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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Kirby Puckett, a member of the Major League | ||||||
| 3 | Baseball Hall of Fame, was one of the most popular, all-around | ||||||
| 4 | talented players of the 80s and 90s; he played his entire | ||||||
| 5 | major-league career for the Minnesota Twins, and he may be the | ||||||
| 6 | most popular athlete that ever played for the Twins; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, The center fielder led his team not only with his | ||||||
| 8 | batting skills, but also through his enthusiasm and effort; his | ||||||
| 9 | plaque at in the Hall of Fame commemorates his "everpresent | ||||||
| 10 | smile and infectious exuberance; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, He was born on the South Side of Chicago in 1960; | ||||||
| 12 | he was the youngest of 9 children in a small apartment in a | ||||||
| 13 | housing project; he played baseball as a kid, and after high | ||||||
| 14 | school he installed carpet at an automotive plant, then | ||||||
| 15 | attended a baseball tryout camp, where a college coach | ||||||
| 16 | recruited him; he played for Bradley University and Triton | ||||||
| 17 | College; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, The Minnesota Twins selected him in the first | ||||||
| 19 | round of the 1982 draft, and on May 8, 1984, he played his | ||||||
| 20 | first major league game for the Twins and had four hits; in | ||||||
| 21 | 1986, he was named to the American League's all-star team, an | ||||||
| 22 | honor he received in 10 straight seasons; he helped lead the | ||||||
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| 1 | team to victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1987 World | ||||||
| 2 | Series; the next year was his personal best: he batted .356 | ||||||
| 3 | with 24 home runs and 121 runs batted in; in 1989, his .339 | ||||||
| 4 | batting average won him the league batting title; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, When the Twins returned to the playoffs in 1991, | ||||||
| 6 | he led the team to victory in the American League Championship | ||||||
| 7 | Series and was named the series' Most Valuable Player; in Game | ||||||
| 8 | 6, he hit a single and a triple, stole a base, and in the third | ||||||
| 9 | inning, made a leaping catch against the center-field wall to | ||||||
| 10 | prevent Ron Gant from hitting either a home run or an | ||||||
| 11 | extra-base hit; then, in the 11th inning, with the score tied, | ||||||
| 12 | he hit a home run to win the game and tie the series; the Twins | ||||||
| 13 | went on to beat the Braves, 1-0, in Game 7; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Kirby Puckett retired from baseball at the age of | ||||||
| 15 | 35 and passed away in 2006; therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 17 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 18 | we remember Kirby Puckett and his many contributions to the | ||||||
| 19 | sport of baseball; and be it further
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| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 21 | presented to the family of Kirby Puckett as a symbol of our | ||||||
| 22 | respect and esteem.
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