| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Residents of Fort Worth and the surrounding area may |
|
|
indeed take great pride in the new motion picture 12 Mighty Orphans, |
|
|
which was filmed in their community and tells the story of a |
|
|
legendary local football team; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Based on a book by Dallas sportswriter Jim Dent, 12 |
|
|
Mighty Orphans is about the Mighty Mites, the hardscrabble high |
|
|
school football team of the Masonic Widows and Orphans Home in Fort |
|
|
Worth during the Great Depression era; the team was coached by World |
|
|
War I veteran Rusty Russell, who walked away from a better-paying |
|
|
job to work at the orphanage in 1927; with few resources, the Mighty |
|
|
Mites had to practice with two socks stuffed together instead of a |
|
|
football, and they traveled to games in the back of Coach Russell's |
|
|
smoke-belching Dodge pickup truck; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In spite of its hardships, the team won its first |
|
|
game against Mineral Wells 34 to 14, and it went on to a remarkable |
|
|
8-2 first season; in 1932, the Mighty Mites made it to the state |
|
|
championship, and they reached the state semifinals in 1934, 1938, |
|
|
and 1940; two players, Hardy Brown and Dewitt Coulter, later played |
|
|
professional football, and one of the players from the first |
|
|
season, Abner McCall, went on to become president of Baylor |
|
|
University and a Texas Supreme Court justice; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Released by Sony Pictures Classics, this |
|
|
inspirational story has been brought to the screen by director and |
|
|
West Texas native Ty Roberts, with a screenplay by Lane Garrison, |
|
|
Kevin Meyer, and Mr. Roberts; it stars Dallas native Luke Wilson as |
|
|
Coach Russell, and it features performances by such veteran actors |
|
|
as Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Wayne Knight, and Treat Williams; |
|
|
the film was shot in and around Fort Worth in the fall of 2019, and |
|
|
it provided employment to hundreds of local residents, utilized |
|
|
area businesses, and featured such iconic locations as Farrington |
|
|
Field and the Masonic Temple, as well as Yellow Jacket Stadium in |
|
|
Cleburne and the Texas Pythian Home in Weatherford; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Joining an elite group of motion pictures to be shot |
|
|
in Fort Worth, 12 Mighty Orphans places the national spotlight on |
|
|
the city as a filming and tourist destination, while providing an |
|
|
entertaining showcase for the remarkable story of the Mighty Mites; |
|
|
now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
|
|
Legislature, 2nd Called Session, hereby commemorate the release of |
|
|
12 Mighty Orphans and extend to all those associated with the film |
|
|
sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for the cast and crew of 12 Mighty Orphans as an expression |
|
|
of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
| |
|
|
Geren |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 117 was adopted by the House on |
|
|
September 2, 2021, by a non-record vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |