Bill Text: MS SC517 | 2013 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Remembering and commending the sports legacy of the 1964-1965 Lanier High School National Championship Basketball Team.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)
Status: (Passed) 2013-01-24 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC517 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2013-SC517-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Horhn, Frazier, Blount, Butler (38th), Jackson (32nd), Parker, Simmons (12th)
Senate Concurrent Resolution 517
(As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REMEMBERING AND COMMENDING THE SPORTS LEGACY OF THE 1964-1965 LANIER HIGH SCHOOL "BULLDOGS" NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL TEAM.
WHEREAS, sometimes in sports, championship teams are forgotten and fade into history. These teams are normally victims of circumstances beyond their control. In Jackson, Mississippi, a great basketball team has never received the acclaim it deserved. The 1964-1965 Lanier "Bulldogs" Boys Basketball Team should be considered one of the best in this state's history, but pre-integration attitudes robbed them of their glory; and
WHEREAS, the 1964-1965 Lanier National Championship Team was probably the best high school basketball team in Mississippi history and the 43-0 "Bulldogs" are in the first sentence of the conversation. On January 23, 2013, the team will be honored at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. That team never received the recognition it deserved, and did not receive championship rings or jackets; and
WHEREAS, the "Bulldogs" finished the 1964-1965 season undefeated at 43-0 while scoring an average of 102 points per game and winning their games by an average of 40 points. Team member Orsmond Jordan went on to be elected into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, Lanier won a National Championship after defeating a team from Virginia in a post-season tournament in Montgomery, Alabama. The "Bulldogs" were so good that future 7-year NBA player Cornell Warner was the third player off the bench; and
WHEREAS, Warner played college basketball at Jackson State before being selected by the Boston Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers) in the second round of the 1970 NBA Draft. He went on to play seven seasons for four NBA teams; and
WHEREAS, after the team won their National Championship, the Clarion-Ledger devoted just four paragraphs to the Lanier team, and no television station covered the Bulldogs' feat. Lanier had no money for championship rings or jackets, so the players only had their memories of their feat to pass on to others; and
WHEREAS, on January 23, 2013, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame will host the surviving members of the 1964-1965 Lanier Boys Basketball Team. The team members will finally receive their championship rings and jackets that are long overdue. The team photo will go up on the museum's Wall of National Champions, which features other Mississippi Teams that have won National Championships. The hall, along with WLBT, has partnered
with title sponsor Barksdale Cadillac and others to give these athletes the honor they deserve. Other presenting sponsors for the Lanier banquet include Joe Usry Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Phil Moore Buick GMC and Morrow Collections; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we pay tribute and cherish fondly the memory of this enormous feat in Mississippi sports history and honor these basketball players and coaches who brought recognition to their school, their community and to the State of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby remember and commend the sports legacy of the 1964-1965 Lanier High School "Bulldogs" National Championship Team and extend our sincere congratulations to this historic team on the auspicious occasion of their overdue recognition.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED That this resolution be presented to the 1964-1965 Lanier "Bulldogs" at their Recognition Ceremony, forwarded to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
