Full Text of SR0301 94th General Assembly
SR0301 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | 3 |
| learned with sadness of the death of George Mikan, the original | 4 |
| "Mr. Basketball", of Arizona and formerly of Joliet, on June 1, | 5 |
| 2005; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Mikan was born June 18, 1924, in Joliet; he | 7 |
| attended Joliet Catholic High School in Joliet,
Quigley | 8 |
| Preparatory Seminary School in Chicago, and graduated from | 9 |
| DePaul University;
he started studies to be a priest and was an | 10 |
| accomplished classical pianist; he was told he could never play | 11 |
| basketball because he wore glasses, but he persisted and proved | 12 |
| everyone wrong; and
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| WHEREAS, George Mikan, a 6-foot-10 giant of a man who | 14 |
| played basketball with superior coordination and a fierce | 15 |
| competitive spirit, was one of the prototypes for the | 16 |
| dominating tall players of later decades; and
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| WHEREAS, During George Mikan's college days at DePaul, he | 18 |
| revolutionized the game; he, along with fellow Hall of Famer | 19 |
| Bob Kurland, swatted away so many shots that in 1944 the NCAA | 20 |
| introduced a rule that prohibited goaltending; and
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| WHEREAS, He was a three-time All-America (1944, 1945, 1946) | 22 |
| and led the nation in scoring in 1945 and 1946; his 120 points | 23 |
| in three games led DePaul to the 1945 NIT championship; he | 24 |
| scored 1,870 points at DePaul and once tallied 53 against Rhode | 25 |
| Island State, a remarkable feat considering he single-handedly | 26 |
| outscored the entire Rhode Island State team; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1950, he was voted the greatest player in the | 28 |
| first half of the century by the Associated Press; he won his | 29 |
| first professional championship with the Chicago American | 30 |
| Gears of the NBL in 1947 and captured six more pro titles (1 |
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| NBL-1948, 1 BAA-1949, and 4 NBA-1950, 1952-54); as the | 2 |
| cornerstone of the Minneapolis Lakers, he led the NBA in | 3 |
| scoring three times (1949-52), played in the first four NBA | 4 |
| All-Star Games (MVP 1953), and led the league in rebounding | 5 |
| twice (1952, 1953); and
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| WHEREAS, Towering over most of his competitors, he was one | 7 |
| of the most effective scorers of his day, averaging 22.6 points | 8 |
| over a professional career that lasted nine years - one with | 9 |
| the Chicago American Gears and eight with the Minneapolis | 10 |
| Lakers; and
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| WHEREAS, He announced his retirement after the Lakers' 1954 | 12 |
| championship run and devoted all his energies to his law career | 13 |
| and to raising his large family; while practicing corporate and | 14 |
| real estate law, he also bought and renovated buildings in | 15 |
| Minneapolis; he was in the first class elected to the Naismith | 16 |
| Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959; in 1967, he returned | 17 |
| to the basketball world to become the first commissioner of the | 18 |
| American Basketball Association (ABA); faced with all the | 19 |
| problems of trying to create and sustain a fledgling | 20 |
| professional sports organization, he came up with the novel | 21 |
| idea of the league's multicolored basketball; and
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| WHEREAS, He served as ABA commissioner until 1969; he | 23 |
| resurfaced in the mid-1980s as the head of a task force whose | 24 |
| goal was to bring professional basketball back to Minneapolis; | 25 |
| with the financial backing of local businessmen, he | 26 |
| successfully lobbied the NBA to add an expansion team in | 27 |
| Minnesota for the 1989-90 season; the team became the Minnesota | 28 |
| Timberwolves;
one of the most dominant players ever to play the | 29 |
| game, George Mikan's contributions to the sport and his impact | 30 |
| on the NBA still loom as large as his 6-10 frame; his | 31 |
| accomplishments were further acknowledged when he was named a | 32 |
| member of the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of George Mikan is felt by all who | 2 |
| knew and loved him, especially his wife of 58 years, Patricia; | 3 |
| his children, G. Larry Mikan, Terry (Karen) Mikan, Patrick | 4 |
| Mikan, Michael (Karla) Mikan, Tricia (Doug) Johnson, and | 5 |
| Maureen Mikan; and his grandchildren, Gina, Molly Marysa, | 6 |
| Shannon, Max, Jenna, Kristin, and Keara Mikan and Christine and | 7 |
| Danny Johnson; and
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| WHEREAS, While one of the most outstanding athletes in | 9 |
| history, George Mikan will be remembered for his big smile, | 10 |
| positive attitude, and competitive spirit; he was a major role | 11 |
| model for all the young people who grew up watching him | 12 |
| dominate his sport while still being a kind, thoughtful, clean | 13 |
| living citizen; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 15 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 16 |
| George Mikan and extend our sincerest condolences to his family | 17 |
| and friends; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 20 |
| sympathy.
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