RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, William C. Bartholomay has enjoyed longtime prominence as a Chicago business and sports figure, and our great city has long benefited from his civic-mindedness, expertise and energy; and
WHEREAS, William C. Bartholomay ably served under four Chicago mayors and for almost two decades acted as senior Commissioner and honorary Chairman of the Chicago Park District Board; and
WHEREAS, William C. Bartholomay also served as a member of the Chicago Public Building Commission and is a trustee of the Illinois Institute of Technology, Roosevelt University, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Adler Planetarium, and the Lincoln Park Zoo; and
WHEREAS, William C. Bartholomay is the Vice Chairman of Willis Group Holdings, one of the largest insurance brokers in the world, and has been the President of Near North National Group, the President and Vice Chairman of Frank B. Hall and Associates, and the Vice Chairman of Turner Broadcasting System Inc.; and
WHEREAS, William C. Bartholomay has spent more than half a century in Major League Baseball; and
WHEREAS, William C. Bartholomay served on the board of the Chicago White Sox when the team was owned by the Comiskey family; and
WHEREAS, In 1962 William C. Bartholomay and a group of investors purchased the Milwaukee Braves Major League Baseball team; and
WHEREAS, In 1966 William C. Bartholomay and his partners moved the Braves from Milwaukee to Atlanta; and
WHEREAS, William C. Bartholomay was partially motivated to relocate the Braves to Atlanta because leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King were working hard in the 1960s to help Atlanta become the leading city of the New South that would move beyond the old legacy of Jim Crow toward a new era; and
WHEREAS, On April 8, 1974, William C. Bartholomay sat in the front row alongside the mother and father of Henry "Hank" Aaron in Atlanta Stadium when "Hammerin' Hank" hit his 715th career home run to become baseball's all-time home run leader, a record the "Hammer" would hold for 33 years; and
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WHEREAS, Nearly six years to the day after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, after that historic home run, William C. Bartholomay stood on the field alongside baseball's new home run king, a man who had started his career in the Negro Leagues and who would become a symbol of immense pride for that city of the New South and for all of America; and
WHEREAS, Since moving the team to Atlanta in 1966, William C. Bartholomay has witnessed the Braves win 17 division championships, including a record-setting 14 in a row, 5 National League pennants and a World Series championship; and
WHEREAS, William C. Bartholomay is the Chairman Emeritus of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Atlanta Braves baseball team and was Chairman of the Board of the Atlanta Braves for more than five years; and
WHEREAS, William C. Bartholomay serves on Major League Baseball's Executive Council and its Finance Committee, chairs the Ownership Committee, co-chairs the League's Equal Opportunity Committee, and serves as a Trustee of the Major League Baseball Players Pension Plan; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of his outstanding achievements, William C. Bartholomay is a Member of the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, The leaders of this great city are cognizant of the many contributions William C. Bartholomay has rendered here; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, The Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this eighteenth day of March, 2015, do hereby express our gratitude to William C. Bartholomay for his outstanding citizenship and many accomplishments and do hereby proclaim that March 18, 2015, shall be officially recognized as William C. Bartholomay Day throughout the City of Chicago; and
Alderman - 14th Ward
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copy of this resolution be presented to William C. Bartholomay. y