Senate Concurrent Resolution 514

(As Adopted by Senate)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION SALUTING FORMER SENATOR AND LONGTIME MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM OWNER AND ADMINISTRATOR CON MALONEY UPON HIS INDUCTION INTO THE MISSISSIPPI SPORTS HALL OF FAME.

WHEREAS, James Cornelius "Con" Maloney, Jr., former State Senator and Jackson businessman, was one of six inductees at the 49th Annual BancorpSouth Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame on August 12, 2011, a much-deserved induction of Jackson's "Mr. Baseball"; and

WHEREAS, keeping organized baseball in Jackson at Smith-Wills Stadium for 19 years, bringing 2.7 million fans through the turnstiles at Smith-Wills Stadium, helping the Jackson Mets and Jackson Generals win five Texas League Championships, and becoming the only club owner to serve as league president in the 124-year history of the Texas League qualified Con Maloney for this honor. Maloney has done more, including being one of the prime movers and shakers in the creation of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum; and

WHEREAS, "Con" Maloney, Jr., comes by his love of baseball honestly. His father, the late James Cornelius "Cowboy" Maloney, Sr., was Jackson's original Mr. Baseball. Cowboy Maloney created the Jackson Cowboys, a semi-pro powerhouse for decades. He was also involved in helping bring the New York Mets' Class AA franchise to Jackson and Smith-Wills in 1975. Cowboy Maloney died in 1976 before the Mets' second season in Jackson. When the New York Mets sought local ownership for the Class AA ballclub in 1981, they never talked to anyone other than Con Maloney, a State Senator at the time; and

WHEREAS, Maloney was very much a hands-on owner. He would take infield with his players, who often ate meals or shot baskets at his house. He would ride the buses with them. His first Mets team was the 1982 club that included an outfield of first-round draft choices, Darryl Strawberry, Billy Beane and Terry Blocker, and Maloney would wake up to the sound of bouncing balls or a pickup basketball game going on outside his house with those three involved. Former Delta State All-American and future New York Met catcher Barry Lyons was a star on the 1985 Jackson Mets Texas League Championship Team; and

WHEREAS, Maloney, who was born J. Con Maloney Jr., on May 13, 1939, in Washington, D.C., graduated from St. Joseph High School and attended Hinds Community College and the University of Wyoming on football scholarships. A young Con Maloney scored the first run in the history of Jackson Little League Baseball in 1951. He was a football star at St. Joseph High School and signed as a quarterback with Wyoming. After earning a Political Science degree from Millsaps College in 1961, Maloney worked as an assistant to the President of Maytag Company in Newton, Iowa, before becoming a Regional Manager for the corporation in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1965, he joined the family business. In the late 1960s, Maloney bought the business from his parents, and the name of the business was changed to Cowboy Maloney's Electric City. Maloney has grown the company to 13 stores with more than 200 employees generating around $50 Million in annual revenues; and

WHEREAS, Maloney has served in numerous other professional capacities and has received countless service awards, including the Owen C. Cooper Humanitarian Award, Hugh L. White Free Enterprise Award and Millsaps College Distinguished Sportsman Award. He has served on the Board of Directors for many notable local corporations, including St. Dominic's Hospital, Metropolitan YMCA, and Deposit Guaranty National Bank; and

WHEREAS, Maloney and his wife, Betty, have three grown sons: Chris, a minor league baseball Manager for the St. Louis Cardinals; Steve, an attorney and owner of Merchandise Warehouse; and Mark, a partner with King & Spalding law firm in Atlanta; and

WHEREAS, Senator Maloney becomes the first person ever inducted into both the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Maloney's induction into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame is because he never considered baseball a business, it was his passion:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby salute former Mississippi Senator and longtime Minor League Baseball Team owner and administrator Con Maloney of Jackson, Mississippi, upon his induction into the 49th Class of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, and extend to Con and his family our best wishes on this auspicious occasion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Con Maloney, forwarded to the Executive Director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.