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92_SR0030
LRB9207813RHrh
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
3 express their sincere condolences to the family and friends
4 of Alfred "Al" Emmanuel McGuire, who recently passed away;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, Al McGuire was the colorful coach who led
7 Marquette University to the 1977 NCAA championship and then
8 became a highly popular television broadcaster; and
9 WHEREAS, Alfred Emmanuel McGuire was born on September 7,
10 1928 in the Bronx, New York, the third of four children born
11 to Irish immigrants John and Winifred Sullivan McGuire; as a
12 teenager he moved to the Rockaway Beach section of Queens,
13 where his parents operated a tavern/restaurant; he began
14 attracting attention as an athlete, teaming on the
15 playgrounds with his older brothers; and
16 WHEREAS, Al McGuire attended St. Johns University, where
17 he played on the basketball team his his brother Dick; he
18 went on to a four year career with the New York Knicks, where
19 again his brother was a teammate; he has said that he owed
20 his four-year pro career more to tenacity and hustle than
21 pure talent; and
22 WHEREAS, Al McGuire went into coaching when his playing
23 career ended; he started as an assistant at Dartmouth College
24 then moved to Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, where
25 he coached for seven years before being named coach at
26 Marquette in 1964; and
27 WHEREAS, One of the few times Al McGuire was at a loss
28 for words came on a rainy night in Georgia on March 28, 1977,
29 that when McGuire's Marquette Warriors beat North Carolina
30 for the NCAA tournament championship, it was also the last
31 game he ever coached; as Marquette's players and fans
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1 celebrated, Coach McGuire went back to the locker room for a
2 moment of solitude and to reflect oh his greatest
3 accomplishment as a coach; and
4 WHEREAS, Al McGuire has had teams that were ranked number
5 one in the nation, teams that had enjoyed undefeated regular
6 seasons, and a team that had made the Final Four three years
7 earlier in 1974; the Marquette Warriors rallied around their
8 coach after he announced that the 1976-1977 season would be
9 his last, providing a storybook finish to a storied career;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, The passing of Al McGuire will be deeply felt by
12 all who knew and loved him, especially his wife, Pat; his
13 sons, Al and Rob; his daughter, Noreen; his six
14 grandchildren; and the many players and coaches who had
15 associated with him over the years; therefore, be it
16 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
17 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
18 all who knew him, the death of beloved former coach of the
19 Marquette Warriors Al McGuire of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and be
20 it further
21 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22 presented to the family of Al McGuire with our sincere
23 condolences.