Full Text of HR1058 94th General Assembly
HR1058 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR1058 |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the | 3 |
| State of Illinois learned with sadness of the death of Ray | 4 |
| Meyer, Hall of Fame basketball coach at DePaul University, on | 5 |
| Friday, March 17, 2006, at the age of 92; and
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| WHEREAS, Ray Meyer was born on December 18, 1913, in | 7 |
| Chicago, the son of a candy wholesaler and the youngest of ten | 8 |
| children; he planned to be a priest but turned to sports after | 9 |
| starring in basketball at Chicago's Quigley Prep and St. | 10 |
| Patrick's Academy, where he was part of the 1932 Catholic high | 11 |
| school national championship team; he later accepted a | 12 |
| scholarship to play at Notre Dame, where he was co-captain of | 13 |
| the basketball team during his junior and senior years, and | 14 |
| where he also began his coaching career as an assistant coach; | 15 |
| and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Over the span of a 42-year career of dedication | 17 |
| and leadership at DePaul, Coach Meyer compiled a record of 724 | 18 |
| wins and 354 losses, placing him fifth in career victories | 19 |
| among college basketball coaches; his coaching accomplishments | 20 |
| further included 37 winning seasons, 20 postseason | 21 |
| appearances, a 1945 National Invitational Tournament | 22 |
| championship, 13 trips to the NCAA tournament, including Final | 23 |
| Four appearances in 1943 and 1979, and 12 seasons with 20 or | 24 |
| more victories; and | 25 |
| WHEREAS, The true value of Ray Meyer's coaching skills was | 26 |
| evidenced not only by his ability to have young men succeed on | 27 |
| the basketball court, but also by his determination to instill | 28 |
| in them the strong personal and family values that would allow | 29 |
| them to succeed throughout their lives; and
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| WHEREAS, With the discovery of George Mikan, an unknown | 31 |
| 6'10" student who had never even played high school basketball, |
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HR1058 |
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| Ray Meyer invented the role of the proverbial "big man", | 2 |
| thereby revolutionizing the sport into what it has become | 3 |
| today; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, As the result of his remarkable achievements and | 5 |
| contributions to the game, in February of 1979, Coach Meyer | 6 |
| joined John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, and Frank McGuire as the only | 7 |
| active coaches elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame; | 8 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Those who knew Coach Meyer appreciated the fact | 10 |
| that his passion for the game was only eclipsed by his | 11 |
| boundless love for his wife, Marge, for his sons, Tommy, Joey, | 12 |
| and Bobby, each having played for him at DePaul, and for his | 13 |
| daughters, Barbara and Patricia; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, DePaul students today, and for generations to | 15 |
| come, will continue to participate and thrive in campus | 16 |
| athletics at the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center | 17 |
| located on a stretch of Belden Avenue, since renamed Ray Meyer | 18 |
| Drive; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, The willingness of Coach Meyer to freely give of | 20 |
| himself to the community made him an ambassador, not only for | 21 |
| DePaul University, but for the game of college basketball and | 22 |
| the entire City of Chicago; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 24 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 25 |
| we mourn the passing of Coach Ray Meyer, and we extend our | 26 |
| deepest sympathy to his family, friends, and all who knew and | 27 |
| loved him; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 29 |
| presented to his family and to DePaul University as an | 30 |
| expression of our sincerest condolences.
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