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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, In 1900, Charles "The Old Roman" Comiskey became
3involved in the birth and development of the American League;
4in January of 1900, Comiskey became the owner of the Chicago
5White Stockings and moved the franchise to Chicago to be a part
6of the newly formed League; and
 
7    WHEREAS, As the White Stockings, the team played the
8first-ever game of the American League on April 21, 1900; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The people of Chicago soon shortened the team's
10name to "White Sox"; the new name was accepted by the Comiskey
11family and eventually became the team's official name; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In 1910, Charles Comiskey oversaw the building of
13Comiskey Park, the home of the White Sox for more than 8
14decades; Comiskey served as the owner of the team until his
15death in 1931; and
 
16    WHEREAS, J. Louis Comiskey, Charles' only child, inherited
17and owned the team until his death in 1939; ownership of the
18Chicago White Sox was then passed onto his wife, Grace; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Grace Comiskey served as the owner of the Chicago
20White Sox from 1939 to 1956; she was baseball's second female

 

 

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1executive and the first in the American League; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Under the ownership of Grace Comiskey, the White
3Sox signed Minnie Minoso, the team's first African-American
4player, and Luis Aparicio, the league's first Hispanic American
5Rookie of the Year winner; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Grace Comiskey passed away in 1956, leaving the
7controlling share of the team to her first child, Dorothy
8Comiskey Rigney, the wife of former White Sox pitcher John
9Rigney; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Dorothy Comiskey Rigney, along with her mother,
11was a sports pioneer, being one of the few women to have served
12as principal owner of a Major League Baseball team; and
 
13    WHEREAS, After the 1958 season, Dorothy Comiskey Rigney
14sold the White Sox to Bill Veeck, ending the Comiskey family's
1558-year control of the franchise; and
 
16    WHEREAS, John and Dorothy are the parents of Illinois State
17Representative Patti Bellock; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
20we recognize the legacy of the Comiskey family and the family's

 

 

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1contribution to the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois;
2and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That we honor the history made by Grace and
4Dorothy Comiskey as two of the first women to have served as
5owners of a Major League Baseball team; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7presented to Illinois State Representative Patti Bellock as a
8symbol of our great esteem and respect.