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2018 SESSION

18100044D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 22
Offered January 10, 2018
Prefiled January 4, 2018
Celebrating the life of Ulmo Shannon Randle, Jr.
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Patron-- Hanger
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WHEREAS, Ulmo Shannon Randle, Jr., a respected professional athlete, longtime college football coach, and beloved sports radio personality, died on May 23, 2017; and

WHEREAS, a native of Washington, D.C., Ulmo “Sonny” Randle graduated from Fork Union Military Academy and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, where he played as a wide receiver on the football team; and

WHEREAS, during the 1958 season, after the University of Virginia switched to a pass-heavy offense, Sonny Randle finished second in the National Collegiate Athletic Association with 47 receptions and was named as an Honorable-Mention All-American; and

WHEREAS, during the 1958 National Football League (NFL) Draft, Sonny Randle was selected by the Chicago Cardinals (later St. Louis Cardinals), with whom he played for nine seasons; he was later a member of the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Washington Redskins; and

WHEREAS, Sonny Randle recorded almost 6,000 career receiving yards and scored 65 receiving touchdowns, the most of any NFL player in the 1960s; he was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1960, 1961, 1962, and 1965; and

WHEREAS, Sonny Randle also founded the Sonny Randle Football Camp at Fork Union Military Academy, which gave participants the chance to hone their skills with some of the NFL’s top players; and

WHEREAS, after retiring from professional football, Sonny Randle became the head football coach at East Carolina University and led the team to a conference championship in 1973; he later became the head coach of the University of Virginia, Massanutten Military Academy, and Marshall University football teams; and

WHEREAS, among his many accolades, Sonny Randle was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, the Fork Union Military Academy Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, and the East Carolina University Hall of Fame in 2009; and

WHEREAS, in the 1980s, Sonny Randle began participating in radio and television broadcasts of Atlantic Coast Conference college football games as a color commentator, and he founded S-R Sports, a syndicated talk radio network featuring the “Sonny Randle Sports Minute;” and

WHEREAS, Sonny Randle’s sports segments played on several radio stations in the Commonwealth, including WKDW in Staunton, and he became well known for his inimitable signature sign-off, “So long, everybody;” and

WHEREAS, Sonny Randle will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Gail; children, David, Sandra, Bethany, and Evan, and their families; the mother of his children, Judy; step-children, Kristina and Clinton; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Ulmo Shannon Randle, Jr., a professional athlete, college coach, and sports radio personality; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Ulmo Shannon Randle, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.