RESOLUTION DEDICATING A PORTION OF FERNWOOD PARK AS MCGLOTHER "MAC" IRVIN BASKETBALL COURTS
WHEREAS, The late McGlother "Mac" Irvin, Jr. attended Tilden High School where he starred on the basketball team. Upon graduation, he attended St. Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina where he also played basketball while earning a degree in Elementary Education; and
WHEREAS, Mac Irvin started working for the City of Chicago as a coordinator with the Neighborhood Youth Corp. After serving his community in this capacity, he began coaching basketball at the South Central YMCA Biddy Leagues as well as coaching baseball in the Jackie Robinson West Little League; and
WHEREAS, Mac Irvin was employed by Xerox for more than two decades before retiring as a senior manager in 1992 to become a consultant with Adidas. He created "The Mac Irvin Fire" basketball club that is now one ofthe biggest basketball club programs in the nation. As a consequence, he was dubbed the "Godfather" of Chicago youth basketball; and
WHEREAS, Two generations of youths perfected their basketball skills under the tutelage of Mac Irvin, many of whom became professional players including such well-known athletes as Antoine Walker, Melvin Ely and Juwan Howard; and
WHEREAS, At a civic ceremony on November 10, 2012, the friends, family and elected officials including the Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago and the Honorable Carrie M. Austin, Alderman of the 34th Ward and the Chairwoman of the Committee on Budget and Government Operations, will gather to dedicate the basketball courts at Fernwood Park on South Wallace in the community of Roseland as the McGlother "Mac" Irvin Basketball Courts; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED That we, the Mayor and members of the City of Chicago City Council gathered on this 15th Day of November, 2012 AD, do hereby salute the memory of McGlother "Mac" Irvin, Jr. and express our collective pride in his lifetime achievements and dedication to the youth of this city.
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