Full Text of HR0493 101st General Assembly
HR0493 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to recognize Chicago Cubs legend and Major | 4 | | League Baseball Hall of Famer Lee Smith on the occasion of Lee | 5 | | Smith Day at Wrigley Field; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Lee Smith was inducted into the National Baseball | 7 | | Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on July 21, 2019,
| 8 | | becoming the 52nd Chicago Cub to earn baseball's ultimate | 9 | | honor; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Lee Smith was born on December 4, 1957 in | 11 | | Jamestown, Louisiana and was a standout athlete
at Castor High | 12 | | School, lettering in baseball, basketball, and track; he was | 13 | | drafted and signed by the
Chicago Cubs in 1975 and made his | 14 | | Major League debut on September 1, 1980; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Lee Smith played eight seasons with the Chicago | 16 | | Cubs (1980-1987) during his 18-year Major
League career; | 17 | | originally a middle reliever and then a starting pitcher, he | 18 | | was given the closer role in
July of 1982; known for his slow, | 19 | | intimidating walk to the pitcher's mound, his steely glare at | 20 | | the batter,
and a blazing fastball, he developed into one of | 21 | | the most dominating closers in baseball history; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Lee Smith led the Chicago Cubs in saves a | 2 | | franchise-best six consecutive seasons, including
the 1984 | 3 | | season, helping secure the National League Eastern Division | 4 | | title and the club's first postseason
appearance in 39 years; | 5 | | he was named Chicago Player of the Year in 1986 by the Chicago
| 6 | | Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America and | 7 | | remains to this day the club's all-time saves
leader with 180, | 8 | | with 60% of his saves consisting of more than three outs; | 9 | | additionally, he is
second in relief appearances (452) and | 10 | | third in games pitched (458) for the Chicago Cubs; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Lee Smith ended his career in 1997 as Major League | 12 | | Baseball's all-time saves leader with 478
(currently third on | 13 | | the all-time saves list) and is 12th in games pitched; he was a | 14 | | seven-time all-star
and led his league in saves four times, | 15 | | earning at least 30 saves in 10 big league seasons; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Lee Smith was honored in 1999 as a member of the | 17 | | Chicago Cubs All-Century Team; a fierce
and dominant competitor | 18 | | on the field, he is affectionately known as "Big Lee" and | 19 | | remains loved by fans, an immensely popular Wrigley Field | 20 | | legend and fan-friendly member of the
Chicago Cubs family; | 21 | | therefore, be it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 23 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
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| 1 | | we congratulate Lee Smith on his Hall of Fame career and his | 2 | | eight seasons as a Chicago Cub; and be it further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That we declare September 1, 2019 as "Lee Smith | 4 | | Day" in the State of Illinois; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 6 | | presented to Lee Smith and the Chicago Cubs as a symbol of our | 7 | | respect.
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