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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Kirby Puckett, a member of the Major League
3Baseball Hall of Fame, was one of the most popular, all-around
4talented players of the 80s and 90s; he played his entire
5major-league career for the Minnesota Twins, and he may be the
6most popular athlete that ever played for the Twins; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The center fielder led his team not only with his
8batting skills, but also through his enthusiasm and effort; his
9plaque at in the Hall of Fame commemorates his "everpresent
10smile and infectious exuberance; and
 
11    WHEREAS, He was born on the South Side of Chicago in 1960;
12he was the youngest of 9 children in a small apartment in a
13housing project; he played baseball as a kid, and after high
14school he installed carpet at an automotive plant, then
15attended a baseball tryout camp, where a college coach
16recruited him; he played for Bradley University and Triton
17College; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The Minnesota Twins selected him in the first
19round of the 1982 draft, and on May 8, 1984, he played his
20first major league game for the Twins and had four hits; in
211986, he was named to the American League's all-star team, an
22honor he received in 10 straight seasons; he helped lead the

 

 

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1team to victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1987 World
2Series; the next year was his personal best: he batted .356
3with 24 home runs and 121 runs batted in; in 1989, his .339
4batting average won him the league batting title; and
 
5    WHEREAS, When the Twins returned to the playoffs in 1991,
6he led the team to victory in the American League Championship
7Series and was named the series' Most Valuable Player; in Game
86, he hit a single and a triple, stole a base, and in the third
9inning, made a leaping catch against the center-field wall to
10prevent Ron Gant from hitting either a home run or an
11extra-base hit; then, in the 11th inning, with the score tied,
12he hit a home run to win the game and tie the series; the Twins
13went on to beat the Braves, 1-0, in Game 7; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Kirby Puckett retired from baseball at the age of
1535 and passed away in 2006; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18we remember Kirby Puckett and his many contributions to the
19sport of baseball; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to the family of Kirby Puckett as a symbol of our
22respect and esteem.