Congressional Record—House H4314
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H4314 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 20, 2006 chairman of the New York State Ath- it in celebration of the great life of into the International Boxing Hall of letic Commission. He counseled trou- Floyd Patterson. Fame in 1991. bled teens through the New York State Floyd Patterson once said, ‘‘They Following his retirement, he re- Office of Children’s Services. He wel- said I was the fighter who got knocked mained close to the sport, serving comed dozens of young men into his down the most, but I also got up the twice as chairman of the New York home and he trained numerous boxers most.’’ I am pleased to stand here on State Athletic Commission, and he re- in the boxing ring that he built in the the floor today to celebrate his life. signed from this post in 1998. barn on his farm. As you have already heard, he was Patterson passed away on May 11 in He gave generously of himself to the born in Waco, North Carolina; raised in his home in New Paltz, New York, at young men he trained and to the com- Brooklyn, New York; and rose from the age of 71, and as my other col- munities of the Hudson River Valley in humble beginnings to become the first leagues say, we join today in cele- New York, including his generous sup- two-time heavyweight champion of the brating the great life of Floyd Patter- port of the athletic facilities at New world. son. A lot of us choose different roads Paltz High School and the State Uni- You know that he is 1 of 11 children. to stardom and opportunity, but think versity College of New York at New I will not repeat that. of this, a man who was 1 of 11 children, Paltz. He represented the United States in who went from a man no one knew to Floyd Patterson was an extraor- the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, a man who everyone in the world knew. dinary, one might say almost unique, bringing home the gold in the middle- So I thank you for joining me today individual. He came from a very dif- weight division. in celebrating the life of Floyd Patter- ficult set of circumstances. As a very He turned pro in 1952 under the man- son. young child he grew up in a set of very agement of Cus D’Amato, and all of us f dangerous circumstances, but he man- know what a famous trainer Cus REPORT ON RESOLUTION PRO- aged to move himself away from all of D’Amato was at the legendary Gra- VIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF that and to realize the extraordinary mercy Gym. D’Amato in the 1980s H.R. 9, FANNIE LOU HAMER, physical potential that he possessed as would develop another heavyweight ROSA PARKS, AND CORETTA a human being and became the kind of champion by the name of Mike Tyson. SCOTT KING VOTING RIGHTS champion that I just described. At just 21, Patterson became the ACT REAUTHORIZATION AND He is an American worthy of honor youngest man to ever win the heavy- AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2006 and tribute and worthy of the recogni- weight championship with a fifth- tion of this Congress. I hope that all of round knockout of Archie Moore in Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, the Members of this Congress will join 1956. In 1959, Patterson would suffer an from the Committee on Rules, sub- me in a resolution honoring him, his embarrassing loss to Ingemar mitted a privileged report (Rept. No. athletic career, and the contributions Johansson at Yankee Stadium that 109–516) on the resolution (H. Res. 878) that he made to countless other indi- cost him the heavyweight title. How- providing for consideration of the bill viduals whom he helped succeed in re- ever, Patterson would make a trium- (H.R. 9) to amend the Voting Rights alizing the potential of their lives. phant comeback and beat Johansson Act of 1965, which was referred to the Floyd Patterson, an extraordinary and become the first man to regain the House Calendar and ordered to be boxer, an extraordinary American, an heavyweight title. printed. outstanding, extraordinary human Though he was known as a shy and f being. I am proud to celebrate his life. quiet man, he had what critics call a ‘‘big man’s punch,’’ and in one match THREE BROTHERS OF THE BAND f he knocked down his opponent 11 OF BROTHERS b 2200 times. He had a unique style of holding The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a his gloves high in front of his face and previous order of the House, the gen- IN CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF leaping in with hooks. tleman from Texas (Mr. POE) is recog- FLOYD PATTERSON Floyd Patterson, as a boxer, was con- nized for 5 minutes. Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I sidered a small heavyweight; however, Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, they were ask unanimous consent to follow Mr. he competed against some of the giants called the Screaming Eagles of World HINCHEY in the RECORD because my re- of the boxing word. He went up against War II. They jumped into Normandy marks are about Floyd Patterson as some of the best in boxing world, in- into the wet darkness of the night be- well. cluding Sonny Liston and Muhammad fore sunrise on D–Day, June 6, 1944. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ali. They held off the Germans in the dead MARCHANT). Without objection, the He would lose his title to Sonny of winter in the Battle of the Bulge in gentlewoman from Ohio is recognized Liston in a first-round knockout. Fol- a small Belgian town called Bastogne. for 5 minutes. lowing his loss to Liston, Patterson Even though completely surrounded, There was no objection. fought for 10 years, getting three more they replied to the demands of the Ger- Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I shots at the title, but never regaining mans to surrender with that famous want to thank my colleagues for allow- it. statement of their commander, ing me to proceed at this time. He fought Muhammad Ali in 1965. De- ‘‘Nuts.’’ I rise today as well in honor of one of spite taking a devastating beating They are the 101st Airborne of the the greatest boxers of all times. Unfor- from Ali, he lasted until the 12th United States Army. They are the tunately, at the time of his death, we round. Ali, who was angry because Pat- Band of Brothers. The 101st is still on were engaged in so many different ac- terson called him by his given name duty, and their legacy now continues tivities that we were unable to obtain Cassius Clay, taunted and toyed with in the blistering heat of Iraq. They are a Special Order or hour Special Order Patterson during the fight, peppering once again fighting the forces of tyr- to celebrate Floyd Patterson’s life. him with jabs and right hands while anny and terrorism. Those that know me know that I am asking him, what is my name, what is Recently, at an outpost near Bagh- one of the greatest boxing fans. It is al- my name? dad, American volunteers of the 101st ways a great opportunity for me to Patterson and Ali would later rec- found themselves surrounded and at- have a chance to turn on a boxing oncile when Patterson approached Ali tacked by the enemy. One soldier, Spe- match any chance I have the oppor- in a restaurant and said, hello, Muham- cialist David Babineau, was killed in tunity. mad Ali. They would remain friends, the skirmish. Private First Class Most recently, in fact week before and ironically, Patterson’s last fight Kristian Menchaca and Private First last, one of the young boxers said that would be against Muhammad Ali in Class Thomas Tucker were kidnapped, he wanted to be able to do what Floyd 1972. captured, and later, apparently, mur- Patterson had not been able to do, and Overall, Patterson finished with a dered. he came into the ring and was able to record of 55 wins 8 losses and 1 draw, Twenty-three-year-old Kristian win that boxing match. I think he did with 40 knockouts. He was inducted Menchaca was from my hometown of VerDate Aug 31 2005 04:42 Jun 21, 2006 Jkt 049060 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K20JN7.222 H20JNPT1 hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMHOUSE June 20, 2006 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H4315 Houston, Texas. The Army turned to place in the RECORD the fact that they take our children’s lives. They Kristian Menchaca’s life around. It these miners are from a region of our take fathers away from children and gave him a greater purpose, a higher country that has been home to genera- husbands away from wives. Oh, miner, calling. He leaves behind a wife, a fam- tions of coal miners with entire com- won’t you organize wherever you may ily, and lots of grateful Americans. munities dependent on the mines. be and make this a land of freedom for The terrorists that America fights in While the coal mines have gotten workers like you and me.’’ Iraq and Afghanistan, they take no somewhat safer with deaths steadily Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentle- prisoners. They have no POW camps. declining as a result of stricter safety woman from California (Ms. WATERS). While the media here is bemoaning laws passed by the Congress of the Ms.