III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 386 

Honoring the Pre-Negro Leagues and Negro Leagues baseball players and 

executives elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2006. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2006 

Mr. TALENT (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FRIST, and Mr. SUNUNU) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the Pre-Negro Leagues and Negro Leagues baseball players and executives elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2006. 

Whereas African Americans began to play baseball in the late 

1800s on military teams, college teams, and company 

teams, and eventually found their way onto professional 

teams with White players; 

Whereas the racism and ‘‘Jim Crow’’ laws that forced African American players from their integrated teams by 

1900 compelled those dedicated players to form their own 

‘‘barnstorming’’ teams that traveled throughout the 

United States and offered to play any team willing to 

challenge them; 

Whereas, in 1920, the Negro National League was created 

under the guidance of Andrew ‘‘Rube’’ Foster, a former 


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player, manager, and owner of the Chicago American Giants, at a meeting held at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas 

City, Missouri; 

Whereas soon after the Negro National League was formed, 

rival leagues were assembled in eastern and southern 

States, bringing the thrills and innovative play of African 

American ballplayers to major urban centers and rural 

countrysides throughout the United States, Canada, and 

Latin America; 

Whereas, from the 1920s to the 1960s, over 30 communities 

located throughout the United States were home to teams 

in 1 of the 6 Negro Leagues; 

Whereas the Negro Leagues maintained a high level of professional skill and became centerpieces for economic development in their communities; 

Whereas, in 1945, the Brooklyn Dodgers of Major League 

Baseball recruited Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City 

Monarchs, making Robinson the first African American 

in the modern era to play on a Major League Baseball 

roster; 

Whereas the integration of Major League Baseball, which 

soon followed the signing of Jackie Robinson, prompted 

the decline of the Negro Leagues because the Major 

Leagues began to recruit and sign the best African 

American ballplayers; 

Whereas it has been recognized by numerous baseball authorities that many of the greatest players ever to play 

the game of baseball played in the Negro Leagues, rather 

than Major League Baseball; 

Whereas, on February 27, 2006, the National Baseball Hall 

of Fame announced that Ray Brown, Willard Brown, 


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Andy Cooper, Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Biz Mackey, Effa 

Manley, Joe Mendez, Alex Pompez, Cum Posey, Louis 

Santop, Mule Suttles, Ben Taylor, Cristobal Torriente, 

Sol White, J.L. Wilkinson, and Jud Wilson had been 

elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 

2006; 

Whereas less than 1 percent of all professional baseball players have been honored with induction into the National 

Baseball Hall of Fame; 

Whereas we congratulate Ray Brown, an ace starter for the 

Homestead Grays who— 

(1) ranks among the top Negro Leagues pitchers in 

total wins and winning percentage; and 

(2) pitched a perfect game in 1945 as well as a onehitter in the 1944 Negro World Series; 

Whereas we congratulate Willard Brown, an outfielder with 

the Kansas City Monarchs who— 

(1) led the Negro American League in home runs 

and batting average during numerous seasons; and 

(2) was considered by many to be the Negro American League version of Josh Gibson; 

Whereas we congratulate Andy Cooper, a pitcher with the 

Detroit Stars and Kansas City Monarchs who— 

(1) had a knack for changing the speed of his 

pitches; 

(2) was the all-time leader in every Detroit Stars 

pitching category; 

(3) was among the top 10 leaders in career wins, 

strikeouts, shutouts, and winning percentage in Negro 

Leagues history; and 

(4) later in his career became the manager of the 

Kansas City Monarchs and led them to 3 pennants; 


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Whereas we congratulate Frank Grant, a second baseman 

with tremendous range and a strong arm who— 

(1) hit over .300 in 4 seasons with White minor 

league teams until the color lines forced him out of the 

league in 1886; 

(2) played for top-rated African American teams 

until 1903; and 

(3) who displayed a unique blend of speed and power 

in the International League that allowed him to turn 1 

out of every 4 base hits into extra bases; 

Whereas we congratulate Pete Hill, a premier outfielder 

who— 

(1) played brilliantly for the Cuban X-Giants, Philadelphia Giants, Chicago Leland Giants, and the Chicago 

American Giants before the formation of the Negro 

Leagues; 

(2) during his 1911 season as an American Giant, 

hit safely in 115 out of 116 games; and 

(3) was rated the fourth best outfielder in the renowned 1952 Pittsburgh Courier player-voted poll of the 

best players of the Negro Leagues; 

Whereas we congratulate Biz Mackey, a strong-armed catcher 

who— 

(1) ended his career with a lifetime batting average 

well over .300; 

(2) ranked among the top Negro Leaguers in lifetime total bases, RBIs, and slugging percentage; and 

(3) later managed the Baltimore Elite Giants and 

the Newark Eagles who, under his skill and leadership, 

won the Negro World Series in 1946; 

Whereas we congratulate Effa Manley, the co-owner of the 

Newark Eagles, who— 


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(1) has become the first woman elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame; and 

(2) in addition to her efforts in baseball, played an 

active role in the Civil Rights Movement by promoting 

such causes as Anti-Lynching Day at Ruppert Stadium, 

which is the home of the Eagles; 

Whereas we congratulate Jose Mendez, a right-handed pitcher who— 

(1) earned a winning percentage of just under .700 

during his memorable career as a member of the Cuban 

Stars, All Nations, and Kansas City Monarchs; and 

(2) managed the Kansas City Monarchs to successive pennants from 1923–1925, during which time he 

compiled a 20–4 pitching record with 7 saves; 

Whereas we congratulate Alex Pompez, a successful team 

owner who— 

(1) owned the Cuban Stars of the Eastern Colored 

League and then the New York Cubans of the Negro National League; and 

(2) signed the first Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan, and Panamanian players of the circuit; 

Whereas we congratulate ‘‘Cum’’ Posey, owner of the Homestead Grays, who— 

(1) won the Negro National League pennant 8 times 

between 1937 and 1945; and 

(2) assembled teams that were home to 11 of the 18 

Negro Leaguers currently in the Hall of Fame; 

Whereas we congratulate Louis Santop, a power-hitting 

catcher who— 

(1) played for several of the greatest African American teams of the pre-Negro Leagues era, including the 


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Philadelphia Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, and the 

Brooklyn Giants; 

(2) hit over .320 while slugging tape-measure homeruns during his tremendous career in the Negro Leagues; 

and 

(3) was rated by Rollo Wilson as the first string 

catcher on his all-time Black baseball team; 

Whereas we congratulate Mule Suttles, a hard-hitting first 

baseman and outfielder who— 

(1) played spectacularly for the St. Louis Stars, Chicago American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Newark Eagles, and other Negro League teams; and 

(2) was 1 of the most powerful home run hitters in 

the Negro Leagues, ranking third all-time among Negro 

Leaguers in home runs and RBIs; 

Whereas we congratulate Ben Taylor, a pitcher who— 

(1) transitioned into a top-ranked first baseman and 

clean-up hitter for the Indianapolis ABC’s at the start of 

his career; 

(2) served as an extremely successful player-manager from 1923–1929; and 

(3) exclusively managed the Washington Potomacs, 

the Baltimore Black Sox, and the Atlantic City 

Bacharach Giants until 1940; 

Whereas we congratulate Cristobal Torriente, a 5-tool outfielder who— 

(1) played most of his games for the Cuban Stars 

and Chicago American Giants; 

(2) earned an incredible lifetime batting average of 

over .330; and 


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(3) is 1 of the all-time offensive leaders in Negro 

Leagues history, ranking in the top 20 all-time in home 

runs, RBIs, and total bases; 

Whereas we congratulate Sol White, a tremendously gifted 

baseball player who— 

(1) played all infield positions during his 25-year 

baseball career; 

(2) was a member of the best African American 

independent teams of the pre-Negro Leagues era, including the Philadelphia Giants, which he helped found in 

1902 as playing manager; 

(3) hit .359 in the White minor leagues during 5 

seasons before the color line was established; and 

(4) made a timeless contribution to baseball by authoring his book, ‘‘Sol White’s Official Base Ball Guide’’, 

the first history of Black baseball before 1900; 

Whereas we congratulate J.L. Wilkinson, a creative and innovative team owner who— 

(1) owned the Kansas City Monarchs, the All Nations club, and 1 of the first professional women’s teams 

in the United States; 

(2) was a pioneer of night baseball and various ballpark promotions; 

(3) was the only White owner of the Negro National 

League when it was chartered in 1920; and 

(4) ran the longest running franchise in Negro National League history during which his teams won an unprecedented 17 pennants and 2 World Series; 

Whereas we congratulate Jud Wilson, an intense first and 

third baseman who— 


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(1) ranks among the top 10 all-time in home runs, 

RBIs, hits, total bases, slugging average, and batting average in the Negro Leagues; 

(2) holds a lifetime batting average over .340; 

(3) earned from fans the nickname Boojum, after 

the sound that his line drives made when slamming off 

the fences; and 

(4) played on pennant-winning teams as a member 

of the Baltimore Black Sox, Philadelphia Stars, and 

Homestead Grays; 

Whereas those baseball legends will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 30, 2006, in Cooperstown, New York, joining former Negro Leagues players Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Larry 

Doby, Monte Irvin, Roy Campanella, ‘‘Satchel’’ Paige, 

Willie Mays, Bill Foster, ‘‘Buck’’ Leonard, ‘‘Bullet’’ 

Rogan, ‘‘Cool Papa’’ Bell, Hilton Smith, ‘‘Smokey’’ Joe 

Williams, Josh Gibson, ‘‘Judy’’ Johnson, Leon Day, Martin Dihigo, Oscar Charleston, ‘‘Pop’’ Lloyd, Ray 

Dandridge, ‘‘Rube’’ Foster, ‘‘Turkey’’ Stearnes, and 

Willie Wells, as members of the National Baseball Hall 

of Fame; and 

Whereas we congratulate the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, the only public museum 

in the Nation that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting the experiences of the players in the Negro 

Leagues, founded in 1990 by Negro Leagues legend 

Buck O’Neil, Horace Peterson, former Kansas City Monarchs outfielder Al ‘‘Slick’’ Surratt, and other former 

Negro Leagues players, for the tireless efforts of the museum to preserve the evidence of honor, courage, sacrifice, and triumph in the face of segregation of those AfVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:02 Mar 02, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR386.ATS SR386

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rican Americans who played in the Negro Leagues 

through its comprehensive collection of historical materials, important artifacts, and oral histories of the participants in the Negro Leagues and the impact that segregation had in the lives of the players and their fans: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) congratulates Ray Brown, Willard Brown, 

3 Andy Cooper, Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Biz Mackey, 

4 Effa Manley, Joe Mendez, Alex Pompez, Cum Posey, 

5 Louis Santop, Mule Suttles, Ben Taylor, Cristobal 

6 Torriente, Sol White, J.L. Wilkinson, and Jud Wil7 son on being elected to the National Baseball Hall 

8 of Fame Class of 2006; 

9 (2) commends the National Baseball Hall of 

10 Fame and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for 

11 their efforts to ensure that these legends of baseball 

12 receive the recognition due to players of their cal13 iber; and 

14 (3) respectfully requests the Enrolling Clerk of 

15 the Senate to transmit an enrolled copy of this reso16 lution to— 

17 (A) the National Baseball Hall of Fame; 

18 and 

19 (B) the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. 

Æ 


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