II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 79

To designate June 19, 1993, as ‘‘National Baseball Day’’.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 2 (legislative day, MARCH 3), 1993

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself and Mr. BRADLEY) introduced the following

joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

To designate June 19, 1993, as ‘‘National Baseball Day’’.

Whereas the seeds of modern baseball were planted on the

Elysian Fields of Hoboken, New Jersey, on the warm

spring afternoon of June 19, 1846;

Whereas, on that historic date, one of baseball’s earliest and

most influential teams, the Knickerbockers, invited a

group known as the New York Club to join them for a

‘‘game of ball’’ under a unique set of rules that the

Knickerbockers had recently devised;

Whereas the game the Knickerbockers conceived so excited

and captivated the imagination of sports enthusiasts that

other ‘‘base ball clubs’’ soon began to assemble;
2

•SJ 79 IS

Whereas these early clubs organized and modeled themselves

on the example set by the Knickerbockers, and adopted

their written ‘‘Rules of Play’’;

Whereas in the months and years that followed, many of

these early clubs joined the Knickerbockers for ‘‘regular

play’’ at the Elysian Fields and at other locations in and

around New York City, New York;

Whereas these men and teams were ‘‘amateurs’’ in the noblest sense of the word, since they played for the sheer

joy they found in this new and captivating game;

Whereas, over the next decade, the Elysian Fields grew into

the first great center of baseball activity in the United

States, and began to attract players and spectators from

across the Nation;

Whereas Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr. was the guiding force

behind the Knickerbockers, and is the American who,

perhaps, best deserves the title of ‘‘Father of Modern

Baseball’’;

Whereas as the game of baseball spread north and south

along the east coast of the United States it became

known as the ‘‘New York Game’’;

Whereas today this game is known simply as ‘‘baseball’’, a

game which, unlike any other, has had a profound influence on generation after generation of Americans;

Whereas for millions of Americans, baseball is part of their

earliest childhood memories, including the crack of a bat,

the smell of a glove, and the endless summers spent on

sandlots in every community across this great Nation in

a uniquely American rite of passage;

Whereas, for many Americans, their first real heroes wore

pinstriped baseball uniforms, and these heroes taught
3

•SJ 79 IS

generations of young Americans important values and inspired their first dreams of glory;

Whereas, in every American generation since 1846, baseball

has been an important bond between millions of parents

and their children who have shared countless afternoons

at the ballpark;

Whereas today, baseball binds one generation of Americans

to the next through a shared experience which has become central to our cultural identity as a Nation;

Whereas it is often said that to understand America, one

must first understand the game of baseball; and

Whereas the designation of a ‘‘National Baseball Day’’ will

provide an opportunity to celebrate America’s ‘‘national

pastime’’ and to reflect upon a game that has become a

metaphor for our Nation’s values and a living symbol of

our cultural heritage: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That, in recognition of the fundamental role that the game

4 of baseball has played in shaping our American experience,

5 and as a tribute to those who first pioneered the game,

6 June 19, 1993, is hereby designated as ‘‘National Baseball

7 Day’’. The President is authorized and requested to issue

8 a proclamation calling upon the people of the United

9 States to observe such day with appropriate ceremonies

10 and activities.

Æ