Florida Senate - 2009                            (NP)    SR 2808
       
       
       
       By Senator Hill
       
       
       
       
       1-05436-09                                            20092808__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing August 8, 2009, as “‘Bullet’
    3         Bob Hayes Day” in Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, Robert Lee Hayes was born on December 20, 1942, in
    6  Jacksonville and attended Jacksonville’s Matthew Gilbert High
    7  School, where he was a standout on the football and track and
    8  field teams, and
    9         WHEREAS, “Bullet” Bob Hayes attended Florida Agricultural
   10  and Mechanical University, where he remained a two-sport stand
   11  out in both track and football and was the Amateur Athletic
   12  Union 100-yard dash champion from 1962–1964 and the National
   13  Collegiate Athletic Association 200-meter dash champion in 1964,
   14  and
   15         WHEREAS, at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan,
   16  “Bullet” Bob Hayes won the 100-meter gold medal, tying the then
   17  world record of 10.05 seconds, and anchored the United States
   18  400-meter relay team to a gold medal victory in a world record
   19  39.06 seconds, where his relay split of 8.6 seconds earned him
   20  the title “World’s Fastest Human,” and
   21         WHEREAS, in 1964, the National Football League’s Dallas
   22  Cowboys drafted “Bullet” Bob Hayes in the seventh round, taking
   23  a chance on a sprinter with blazing speed, and
   24         WHEREAS, in addition to playing wide receiver, “Bullet” Bob
   25  Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL’s leading
   26  punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards-per-return average and
   27  two touchdowns, including a 90-yard touchdown against the
   28  Pittsburgh Steelers, and
   29         WHEREAS, playing with speed that forced opposing teams’
   30  defenses to change to the zone style of defense, “Bullet” Bob
   31  Hayes was named to the NFL Pro Bowl three times and the NFL All
   32  Pro Team four times, and
   33         WHEREAS, “Bullet” Bob Hayes helped Dallas win five Eastern
   34  Conference titles and two National Football Conference titles,
   35  played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas’
   36  first-ever Super Bowl victory in 1972, making Hayes the only
   37  person to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring,
   38  and
   39         WHEREAS, for his many outstanding contributions to the
   40  Dallas Cowboys’ football organization, “Bullet” Bob Hayes was
   41  enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys’ Ring of Honor in 2001, and
   42         WHEREAS, after battling with prostate cancer and liver
   43  ailments, “Bullet” Bob Hayes died of kidney failure in his
   44  hometown of Jacksonville on September 18, 2002, and
   45         WHEREAS, “Bullet” Bob Hayes was selected as a member of the
   46  Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009 and will be enshrined
   47  on August 8, 2009, NOW, THEREFORE,
   48  
   49  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   50  
   51         That in recognition of the tremendous talents and
   52  achievements of Robert Lee Hayes, August 8, 2009, is recognized
   53  as “‘Bullet’ Bob Hayes Day” in Florida.