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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Residents of Fort Worth and the surrounding area may |
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| 6 | 7 | | indeed take great pride in the new motion picture 12 Mighty Orphans, |
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| 7 | 8 | | which was filmed in their community and tells the story of a |
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| 8 | 9 | | legendary local football team; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Based on a book by Dallas sportswriter Jim Dent, 12 |
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| 10 | 11 | | Mighty Orphans is about the Mighty Mites, the hardscrabble high |
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| 11 | 12 | | school football team of the Masonic Widows and Orphans Home in Fort |
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| 12 | 13 | | Worth during the Great Depression era; the team was coached by World |
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| 13 | 14 | | War I veteran Rusty Russell, who walked away from a better-paying |
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| 14 | 15 | | job to work at the orphanage in 1927; with few resources, the Mighty |
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| 15 | 16 | | Mites had to practice with two socks stuffed together instead of a |
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| 16 | 17 | | football, and they traveled to games in the back of Coach Russell's |
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| 17 | 18 | | smoke-belching Dodge pickup truck; and |
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| 18 | 19 | | WHEREAS, In spite of its hardships, the team won its first |
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| 19 | 20 | | game against Mineral Wells 34 to 14, and it went on to a remarkable |
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| 20 | 21 | | 8-2 first season; in 1932, the Mighty Mites made it to the state |
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| 21 | 22 | | championship, and they reached the state semifinals in 1934, 1938, |
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| 22 | 23 | | and 1940; two players, Hardy Brown and Dewitt Coulter, later played |
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| 23 | 24 | | professional football, and one of the players from the first |
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| 24 | 25 | | season, Abner McCall, went on to become president of Baylor |
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| 25 | 26 | | University and a Texas Supreme Court justice; and |
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| 26 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Released by Sony Pictures Classics, this |
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| 27 | 28 | | inspirational story has been brought to the screen by director and |
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| 28 | 29 | | West Texas native Ty Roberts, with a screenplay by Lane Garrison, |
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| 29 | 30 | | Kevin Meyer, and Mr. Roberts; it stars Dallas native Luke Wilson as |
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| 30 | 31 | | Coach Russell, and it features performances by such veteran actors |
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| 31 | 32 | | as Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Wayne Knight, and Treat Williams; |
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| 32 | 33 | | the film was shot in and around Fort Worth in the fall of 2019, and |
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| 33 | 34 | | it provided employment to hundreds of local residents, utilized |
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| 34 | 35 | | area businesses, and featured such iconic locations as Farrington |
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| 35 | 36 | | Field and the Masonic Temple, as well as Yellow Jacket Stadium in |
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| 36 | 37 | | Cleburne and the Texas Pythian Home in Weatherford; and |
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| 37 | 38 | | WHEREAS, Joining an elite group of motion pictures to be shot |
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| 38 | 39 | | in Fort Worth, 12 Mighty Orphans places the national spotlight on |
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| 39 | 40 | | the city as a filming and tourist destination, while providing an |
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| 40 | 41 | | entertaining showcase for the remarkable story of the Mighty Mites; |
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| 41 | 42 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 42 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 43 | 44 | | Legislature, 2nd Called Session, hereby commemorate the release of |
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| 44 | 45 | | 12 Mighty Orphans and extend to all those associated with the film |
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| 45 | 46 | | sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
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| 46 | 47 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 47 | 48 | | prepared for the cast and crew of 12 Mighty Orphans as an expression |
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| 48 | 49 | | of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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