HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 40
(By Delegates Staton and Browning)
[Introduced March 8, 2002; referred to the
Committee on Rules.]
Honoring, recognizing and memorializing the skills and achievements
of William Earl Webb, professional baseball player, who was a
resident of Wyoming County from the mid-1940s until the
mid-1960s.
Whereas, William Earl Webb, born on September 17, 1897, in
White County, Tennessee, broke into major league baseball as a
pitcher and outfielder with the New York Giants in the early 1920s;
and
Whereas, William Earl Webb, played with other major league
teams after his debut with the Giants, including the Chicago Cubs,
Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, the Chicago White Sox, and finally
the Milwaukee Brewers of the old American Association, until his
retirement from baseball after he played in his final ball game on
July 29, 1937; and
Whereas, William Earl Webb, best known for his baseball prowess
as a hitter, broke the major league record for most doubles in a season, a record that still stands, by hitting sixty-seven in 1931
while playing with the Boston Red Sox during the golden age of
baseball, when the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, Hack Wilson, Lefty Grove
and Grover C. Alexander graced the baseball parks of the day; and
Whereas, This accomplishment of sixty-seven doubles in a season
is one of the oldest records that continues unbroken in the major
leagues; and
Whereas, After retirement from major league baseball, William
Earl Webb, moved to West Virginia where he resided continuously for
approximately twenty years in Kopperston, working as a coal miner
and coaching the Kopperston baseball team; and
Whereas, In addition to the enduring accomplishment of hitting
the most doubles in a major league season, he was also a man known
by his family and others for his size, strength, and expertise in
training bird dogs, deadliness of his aim with guns, the violence
of his response to insult, and the warmth of his compassion for
children; and
Whereas, William Earl Webb departed this earth on May 23, 1965,
after a day spent fishing a stream that meandered through the rural
hills he so loved; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That honor, recognition and memoriam is hereby expressed by the House of Delegates for the enduring achievements and qualities
of William Earl Webb, who was a resident of this State for
approximately twenty years after playing in the baseball majors,
and whose record of sixty-seven doubles set in 1931, which
continues as an unbroken record of achievement to this day, is an
enduring legacy to his physical prowess and strength, as well as
his strength of character; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward
a copy of this resolution to Iris Webb Glebe, the daughter of
William Earl Webb; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby
urged to place signage in Kopperston, Wyoming County, in honor of
Earl Webb.