[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 7459-7461]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING AND HONORING HARMON KILLEBREW

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to S. Res. 189.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 189) recognizing and honoring Harmon 
     Killebrew and expressing the condolences of the Senate to his 
     family on his death.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I will just make a very brief comment. I 
am not a great baseball fan. I am a baseball fan. I am sure there are 
better fans than me. I have followed baseball all of my life, starting 
as a little boy. I have listened to baseball games, and I would have 
loved to have met Harmon Killebrew. He was a man who, before anyone 
ever suggested steroids, was so powerful. He holds 10th or 11th place 
in the history of baseball for hitting home runs. According to what 
everyone says about him, he was such a nice man in addition to that.
  Mr. FRANKEN. Madam President, I rise to talk about a Minnesota icon. 
Minnesotans and baseball fans across this country are celebrating the 
life of Harmon Killebrew today. We lost the great slugger yesterday.
  I never met Mr. Killebrew, which is kind of hard for me to believe, 
because, similar to so many Minnesotans, I felt that I knew him. He was 
the heart of the Minnesota Twins franchise, not just because of the 
towering home runs

[[Page 7460]]

he hit but because, on and off the field, he carried himself with so 
much dignity and grace and humility.
  I was 9 years old when the old Washington Senators moved to Minnesota 
and became the Minnesota Twins. We were so excited to have a major 
league team in Minnesota, and Killebrew was the heart and the anchor of 
the franchise, batting cleanup and cracking out 400-foot-plus home runs 
with his unbelievably powerful swing.
  By 1965, Killebrew, along with Tony Oliva, Zoilo Versalles, Bob 
Allison, Earl Battey, Jim Perry, Jim Kaat, and Mudcat Grant unseated 
the Yankee dynasty and took the American League pennant. I was sitting 
along the left field line of Metropolitan Stadium the game before the 
All-Star break that year when Killebrew hit a ninth-inning walk-off 
homer to beat the Yankees. It was not a typical Killebrew home run. It 
was a line drive that just shot out of the park into the left field 
stands, and it sent us into the All-Star break in first place. I, along 
with lots of Twins fans, believe that was the blow that was the key to 
that season.
  As I said, that rope of a homer was not a typical Killebrew home run. 
He was known for these towering blasts. I remember one in particular. I 
was watching the Twins on TV one summer night with my dad and my 
brother, and the Twins were playing the Tigers in Detroit in the old 
Tiger Stadium.
  And Killebrew got ahold of one and it cleared the left field roof, 
one of just four shots that cleared that roof in the 87-year history of 
the stadium. My recollection is that by its trajectory, the ball was 
estimated to be a 480-foot home run. Killebrew hit the longest ball in 
the history of Metropolitan Stadium--a 530-foot shot!
  Now Killebrew was not that big a man. He was 5 feet 11 inches and 
about 210 pounds. In his major league career, Harmon Killebrew hit 573 
home runs, all without the aid of steroids. Killebrew grew up in rural 
Idaho. According to one press account I read last night, Killebrew 
claimed to have gotten his strength from carrying 10-gallon milk cans 
during the summers as a youth.
  But I know a little something, second hand, about where the power for 
those home runs really came from. His legs. See, about 20 years ago, a 
friend of mine did a little film with Killebrew, and travelled to his 
home in Idaho.
  My friend asked Killebrew where his power came from, and Harmon said 
that it came from his legs. Killebrew told my friend that the 
Killebrews all had incredibly powerful legs and that his father, 
Killebrew's father, could jump over a cow from a standing position.
  I had always hoped to meet Killebrew and ask him about that. I had a 
chance to. In 2005, there was a commemoration of the 40th anniversary 
of the 1965 Twins team. It was held in a tent after a Twins' game at 
the Metrodome.
  I was in the tent and I got Tony Oliva's autograph, and Camilo 
Pascual's. And I saw Killebrew and he was surrounded by fans. And I 
just wanted to give him some space. He was a totally accessible guy. 
Every Twins fan knew that from his years on the team and his years in 
the Twins broadcast booth. But for some reason I decided to talk to 
another member of that great team, and figured I would talk to Harmon a 
little later. But by the time I tried to find him again, he was gone.
  So, I never met Harmon Killebrew. But, again, like all Twins fans, I 
felt I knew him. A gracious, humble man that we in Minnesota were 
privileged to watch, and who we were privileged to have represent our 
State.
  Mr. CRAPO. Madam President, my colleagues Senators Jim Risch, Amy 
Klobuchar and Al Franken join me today in honoring the life of Harmon 
Clayton Killebrew. We join with his family and friends in mourning his 
passing and paying tribute to his inspirational life.
  Harmon Killebrew began his exemplary athletic career in Idaho. He was 
born June 29, 1936, in Payette, ID, where he earned multiple awards as 
an athlete in baseball, basketball and football at Payette High School. 
Harmon explained his childhood in Idaho in a way that fellow Idahoans 
could clearly understand. He often shared this quote from his 
childhood. ``My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. 
Mother would come out and say, `You're tearing up the grass'; `We're 
not raising grass,' Dad would reply. We're raising boys.''' We 
understand Harmon often credited then-U.S. Senator from Idaho, Herman 
Welker, for recommending to then-Washington Senators owners, the 
Griffith family, that their team sign Killebrew, and at age 17, 
Killebrew signed his first professional baseball contract with the 
Washington Senators.
  He went on to play his first seven seasons here in Washington, DC, 
before moving with the franchise to Minnesota in 1961, when it would be 
renamed the Minnesota Twins. Killebrew played 14 seasons in Minnesota, 
making the All-Star team in 10 of those seasons. He also competed in 
the 1965 World Series, where his Twins would lose to the Los Angeles 
Dodgers in seven games. Killebrew completed his professional baseball 
career in 1975, playing one season with the Kansas City Royals.
  His remarkable skills earned him due recognition. He was awarded the 
American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1969, when he led the 
league in both home runs and runs batted in. Killebrew's No. 3 uniform 
was retired by the Minnesota Twins, and he was elected to the Baseball 
Hall of Fame in 1984. His accomplishment of 573 career home runs 
currently ranks 11th on the All-Time baseball list.
  Killebrew's legacy extends far beyond the baseball field. He remained 
active in Idaho following his retirement, including taking the lead on 
many important charitable efforts. In 1977, Killebrew and former Idaho 
Representative Ralph Harding founded the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf 
Tournament, in honor of Killebrew's former Minnesota Twins teammate, 
who died from leukemia in 1976. Since then, this annual tournament, 
played in Sun Valley, ID, has raised more than $11 million, which has 
been leveraged with matching grants to over $25 million, for leukemia 
and cancer research. Each year, these proceeds are divided equally 
between St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute in Boise, Idaho and 
the University of Minnesota Cancer Research Center.
  Harmon Killebrew's talent and hard work have inspired countless young 
athletes, and he leaves behind a legacy of encouraging skill and 
dedicated service. We extend our condolences and prayers to his family, 
friends and loved ones and deep gratitude for his compassion, service 
and leadership.
  Mr. REID. I am very happy to ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 189) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 189

       Whereas Harmon Clayton Killebrew was born on June 29, 1936, 
     in Payette, Idaho;
       Whereas Harmon Killebrew earned multiple awards as an 
     athlete in baseball, basketball, and football while at 
     Payette High School;
       Whereas at the age of 17, Harmon Killebrew signed his first 
     professional baseball contract with the Washington Senators;
       Whereas Harmon Killebrew credits then-United States Senator 
     from the State of Idaho, Herman Welker, with recommending to 
     the Griffith family, then-Washington Senators owners, that 
     the Washington Senators sign Killebrew;
       Whereas Harmon Killebrew played his first 7 seasons of 
     professional baseball in Washington, D.C. before moving with 
     the Washington Senators franchise to the State of Minnesota 
     in 1961, where the team was renamed the Minnesota Twins;
       Whereas Harmon Killebrew played 14 seasons with the 
     Minnesota Twins;
       Whereas Harmon Killebrew hit the longest home run in the 
     history of Metropolitan Stadium, which hit a seat located 520 
     feet from home plate that the Twins later painted red in 
     honor of that historic shot;
       Whereas while with the Minnesota Twins, Harmon Killebrew 
     made the All-Star Team in 10 different seasons and competed 
     in the 1965 World Series, where the Minnesota Twins fell in 7 
     games to the Los Angeles Dodgers;
       Whereas Harmon Killebrew earned the American League's Most 
     Valuable Player award in 1969 when he led the league in both 
     home runs and runs batted in;

[[Page 7461]]

       Whereas Harmon Killebrew retired from professional baseball 
     in 1975, after playing 1 season with the Kansas City Royals;
       Whereas uniform number 3, which Harmon Killebrew wore while 
     with the Minnesota Twins, has been retired by the Minnesota 
     Twins;
       Whereas as of 2011, Harmon Killebrew, with 573 career home 
     runs, ranks 11th highest on the all-time career home run list 
     of Major League Baseball;
       Whereas Harmon Killebrew was elected to the Baseball Hall 
     of Fame in 1984;
       Whereas Harmon Killebrew remained active in many important 
     charitable efforts following the conclusion of his playing 
     career;
       Whereas in 1977, Harmon Killebrew joined with Ralph 
     Harding, a former United States Representative from the State 
     of Idaho, in founding the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf 
     Tournament, in honor of Danny Thompson, Harmon Killebrew's 
     former Minnesota Twins teammate who died as a result of 
     leukemia in 1976; and
       Whereas the efforts of Harmon Killebrew in support of the 
     annual Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament in the State 
     of Idaho generated more than $25,000,000 for leukemia and 
     cancer research at St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute 
     in Boise, Idaho and the University of Minnesota Cancer 
     Research Center: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes Harmon Killebrew as one of the greatest 
     professional baseball players of all time;
       (2) honors Harmon Killebrew for his charitable efforts to 
     support leukemia and cancer research; and
       (3) extends the deepest condolences of the Senate to the 
     family of Harmon Killebrew.

                          ____________________