III

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 215

To designate June 19, 1996, as ‘‘National Baseball Day’’.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 26, 1996

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. BRADLEY, and Mr. MOYNIHAN) submitted

the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

RESOLUTION

To designate June 19, 1996, 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 ‘‘baseball clubs’’ soon began to assemble;

Whereas these early clubs organized and modeled themselves

on the example set by the Knickerbockers and adopted

the Knickerbockers written ‘‘Rules of Play’’;
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•SRES 215 IS

Whereas these men and teams were amateurs in the noblest

sense of the word, as 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 the game of baseball spread north and south along

the east coast of the United States;

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 and schoolyards 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

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

Whereas in every American generation for 150 years, baseball

has been an important bond between millions of parents

and their children who have shared countless afternoons

at the ballpark;
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•SRES 215 IS

Whereas today, baseball binds one generation of Americans

to the next through a shared experience that 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, That the Senate, in recognition of the fun2 damental role that the game of baseball has played in

3 shaping our American experience, and as a tribute to those

4 who first pioneered the game, designate June 19, 1996,

5 as ‘‘National Baseball Day’’. The President is authorized

6 and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the

7 people of the United States to observe such day with ap8 propriate ceremonies and activities.

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