Bill Text: IA SR106 | 2011-2012 | 84th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A resolution honoring Art Pennington, an American baseball great.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-04-18 - Resolution adopted. S.J. 816. [SR106 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2011-SR106-Introduced.html
Senate
Resolution
106
-
Introduced
SENATE
RESOLUTION
NO.
106
BY
HATCH
,
HOGG
,
MATHIS
,
DVORSKY
,
HORN
,
DEARDEN
,
FRAISE
,
GRONSTAL
,
KIBBIE
,
BLACK
,
McCOY
,
BEALL
,
WILHELM
,
QUIRMBACH
,
RAGAN
,
BOWMAN
,
SENG
,
SCHOENJAHN
,
BOLKCOM
,
DOTZLER
,
DANIELSON
,
RIELLY
,
and
JOCHUM
A
Resolution
honoring
Art
Pennington,
an
American
1
baseball
great.
2
WHEREAS,
only
rarely
does
the
Senate
have
the
3
opportunity
to
celebrate
the
life
and
work
of
an
4
American
who
still
lives
among
us,
a
man,
not
just
a
5
memory;
and
6
WHEREAS,
Arthur
D.
Pennington
now
lives
quietly
7
in
Cedar
Rapids,
Iowa,
but
70
years
ago,
long
before
8
Jackie
Robinson
broke
the
color
barrier,
Mr.
Pennington
9
was
known
as
“Superman”
and
was
a
star
of
the
Negro
10
baseball
leagues;
and
11
WHEREAS,
as
a
black
man,
Mr.
Pennington
was
denied
12
an
opportunity
to
play
major
league
baseball,
but
13
for
almost
20
years,
Mr.
Pennington
played
the
game
14
throughout
the
Americas,
including
Havana,
Cuba,
and
15
Caracas,
Venezuela;
and
16
WHEREAS,
at
17,
Mr.
Pennington
traveled
to
Chicago,
17
joining
the
Chicago
American
Giants
of
the
Negro
18
league;
and
19
WHEREAS,
the
“Superman”
was
one
of
the
Negro
20
league’s
brightest
stars
and
played
in
the
prestigious
21
Negro
League
East/West
All-Star
Game
in
1942,
1946,
and
22
1950;
and
23
WHEREAS,
Mr.
Pennington
was
an
All-Star
during
the
24
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S.R.
106
golden
era
of
the
Negro
leagues
and
maintained
an
1
eight-year
batting
average
of
.336,
emerging
as
a
Negro
2
league
star
in
1945,
batting
.359
and
.500
as
the
first
3
baseman
for
the
Giants;
and
4
WHEREAS,
over
the
following
decades,
Mr.
Pennington
5
played
with
some
of
the
greatest
baseball
players
of
6
all
time
including
Jackie
Robinson,
Satchel
Paige,
7
Josh
Gibson,
Hank
Aaron,
Buck
O’Neil,
James
Thomas
8
“Cool
Papa”
Bell,
Willie
Mays,
Roy
Campanella,
and
many
9
others;
and
10
WHEREAS,
it
was
during
this
period
of
time,
his
11
prime
years,
that
much
of
his
statistical
data
was
12
lost
because
of
limited
record
keeping
for
the
Negro
13
leagues;
and
14
WHEREAS,
in
1949,
Mr.
Pennington
returned
to
the
15
United
States
with
his
wife
Anita,
a
Caucasian
woman
of
16
Spanish
origin,
at
a
time
when
in
some
states
it
was
17
still
illegal
for
African
Americans
and
Caucasians
to
18
marry;
the
implications
of
their
interracial
marriage
19
had
unforeseen
repercussions
on
his
baseball
career
and
20
quite
possibly
prevented
him
from
playing
Major
League
21
baseball;
and
22
WHEREAS,
in
1959,
Mr.
Pennington
retired
from
the
23
game
he
loved
so
much
and
made
a
home
and
a
new
life
in
24
Cedar
Rapids,
where
he
worked
at
Collins
Radio
for
many
25
years,
played
on
the
company
baseball
team,
and
ran
for
26
several
political
offices
including
sheriff,
mayor,
and
27
safety
commissioner;
and
28
WHEREAS,
featured
in
the
books
Baseball’s
Forgotten
29
Heroes
and
The
Complete
Book
of
Baseball’s
Negro
30
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Leagues
and
in
the
Negro
Leagues
Baseball
Museum,
Art
1
Pennington
was
a
great
American
baseball
player;
and
2
WHEREAS,
to
this
day
Mr.
Pennington
is
a
living
3
reminder
of
the
challenges
that
African
Americans
faced
4
in
our
country
based
not
on
their
skill
but
on
the
5
color
of
their
skin,
and
while
some
African
Americans
6
succeeded
in
their
pursuits
during
this
shameful
period
7
in
our
country’s
history,
others
still
had
to
endure
8
discrimination
and
prejudice
and
were
prevented
from
9
fulfilling
their
goals;
for
Mr.
Pennington
that
goal
10
was
playing
in
the
major
leagues;
NOW
THEREFORE,
11
BE
IT
RESOLVED
BY
THE
SENATE,
That
the
Senate
honors
12
the
“Superman”,
Arthur
D.
Pennington,
one
of
America’s
13
finest
baseball
players
and
a
civil
rights
pioneer
14
whose
life
and
contributions
have
for
too
long
been
15
overlooked,
and
16
BE
IT
FURTHER
RESOLVED,
That
because
of
the
racial
17
divides
of
the
1940s
and
1950s,
Mr.
Pennington
never
18
received
the
recognition
he
deserved,
therefore
the
19
Senate
urges
that
he
be
considered
for
admission
to
the
20
Baseball
Hall
of
Fame
in
Cooperstown,
New
York.
21
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