Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HR74 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	HR74INTRODUCED
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3	3	HR74
4	4	FKA11C5-1
5	5	By Representatives Sellers, Givan, Datcher, Tillman, Rafferty,
6	6	Hendrix, Hollis
7	7	RFD:
8	8	First Read: 18-Feb-25
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14	14	6 FKA11C5-1 02/14/2025 LMG (L)lmg 2025-824
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16	16	First Read: 18-Feb-25
17	17	HR____ CELEBRATING THE CENTENARY OF REVEREND WILLIAM HENRY
18	18	GREASON.
19	19	WHEREAS, with special pleasure, we offer joyful
20	20	felicitations to Reverend William Henry "Bill" Greason, who
21	21	is celebrating his milestone 100th birthday; and
22	22	WHEREAS, Bill Greason was born on September 3, 1924,
23	23	in Atlanta, Georgia; the middle child of James and Lizi
24	24	Greason's five children, he grew up across the street from
25	25	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Auburn Avenue, now known as
26	26	the Sweet Auburn Historic District, which was an African
27	27	American neighborhood in segregated Atlanta; and
28	28	WHEREAS, in 1943, he entered the United States Marine
29	29	Corps during World War II and completed basic training at
30	30	Montford Point in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; he served
31	31	honorably with the 66th Supply Platoon, an all-Black unit,
32	32	in the Pacific Theater of Operations, where he took part in
33	33	the Battle of Iwo Jima; and
34	34	WHEREAS, after the war, Bill Greason enjoyed a
35	35	distinguished career as a baseball player; he was an ace
36	36	right-handed pitcher for the Birmingham Black Barons from
37	37	1948 to 1950, where he was a teammate of Willie Mays; in
38	38	1948, he won two games in the playoffs against the Kansas
39	39	City Monarchs, helping the Black Barons win the Negro
40	40	American League pennant; and against the Homestead Grays, in
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68	68	28 HR74 INTRODUCED
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70	70	American League pennant; and against the Homestead Grays, in
71	71	the last Negro League World Series ever played, he defeated
72	72	the soon-to-be champion to claim Birmingham's lone victory
73	73	in the five-game series; and
74	74	WHEREAS, Bill Greason later pitched for the St. Louis
75	75	Cardinals, where he would become the team's second African
76	76	American player; he went on to play eight years in the high
77	77	minors, and retired after the 1959 season; and
78	78	WHEREAS, after his baseball days, Bill Greason
79	79	studied for the ministry at Birmingham Baptist Bible College
80	80	and Samford University; he became a member of the 16th
81	81	Street Baptist Church, where he met his beloved wife, Willie
82	82	Otis Underwood, whom he married in 1953 and remained devoted
83	83	to until her passing in 2018; in 1971, he was called as the
84	84	pastor of Birmingham's historic Bethel Baptist Church, and
85	85	he continued to preach into 2023; and
86	86	WHEREAS, in 2011, Bill Greason was presented with a
87	87	lifetime achievement award at the annual Alabama Black
88	88	Achievement Awards Gala; in 2012, the Montford Point
89	89	Marines, including Reverend Greason, were awarded a group
90	90	Congressional Gold Medal; and
91	91	WHEREAS, at 100 years of age, he is the oldest living
92	92	veteran of the Negro Leagues; in 2020, the players who
93	93	played in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1948 were
94	94	recognized as official Major Leaguers, with their stats and
95	95	records becoming a part of Major League History; and
96	96	WHEREAS, by achieving success on the baseball field,
97	97	African-American baseball players, such as Reverend Bill
98	98	Greason, helped break down color barriers and integrate
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128	128	Greason, helped break down color barriers and integrate
129	129	African-Americans into all aspects of society in the United
130	130	States; and
131	131	WHEREAS, as a U.S. Marine, pioneering baseball
132	132	player, civil rights activist, pastor, husband, father, and
133	133	grandfather, Reverend Greason is a quintessential American;
134	134	he has said that he has no regrets and thanks God for the
135	135	direction of his life; now therefore,
136	136	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
137	137	LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, That Reverend Bill Greason is hereby
138	138	celebrated for reaching his milestone 100th birthday, and we
139	139	commend him for his many lifetime achievements, commitments,
140	140	sacrifices, and contributions to baseball, his community,
141	141	and our country; we joyfully dedicate this resolution to him
142	142	with utmost gratitude and admiration, along with sincere
143	143	wishes for many more happy and healthy birthdays to come.
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