[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 826]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING BASEBALL LEGEND CARL RUSSELL LONG

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. G. K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 20, 2015

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, today it is with a heavy heart that I 
rise to commemorate the life of Mr. Carl Russell Long, a passionate 
leader, public servant, and trailblazer who played baseball in the 
Negro League and later went on to become the first African American to 
integrate the Carolina League. Mr. Long will be greatly missed in his 
community of Kinston, throughout our great state of North Carolina, and 
by his fans across the country.
  Carl Russell Long was born May 9, 1935 in Rock Hill, South Carolina 
to William Long and the former Ella Griffin. In 1952, he joined the 
Negro League and began playing in the outfield for the Birmingham Black 
Barons and a number of other teams until joining the Kinston Eagles in 
1956 where he became the first African American to play in the Carolina 
League.
  During his career, Mr. Long played for at least eight baseball teams 
and had more than 1,600 at bats. He had 57 home runs and a .275 batting 
average. In 1956, he was named the Carolina League's All-Star and was 
also recognized as the League's RBI leader.
  After retiring from baseball, he returned to the City of Kinston 
where he continued to be a trailblazer. He became Lenoir County's first 
African American Deputy Sheriff and, in 1970, became the first African 
American detective to work for the county sheriff
  Carl Long was a member of the Negro League Players Association and in 
2003 was inducted into the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame. 
In 2013, he was one of only a dozen former Negro League players who 
were invited to the White House to meet President Barack Obama.
  Mr. Long leaves behind his loving wife of 58 years, Ella Long, two 
children, Sotello and Cynthia Long Hightower, two grandchildren, 
Latoyha Polk Washington and John Polk, and one great-grandson Breylan 
Polk.
  Mr. Speaker, Carl Russell Long was a loving husband, father, and 
public servant. His untimely passing will surely be felt by all of 
those whose lives he touched. He will forever be missed but never 
forgotten in the City of Kinston, across North Carolina, and by 
baseball fans everywhere.

                          ____________________