Thursday, May 10, 2012

BOXING - THE HALLS and WALLS of FAME

BOXING - The Halls of Fame:  By Brian Zelley

Introduction

Throughout the globe there are thousands
 of past members of amateur and professional
boxing in International Boxing Halls of Fame,
 to National  and regional boxing halls.  
Also, there are many with a boxing focus that
are in various National, regional or municipality 
sports halls of fame.  To help us appreciate
 this situation and recognize the many in one spot,  
I  will  look at halls of fame with a focus on boxing.  
But, there is the London Boxing Club
soccer team that was inducted into the 2011 
Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame

There is no easy starting point for this process as there are so many
halls that it will take a long time to recognize each one.  Likely, the
original International boxing hall of fame was the one that was
published on an annual basis in the old "The RING" magazine.
Not there is an International Boxing.  The Hall was started by 
the late Nat Fleischer in 1954 and consisted of a modern, 
old-timers and pioneer section.  Between 1954 and 1975
there were 134 persons inducted of which 43 were in the
modern category comprised of:

THE MODERN INDUCTEES (1954 to 1975)
*Jack Dempsey - Joe Louis - Henry Armstrong - Benny Leonard
*Gene Tunney - Harry Greb - Mickey Walker - Tony Canzoneri 
*Jimmy McLarnin - Barney Ross - Tommy Loughran 
*Johnny Dundee - Tony Zale - Kid Chocoate - Rocky Marciano
*Jack Britton - Lew Tendler - Billy Petrolle - Marcel Cerdan
*Willie Pep - Lou Ambers - Jim Braddock - Billy Conn
*Archie Moore - Kid Gavilan - Ray Robinson - Max Baer
*Carmen Basilio - Jersey Joe Walcott - Max Schmeling 
*Ezzard Charles - Rocky Graziano - Sandy Saddler
*Maxie Rosenbloom - Fritzie Zivic - Beau Jack - Gus Lesnevich
*Sammy Angott - Dick Tiger - Gene Fullmer - Sixto Escobar
*Jackie Kid Berg and Joey Maxim.
(Dick Tiger was inducted in 1974 along
with Gene Fullmer, George KO Chaney,
Frank Klaus, and Dick Curtis.)

THE OLDTIMERS and PIONEERS
*Includes a good cross section of boxers and builders
from John L. Sullivan and George Dixon to non-boxers
such as Nat Fleischer and some of the real old pioneers
such as James Figg and Jack Broughton.



REGIONAL BOXING HALLS OF FAME
There is a California Boxing Hall of Fame in the USA and
in British Columbia there is the BC Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame.

California's ceremony in 2011:                               

The 2012 event
will take place in 
the near future and
some of those connected
to the event will report
on some of the happenings

2011 Inductees include
*Gene Fullmer 
 Dwight Hawkins
and those listed in the
photo.

Also recognized but no
longer with us include Willie Pep and  Bob Fitzsimmons



OREGON STATE:  Sports  Hall of Fame
*Boxing inductees include:
Denny Moyer, Tom Moyer, Joe Kahut and Ray Lampkin.
          

*BRITISH COLUMBIA:
The British Columbia Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame:
*Was started in 2010 for the purpose of recognizing
boxers and builders in amateur boxing.  In 2011, it 
expanded to include a Pioneer category in which
Tommy Paonessa was selected, a Junior/Youth
category in which Alan Brown was selected, a
event category in which the 1968 BC International
Diamond Belt Championships were selecte, a club
category in which the Campbell River Eagles Boxing 


Six of the 15 core group of
inductees into the BCABHOF.

Freddy Fuller, Eddie Haddad, Frank Scott,
Dale Walter, Dick Findlay and 
Fred Desrosiers. (2010)

As of September 2011 there are 
twenty five (25) members of which 
some are in  special categories.

Some of the early ones picked as builders
include:
Dave Brown, Elio Ius, Fred Fuller, Pat O'Reilly and Rick Brough.  

Municipalities Far and Wide In Canada:
*there are numerous sports halls of fams spread throughout Canada
such As Greater Victoria, Burnaby, and Prince George in BC or 
Edmonton in Alberta and many more such as London Ontario.


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