Selecting the nominees for the Canadian Wall

THE SELECTION PROCESS BEGINS - by b. w. zelley

The Western Canadian past and present boxing community is now in the
process of of going through a list of names to decide how many of about 
thirty names from British Columbia to Manitoba.  Early in the process
one of the many names receiving early support from the wider 
Western Canadian viewpoint is DALE BROWN.

*two names that will be considered despite not being on the list 
include:  WILLIE deWIT and WILF GREAVES.

ALLAN BAYNE
BERT LOWES
DALE WALTERS
DICK FINDLAY
EDDIE HADDAD
FRANK SCOTT
FREDDY FULLER
HAROLD MANN
PAT O'REILLY
ROGER ADOLPH
TOM PAONESSA
BILL MCGRANDLE
CARMEN RINKE
DALE BROWN
HARVEY RETI
DOUG BOLIANATZ
KAI YIP
KELLY PERLETTE
PAUL HORTI
SCOTTY OLSON
WM. TITLEY
CURTIS FIDLER, HANK HARTENBERGER, KEN GOFF MORGAN WILLIAMS
WESLEY SUNSHINE, ALLAN TUMMON,  BILLY PINKUS, KEN JOHNSON,
HERB EMBUDENIYA, KENT BROWN and LEN JOHNSON.

November boxing flashbacks

IT HAPPENED IN NOVEMBER 1983: by brian zelley

*From the pages of the "BC Amateur Boxing News", December 1983

It seems like yesterday, but it was 29 years ago, and all of the players

in the story are no longer active in the sport to any degree.

Victoria Jaycees Boxing Club Show  Gordon Head Rec Centre: 

As expected it was another one of those sunday afternoon boxing shows 

hosted by Mike Sartori and the Jaycees boxing club.  As expected there was

support from other boxing clubs including the Ladysmith club, Parksville

and some regulars from the mainland including  Ralph Galloway and

his Richmond Boxing Club and the Queensborough club from New Westminster.

*The opening bout featured promising Ladysmith boxer TONY WILLIS
 engage inan exciting bout with Victoria's  AUGUSTOS DOS REIS. 
 The main event was bout 12 and featured Victoria's MIKE KENNEDY 
defeat Parksville's capable SCOTT CESSFORD in an action packed
 senior welterweight bout. 

*The ;parade of  other boxers that saw action in that exciting club show 
included: Paul Bottomley, Shawn Patton, Clint Dumais, Scott Wood,
Richard Compart, Rick Cox, Dave Hendrickson, Lyle Hendrickson, 
Brent Lackie, Lyle Ritchie, Kirk Ranneris, Robert Lowe, Kit Munro,
Kevin Cranmer, Tim Cessford, Paul Wade, Paul Deluca and Troy Taylor.

Ring Officials: head official: Brian Zelley, judges and referees:
Bob Perry, Howard Curling, Ian Weir and Tom Turnbull
Glover was coach Steve Barnes.

IT HAPPENED IN NOVEMBER 1985

* It was the 1985 Emerald Gloves held on November 15, 1985.

At the end of the tournaments the open junior Emerald Boy

was TONY DUFFY of the Sunshine Boxing Club.  The top

junior novice was Larry Barber of Maple Ridge.  In the finals

Duffty faced the active Troy Taylor of the Queensborough club.

In the open senior light-heavyweight division it was GARY WOOD

of Campbell River. 

MANITOBA AMATEUR BOXING history page

THE MANITOBA AMATEUR BOXING STORY

- by brian zelley

BOXING MANITOBA: The Here and Now

*today in the year 2012, Manitoba continues to be a solid part of 

Boxing Canada with a good selection of boxing clubs, experience

members of a board of directors and plenty of coaches, officials

and share of boxers from the junior novice stage to open seniors

in men and women's boxing programs.

*Some of the folks on the front stage on behind the scenes getting
things done and making things happen include folks such as:
Mark Collins, Phil Natividad, Claude Plante, and Kent Brown 
But, each of the boxing clubs have various coaches, trainers
and volunteers that ensure the bright lights will shine down on
ring activity in club shows and tournaments.

Current Listed Clubs of Boxing Manitoba:

Alliance, Brandon, Clifton, Crow Lake, Eastman, ITC, Gojo,

Orioles, Pan Am, Power, Sweatshop, YFC, ITC, United 

and the Winnipeg Elite Boxing Academy.

Some boxers of note in the current period are:

Jonathan Quinit, Katie Saull, Brad Katona, Andrew Gardinson.

Names and Faces from the Past:

Herb Embuldeniya  is one of a 
number of  high profile names
from the past.  Herb became the
President of Boxing Canada in
the mid-Eighties during the 
tame that Canadian boxers were
winning medals at the Olympic Games.

Some other names from the past 
include ALLAN TUMMON, 
Len Johnson and Billy Pinkus.
One of the star boxers from 
Manitoba that was part of the Canadian Armed Forces
boxing teams was the late Eddie Haddad  who is in 
a number of sports or boxing halls of fame.  
A sample of boxers from the Eighties include"
Shane Poole and Ken Johnson.  

THE CANADIAN AMATEUR BOXING WALL OF FAME

THE WESTERN CANADIAN PROCESS: by brian zelley

THE WESTERN CANADIAN PROCESS to select at least
ten boxers and builders for nomination into a 
Canadian Amateur Boxing Wall of Fame begins with
each provincial committee such as British Columbia and Alberta
who will each send names to the Western Canadian Amateur
boxing committee by November 2012, and a committee of 
volunteers will try and select ten from a potential list of 40.

BRITISH COLUMBIA:
After a few weeks, it is likely the selection will be made by
the BC Committee from about 14 or 15 likely candidates.
Some of the possible ones include  Roger Adolph,
Harold Mann, Eddie Haddad, Jimmy Walters,
Dale Walters, Dick Findlay, Frank Scott, Freddy Fuller,
Bert Lowes, George Shiels, George Armson,  
Lindy Lindmoser, Pat O'Reilly and Allan Bayne.

*It is difficult to predict who will get dropped and which
ten names or so will be sent to the Western Canadian
amateur boxing committee.  

*the WCABC will receive all of the names from BC,
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and decide on
the ones to nominate for the CABWOF.

*At best, each of the four provinces may have three or
four selected out of their list of ten.  Looking ahead of 
the BC Committee, there is no predicting how many 
of the ten will get picked for nomination. In some early
support polls two standouts were Freddy Fuller and
Harold Mann, but in another Bert Lowes appeared to be
in the running. 

ALBERTA
*There is no shortage of qualified candidates from Alberta
be in 1954 British Empire Games gold medal winner 
WILF GREAVES or fan favorite SCOTTY OLSON and
 Olympic medal winner WILLIE DEWIT.  

good cross section of builders as coaches and or officials:
Billy McGrandle, Brad Hortie, Carmen Rinke, Dale Brown,
Dennis Belair jr., Jack Dunbar, Kai Yip, Kelly Perlette, 
Randy Jackson, Rick Duff, Robbie Carrington, 
Doug Bolianatz and Tedd Bilingsley

SASKATCHEWAN
Be it a top loved coach like the late HANK HARTENBERGER
of a boxer like WESLEY SUNSHINE, Saskatchewan will be
have a few names to be considered such as MORGAN WILLIAMS
and many more such as IAN WEIR who boxed for Hank and then
moved to BC and was involved with the coaching team during 
Donnie Orr's road to the 2000 Olympics.

Saskatchewan moments
from the Seventies.

Second photo in 1974 shows
Ian Weir of Saskatchewan
now in Victoria, BC to help
with the revival and growth 
of amateur boxing in the
capital city on Vancouver Island. 

MANITOBA
*Over the years, Manitoba has played it's part in amateur boxing
with names like Billy Pinkus, Eddie Haddad, Ken Johnson and
Kent Brown.  But, there are others that will be considered and
recognized along the way.

WEST COAST BOXING in CALIFORNIA

HISTORY OF BOXING IN CALIFORNIA: By Brian Zelley


*California is rich in the history of boxing on the professional level
in places like Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco.  Some of
that history is remembered on an annual basis with the induction
ceremony of the California Boxing Hall of Fame.  On the amateur
level, many of the amateurs have gone on to be boxing stars on
the pro level, and they have sometimes participated in Golden Gloves
or Diamond Belt tournaments in British Columbia.


WORLD TITLE FIGHTS in CALIFORNIA
*Over the many decades of professional boxing from
1900 to 2012, California has had it's fair share of 
world champions, great challengers and title fights.
Some of the boxers came from other locations such
as Canada's Jimmy McLarnin and Art Hafey, and many
have come from other states such as Oregon or Mexico
and other Latin American locations.


Early Title Fights (1900 to 1929)
Based on the records in boxing record books, boxing
history books and even boxing magazines the history
has been recorded in a variety of ways and methods.


*One of the first world champions to engage in title fights
in California was featherweight champion Terry McGovern
who defeated Oscar Gardner and Aurelio Herrera in two
title defenses in 1901, but in 1901 heavyweight champion
James J. Jeffries  stopped Gus Ruhlin in San Francisco.
The title fights would continue in 1901 with other champs
engaged in those San Francisco bouts such as 
Bob Fizsimmons, Joe Walcott, Joe Gans, Frankie Neil,
Jack O'Brien and Jimmy Britt,


In 1906, Canada's Tommy Burns defeated Marvin Hart
in Los Angeles to begin the early days of title fights in LA.
but also Mike Twin Sullivan and  Honey Mellody would
follow Burns with a welterweight  title fight in 1907.


Then came the one and only Stanley Ketchel, one of the top 
middleweights of all time that engaged in many bouts 
scattered throughout the cities and towns of Sunny California.
Then in 1910, Ketchel was shot, and the middleweight title
would have a number of champions.


The Roaring Twenties
For the early years of the twenties many of the title fights would be
held in New York, but in 1926 Jr. Lightweight champion 
Todd Morgan  brief new life into title fights in California when
he would defend the title against Johnny Dundee, and in 1927
Morgan drew with Santiago Zorilla in San Fransisco.


The Thirties:
*One of the great champions to be the first to fight a title fight
in California in the thirties was Tony Canzoneri, and he was 
followed by others such as Freddy Miller.  And, then there
was JIMMY MCLARNIN from Canada but based in California.
His one round knockout of Young Corbett III was sensational.
Other great champions would follow by fightin in Sunny California
 such as Barney Ross and Henry Armstrong.


The Forties:
WW II threw a monkey wrench into the boxing machinery, but
during the start of the forties there was the likes of Cerferino Garcia,
Petey Scalzo and Sammy Angott, but the best and most active 
champion in California was MANUEL ORTIZ.


Following WW II, one bout of interest, for the folks in San Fransisco
and the many guests,  was the 1949 heavyweight title fight that saw
Ezzard Charles stop California's own Pat Valentino at the Cow Palace.


BEYOND 1949
From the Fifties through the eighties, there were many excellent fights,
but 1963 and 1980 also brought pain and sorrow in the 1963 title
fight when featherweight champion DAVEY (the Springfield Rifle)
MOORE lost his his title and his life to Sugar Ramos.   And, in 1980
it was JOHNNY OWEN's time to pay the ultimate price for a total
shot against LUPE PINTOR.


But aside from the tragic moments, many great champions would
perform in California such as ROCKY MARCIANO, ARCHIE 
MOORE  and SUGAR RAY ROBINSON.  And, who could 
forget the Hogan Kid Bassey victory over Ricardo Moreno.
There would be many others and  two of the busy ones
would be Carlos Palomino and Danny (Little Red) Lopez. 


THE NINETIES"
And in the early years of the Nineties some of the boxers
in competition were:
*Paul Banke, Daniel Zaragoza, Raul Perez,
Tony Lopez, Brian Mitchell and Greg Richardson.




2006 California Top Rated:
Lamon Brewster,  Jose Navarro, and Julio Diaz.


CALIFORNIA BOXING HALL of FAME:


Details for the future inductees will be 
available in the fear future.

HISTORY OF BOXING IN WESTERN CANADA and PACIFIC NORTHWEST

THE RICH HISTORY OF WEST COAST  BOXING:  By Brian Zelley

The cornerstone of the amateur boxing history in the Pacific Northwest
would be the various Golden Glove Tournaments starting in 1939 with
the Vancouver Sun sponsored Golden Gloves in Vancouver and the
tournaments in Oregon, Seattle and Tacoma.

TACOMA GOLDEN GLOVES

THE STARTING POINT FOR THE 

SERIES OF GOLDEN GLOVES TOURNAMENTS

SEATTLE GOLDEN GLOVES

Champions from British Columbia 

1942  - 1945

Lyle Kehoe, Freddy Steele, Vic Murdoch, Bobby Parker, 

Bert Lepitre, Roy Burnell, Hank Egli,  Joe Ashenbrenner,

Jackie Turner, Norm Dawson, Tommy Symes, 

Robert Hickie and  Gordon Grayson.

THE BC GOLDEN BOYS

1939 to 1945

Phil Vickery, Terry Doyle, Bob Hickie, 

Jackie Hamilton, Harry Smith

Chester Orr   

2012 CANADIAN NATIONALS BOXING

WESTERN CANADIAN BOXERS TO SEE ACTION:  
By Brian Zelley


First on the agenda will be the 2012 Senior Nationals Boxing Championships
in Cape Breton.  Some of the boxers will be part of the teams from
Western Canada.