter Joe DiMaggio said in 1941 about 
Feller, ``I don't think anyone is ever going to throw a ball faster 
than he does.''
  A sports reporter said of Feller's pitching, ``And his curveball 
isn't human.''
  We have all read about Bob Feller's amazing baseball career spent 
entirely

[[Page 22581]]

with the Cleveland Indians where he was the winningest pitcher in club 
history with 266 wins.
  He was an eight-time All Star. He captured a World Series ring in 
1948. He pitched three no-hitters, including the only Opening Day no-
hitter. He retired with 2,581 career strikeouts. He is enshrined in the 
Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
  These are impressive statistics from arguably the best pitcher to 
ever take the mound. But these stats and this ``farm to fame'' story is 
not what made Bob Feller a patriot or hero.
  On December 7, 1941, the United States suffered a horrific attack by 
the Japanese when they bombed us at Pearl Harbor, HI. Just 2 days later 
after that horrific attack, Bob Feller did something selfless--he 
signed up to serve in the U.S. Navy to fight in World War II. This 
caused him to miss playing in the Major Leagues for a solid chunk of 
his career. He walked away from further baseball glory and records and 
achievements. Pure selflessness. He served voluntarily as a chief petty 
officer on the USS Alabama between 1941 and 1945.
  Although most will remember him for his curveball, Bob Feller most 
wanted to be recognized for his service in World War II defending the 
United States from totalitarian powers and promoting liberty and 
freedom around the world.
  Bob Feller's military service and love of country is what he 
ultimately wanted people to remember.
  Across the plains there are everyday heroes serving us now, promoting 
security for Americans and freedom and liberty abroad. While they may 
not have sacrificed a professional sports career, they are still heroes 
and patriots nonetheless. Bob Feller would certainly agree with that 
assessment.
  In Iowa, we grow more than just crops on the farm. We grow heroes, 
too--heroes like Bob Feller, everyday heroes.

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