HOUSE MEMORIAL 88

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2014

INTRODUCED BY

Rodolpho "Rudy" S. Martinez

A MEMORIAL

CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND CAREER OF RALPH KINER, A HALL OF FAME BASEBALL PLAYER AND A NEW MEXICO ORIGINAL.

     WHEREAS, major league baseball hall of fame player Ralph Kiner was born in Santa Rita, New Mexico, and served honorably as a United States navy pilot during World War II; and

     WHEREAS, Santa Rita is a ghost town in Grant county and is the site of the El Chino copper mine; and

     WHEREAS, Kiner played outfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955; and

     WHEREAS, after injuries forced his retirement from active play after ten seasons, Ralph Kiner served as an announcer for the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets, announcing for the Mets from the team's inception until his death on February 6, 2014; and

      WHEREAS, Kiner was a powerful slugger, led all of major league baseball in home runs six consecutive years from 1947 to 1952 and retired with three hundred sixty-nine career home runs; and 

     WHEREAS, Ralph spent eight decades as a baseball player, executive and broadcaster; and

     WHEREAS, Kiner was inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 1975, the only player to be voted in that year; and

     WHEREAS, Ralph Kiner attended every hall of fame ceremony from the time he was inducted until his death, and his legacy will live forever in Cooperstown;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Ralph Kiner from Santa Rita, New Mexico, be recognized as a great New Mexican and for his contributions to baseball and this country; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of cultural affairs, the governor and the offices of major league baseball.

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