(S. B. 898)
(No. 50-2014)
(Approved May 3, 2014)
AN ACT
To
name the stretch of Cristina Street, from Marina Street facing the Old Fire
Station Museum to Mayor Street, in the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce,
after Willie Vicéns-Tous, who is considered one of basketball’s greatest, as
founder of the Leones de Ponce franchise, in recognition of his great and
notable contributions to the development and promotion of sports in the
Cuidad Señorial, Ponce.
STATEMENT OF MOTIVES
Don Willie Vicéns-Tous was born in New York City on September 24,
1923, during a business trip made by his parents. He came to Ponce when he was
five months old to live in the family house adjoining the old La Perla court, where
the magnificent La Perla Theater is located today. The good fortune of having said
court as part of his backyard ignited his passion for sports, especially basketball.
Besides basketball, Don Willie took part successfully in other sports, such as
ping pong at the University of Puerto Rico, and softball as member of a team that
was among the first to play outside the Island (tournament in Santo Domingo,
1945). Likewise, he is known for his efforts to organize teams and tournaments in
his hometown of Ponce.
In 1946, Don Willie and Don Emilio Huyke began searching for talent to
establish a basketball franchise and play at the superior level. Thus began the
history of one of Puerto Rican basketball’s most emblematic franchises and a
source of pride for the city of Ponce: the Leones de Ponce (Ponce Lions). That first
team was composed of Tati Rodríguez, Murray Rubins, Stanley Rubins, Pedro
Henríquez, Juan Laboy, Luis López, Víctor Madera, Pedro Rodríguez, Miguel
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Ruiz,
Iván Santiago, José and Juan Manuel Vidal, Gil Casanovas,
Efraín Castillo, Enrique Colón, Alfredo Crooke, Julio Mayol, José Olmeda, and
Carlos Rivera. From that moment, and in that first season, they began looking like
a winning team, and came in third place above already established franchises like
San Germán and Santurce. The following season saw the addition of players Toño
Morales, Enrique “Coco” Vicéns, and Dr. Freddie Borrás, while remaining among
the best and most competitive teams in the tournament.
Don Willie Vicéns-Tous became the owner of the Leones de Ponce in 1948
and remained so through 1963. His knowledge, performance, and dedication led
the team to win multiple championships.
Among his many achievements, Don Willie had the initiative to include the
best coaches as a fundamental part of the team. Among others, these coaches
include Tex Winters, Dayton Spaulding, and William Holtzman, all of which are
part of the United States Basketball Hall of Fame. Moreover, his influence in this
respect was such that Ponce is the only team to have had five legendary American
coaches who won National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) championships: coaches Jack McKinney, Paul
Westhead, Red Holzman, Jack Ramsey, and Bill Gudridge.
In addition to his feats in basketball, Don Willie was prominent in canine
sports, becoming Puerto Rico’s first international judge, as well as competing
successfully. He was a judge on many occasions, which took him from Toronto,
Canada to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was mentioned many times in canine sports
magazines.
He is currently married to Doña Ileana Ortiz, and has two children, Willie
and Lizzette, six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
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Besides his achievements in sports, Don Willie Vicéns-Tous is a wellrespected and admired professional in the real estate industry. For fifty-six (56)
years, he had his real estate business office in Cristina Street, at the corner with
Mayor Street. This office was very close to the La Perla court, where his love of
basketball and his hometown of Ponce, La Ciudad Señorial, began.
At ninety-one years of age, Don Willie Vicéns-Tous still considers his
greatest source of pride to be his family, being a native of Ponce, and resting
assured that his Leones will continue to roar in the Puerto Rico National Superior
Basketball league (Baloncesto Superior Nacional, or BSN).
Don Willie Vicéns-Tous is considered one of basketball’s greatest as
founder of the Leones de Ponce franchise. His great and notable contributions to
the development and promotion of sports in the Cuidad Señorial, Ponce, calls for
this Legislative Assembly to recognize the respect and admiration felt for him by
the people of Puerto Rico by naming the stretch of Cristina Street, from Marina
Street facing the Old Fire Station Museum to Mayor Street, in the Autonomous
Municipality of Ponce, after Willie Vicéns-Tous.
This designation is hereby made in recognition of Don Willie Vicéns-Tous’
great and notable contributions to the development and promotion of sports in the
Cuidad Señorial, Ponce. In this manner, future generations will acknowledge the
legacy of pioneers who have certainly left their mark in the Puerto Rican sports
history.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF PUERTO RICO:
Section 1.– The stretch of Cristina Street, from Marina Street facing the Old
Fire Station Museum to Mayor Street, in the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce,
is hereby named after Willie Vicéns-Tous.
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Section 2.– The Public Structures and Highways Naming Commission of the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall take the necessary measures to comply with
the provisions of this Act, without being subject to the provisions of Act No. 99 of
June 22, 1961, as amended.
Section 3.– Upon approval of this Act, the Department of Transportation and
Public Works of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, together with the
Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, shall proceed to place a sign with the new
identification of the stretch herein designated, as provided in this Act.
Section 4.– This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
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CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 50-2014 (S. B. 898)
of the 3rd Regular Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT
to name the stretch of Cristina Street, from Marina Street facing the Old
Fire Station Museum to Mayor Street, in the Autonomous Municipality of
Ponce, after Willie Vicéns-Tous, who is considered one of basketball’s
greatest, as founder of the Leones de Ponce franchise, in recognition of his
great and notable contributions to the development and promotion of
sports in the Cuidad Señorial, Ponce.
has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, on this 25th day of May, 2016.
Juan Luis Martínez Martínez
Director