Full Text of HR0942 97th General Assembly
HR0942 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0942 | | LRB097 20157 GRL 67082 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to honor Bill Haller for his many | 4 | | achievements; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Bill Haller was born on February 28, 1935, in | 6 | | Joliet; his father, Frank "The
Fox" Haller, worked at the | 7 | | Joliet steel mills and his mother, Julia Haller, was a | 8 | | stay-at-home mom
who raised her 3 children; he has one sister, | 9 | | Joyce Ganz, and one brother, Tom (deceased),
who played Major | 10 | | League Baseball and served as the Assistant General Manager of | 11 | | the Chicago White Sox
and the General Manager of the San | 12 | | Francisco Giants; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Bill Haller was raised in Fairmont, a blue-collar | 14 | | neighborhood in Will
County that is still very dear to his | 15 | | heart; he graduated from Fairmont Grade School
and Lockport | 16 | | Township High School (Class of 1953); while in high school, he | 17 | | was a standout 3-sport athlete; in 1955, he graduated from | 18 | | Joliet Junior College; while at college, he excelled
in | 19 | | baseball and basketball; he served as captain of the 1955 JJC | 20 | | basketball team, which qualified
for the National Junior | 21 | | College Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Although Bill Haller wore many uniforms |
| | | HR0942 | - 2 - | LRB097 20157 GRL 67082 r |
|
| 1 | | throughout his career, the one that
made him most proud was the | 2 | | United States Army uniform he wore for 2 years after
his | 3 | | enlistment in 1955, including 16 months in Korea; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Bill Haller had a long and distinguished career as | 5 | | a baseball umpire; he
began umpiring in 1958 in the Class D | 6 | | Georgia/Florida League of the Minor Leagues; in 1960,
he | 7 | | umpired in the Class B Northwest League; in 1961, he was | 8 | | promoted to the Triple A Pacific
Coast League; in 1962, he | 9 | | worked the diamond in the International League in Triple A; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Bill Haller began his 20-year career in 1962 as a | 11 | | Major League umpire
in the American League; during his umpire | 12 | | career, he worked in 4 World Series (1968, 1972, 1978,
and | 13 | | 1981); he also worked in 4 All Star games (1968, 1973, 1975, | 14 | | and 1977) and 4 American League playoff series
(1969, 1971, | 15 | | 1975, and 1977); on July 14, 1972, he umpired home plate while | 16 | | his brother, Tom,
crouched down in front of him as the catcher | 17 | | for the Detroit Tigers in a game against the Kansas City | 18 | | Royals; this was the first and only brother umpire/catcher | 19 | | combination in any game in
Major League history; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Today, Bill Haller is often referred to by | 21 | | baseball writers, broadcasters, and
fans as "that legendary | 22 | | Major League umpire"; he was well known in Major League | 23 | | Baseball as
a no-nonsense umpire, whose famous verbal |
| | | HR0942 | - 3 - | LRB097 20157 GRL 67082 r |
|
| 1 | | confrontations with Baltimore Orioles manager Earl
Weaver are | 2 | | now part of the greatest moments of baseball lore; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, After his retirement as an umpire, Bill Haller | 4 | | continued working for Major
League Baseball as the assistant | 5 | | supervisor of umpires from 1983 to 1985; in 1986, he scouted | 6 | | for
the Chicago White Sox; in 1987, he was hired by George | 7 | | Steinbrenner to scout for the New
York Yankees; in 1993, he | 8 | | returned to Major League Baseball to initiate its umpire | 9 | | development
program, where he remained until his retirement in | 10 | | 1994; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, In 2007, Bill Haller was named one of the Lockport | 12 | | Township High School Legends of Basketball from the past 100 | 13 | | years; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Bill Haller and his wife, Sally, are the loving | 15 | | parents of Albert and Jenny and
the grandparents of Kelsie, | 16 | | Brooke, Mitchell, Sydney, Jesse, and Joshua; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 18 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 19 | | we honor Bill Haller for his many achievements and wish him | 20 | | success and happiness in the future; and be it further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
| | | HR0942 | - 4 - | LRB097 20157 GRL 67082 r |
|
| 1 | | presented to Bill Haller as a symbol of our esteem, gratitude, | 2 | | and respect.
|
|