Full Text of HR0212 99th General Assembly
HR0212 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are honored to recognize Joe Black, whom in | 4 | | 1952 became the first African-American pitcher to win a World | 5 | | Series game; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Joe Black was born on February 8, 1924, one of 6 | 7 | | children raised by
his parents, Martha and Joseph Black; he was | 8 | | an American right-handed pitcher in the
Negro Leagues and in | 9 | | Major League Baseball, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, | 10 | | Cincinnati Redlegs, and
Washington Senators; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Joe Black was a native of Plainfield, New Jersey; | 12 | | he starred at Plainfield High School and attended Morgan State | 13 | | University on a football scholarship, graduating in 1950; he | 14 | | later received an honorary doctorate from Shaw University; he | 15 | | was a member of the Omega Psi
Phi fraternity and appears | 16 | | prominently in Roger Kahn's classic book, The Boys of Summer; | 17 | | and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Joe Black helped the Baltimore Elite Giants of the | 19 | | Negro Leagues win 2
championships in 7 years; he and Jackie | 20 | | Robinson pushed for a pension plan for Negro
League players and | 21 | | was instrumental in the inclusion of players who played before | 22 | | 1944; he
then played for a year in the Brooklyn Dodgers' minor |
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| 1 | | league system; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, The Dodgers promoted Joe Black to the major | 3 | | leagues in 1952 at the age of 28, 5 years
after teammate Jackie | 4 | | Robinson broke baseball's color barrier; he was a roommate and
| 5 | | friend of Jackie Robinson while with Brooklyn, and was dominant | 6 | | coming out of the bullpen; he was chosen
Rookie of the Year | 7 | | after winning 15 games and saving 15 others for the National | 8 | | League
champions; Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen brought him out | 9 | | of the bullpen and started him 3 times in 7 days in the 1952 | 10 | | World Series against the New York Yankees; he won the
opener | 11 | | with a 6-hitter over Allie Reynolds, 4-2; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, After Joe Black's baseball career ended, he | 13 | | remained in baseball through his
affiliation with the | 14 | | commissioner's office where he consulted with players about | 15 | | making good
career choices; he also returned to Plainfield, New | 16 | | Jersey to teach health and physical education at
Hubbard Junior | 17 | | High School; he later became the first African-American | 18 | | Vice-President of
Transportation with Greyhound in Phoenix, | 19 | | Arizona; he was a founder and board director of the
Baseball | 20 | | Assistance Team and worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks in | 21 | | community relations
after they joined the National League; he | 22 | | was a regular in the Diamondbacks' dugout during
batting | 23 | | practice and in the press box; in his spare time, he also wrote | 24 | | a syndicated column,
"By The Way" for Ebony magazine and an |
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| 1 | | autobiography, Ain't Nobody Better Than You; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Joe Black is heralded for his achievements in | 3 | | baseball; the Arizona Fall
League honors his legacy by naming | 4 | | its MVP award the "Joe Black MVP Award" and
the NAACP awarded | 5 | | him a Lifetime Achievement Award; in 1957, he became the first | 6 | | African-American player on the Washington Senators, and | 7 | | Washington, D.C.'s current team, the Nationals,
annually | 8 | | present the "Joe Black Award" to a Washington-area organization | 9 | | that promotes baseball in African-American communities; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Joe Black was raised by his parents to have strong | 11 | | family valued and work
ethic; he passed on those principles to | 12 | | his 2 children, Joseph Frank Black and Martha Jo
Black; his | 13 | | daughter, Martha Jo, named after his mother, continues his | 14 | | baseball
legacy and currently works for the Chicago White Sox; | 15 | | and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Joe Black passed away on May 17, 2002 from | 17 | | prostate cancer at the age of
78; his impact and leadership on | 18 | | the baseball, corporate,
and entertainment communities will | 19 | | never be forgotten; therefore, be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 21 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 22 | | honor Joe Black for being more than a Dodger; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to Martha Jo Black as a
symbol of our remembrance and | 3 | | respect for Joe Black's leadership.
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