Nathan "Nate" Brooks, 1952 Olympic Champion

[williefromrichmond]

Nathan Eugene “Nate” Brooks

Born August 4, 1933

Began boxing January 27, 1949

Nate Brooks and seven of his eight
brothers boxed in organized
competition

Amateur record: 73-5

Partial record below: 38-3 (14)

1949

Jan. 27 - Ted Ferritto (attend- W tko 2
ance: 4,081). Brooks “outclassed ... Ferritto ... by such a big margin that [the referee] stopped the encounter in the second round” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 1-28-49, page 19).

Feb. 1 - Bucky Gardner (attend- W tko 2
ance: 6,240).

Feb. 4 - Roy Stubbs (attendance: W ko 2
12,745). Won Northeastern Ohio District Golden Gloves 112-pound open championship; Cleveland. “After a fairly even first round, [Brooks] began firing rights to the head and [then] whipped over a beauty to the jaw. Stubbs [fell] flat on his face and was out cold at the count of ten” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 2-5-49, pages 17-18).

Feb. 21 - Al Saul (Columbus, W tko 2
Ohio), attendance: 7,235.

Feb. 21 - Joe Castaneda (Chicago), L pts
attendance: 7,235. Participant, Western Golden Gloves 112-pound championship; Chicago.


Apr. 4 - Britt Glover (Portland, W pts
Oregon), attendance: 5,168.

Apr. 5 - Barney Mitchum (Charles- W pts
ton, South Carolina), attendance: 5,432.

Apr. 6 - Theodore Smith (Denver), W pts
attendance: 10,304.

Apr. 6 - Johnny Ortega (Oakland), L pts
attendance: 10,304. Finalist, National AAU 112-pound championship; Boston. “[Ortega], ... displaying a jaw-shaking right hook, took a split verdict from ... Brooks” (Nevada State Journal 4-7-49, page 11).

1950

Feb. 3 - Dick Reed W ko 1
attendance: 3,500. “A resounding right uppercut ... [did] the damage and floored Reed in the first round” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 2-4-50, page 16).

Feb. 7 - Charles Bratton W tko 3
attendance: 4,600.

Feb. 10 - Ward Yee W tko 2
attendance: 10,321. Won Northeastern Ohio District Golden Gloves 112-pound championship; Cleveland. “Southpaw Yee started fast ..., connecting with lefts to the jaw, but Brooks soon took control with jarring rights to the head and heart. Brooks dropped Yee early in the second with a right to the jaw and flattened him again with another right to the jaw before [the referee] stopped the bout” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 2-11-50, pages 18-19).

Feb. 27 - Arnold Penn (Columbus, W ko 2
Ohio). 15th straight victory.

Feb. 27 - Arthur Brown (Kansas City, W pts
Missouri). “Brooks won a split decision” (Chicago Tribune 2-28-50, pt. 3, page 1). 16th straight victory.

Mch. 1 - George Gray (Nashville), W pts
attendance: 7,028. 17th straight victory.

Mch. 10 - Pat McCarthy (Amarillo, W pts
Texas), attendance: 17,246. 18th straight victory.

Mch. 10 - James Quinn (New York) W tko 3
attendance: 17,246. Won Western Golden Gloves 112-pound championship; Chicago. Brooks’ 19th straight victory. “Brooks carried more power in his fists and he blasted Quinn with right-hand punches.... Quinn puzzled Brooks briefly in the second round with his left-handed attack, [but Brooks landed a right in the third round which staggered Quinn].... Quinn regained his former power until a vicious right uppercut sent him staggering across the ring. [He] caught a right hand to the jaw and went limp across the ring, falling against the ropes, [at which time the referee stopped the bout” (Chicago Tribune 3-11-50, pt. 2, page 2).

Mch. 29 - Sharkey Lewis (Pittsburgh) W pts
attendance: 15,286. Won National Golden Gloves 112-pound championship; Chicago. “[The fight] started off with a drive seldom seen at this weight. Lewis’ overhand rights were effective until Brooks stepped in with a straight left and a right cross. He jarred [Lewis] twice and drove him to the ropes. Brooks had the better of the exchanges.... In the second round Brooks still was more accurate ... [and] had an advantage in the round. [In the third round]. Brooks carried the battle to Lewis. A hard right knocked Lewis’ mouthpiece out. Brooks hammered Lewis across the ring and pinned him in the ... corner. Brooks hit Lewis almost at will as Lewis tired” (Chicago Tribune 3-30-50, pt. 6, page 3).

“In the clash with [Lewis,] Brooks suffered cuts over both eyes and missed the National ... AAU [championships] and the international matches [Western Golden Gloves champions vs. European champions] because of the injuries” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 1-27-51, page 19).

Summer - Vince Arquilla L pts
Arquilla’s victory snapped Brooks’ 28-bout winning streak. Between this match and January 30, 1951, Brooks and Arquilla “tangled frequently ... with [Brooks] winning each time....” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 1-30-51, page 22).

1951

Feb. 5 - Eddie Crawford (attend- W
ance: ______

Feb. 9 - Tommy Salmey W ko 3
(attendance: 8,168.) Won Northeastern Ohio District Golden Gloves 118-pound championship; Cleveland. “Salmey gave Brooks a fairly good battle for the first two rounds, but in the third, Nate opened up to the body with left hooks. Salmey went down for a count of nine from one of those blows, was spilled again for nine by another, but appeared to be rallying when another Brooks left hook dropped him. Game, well- conditioned Tommy just barely missed beating the ten count” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 2-10-52, page 20).

Feb. __ - Carl Parker W
Annual Cleveland Post Office Athletic Association tournament; Cleveland.

Feb. 26 - Dave Sotelo (Minne- W pts
apolis), attendance: 5,725. “Brooks “won ... in convincing fashion, ... [flooring] Sotelo ... early in the fight” (Chicago Tribune 2-27-51, pt. 3, page 1).

Feb. 26 - Tommy Otero (Sioux W ko 1
City, Iowa), attendance: 5,725.“Brooks won [again] in convincing fashion” (Chicago Tribune 2-27-51, pt. 3, page 1).

Feb. 27 - Albert Moses (Oklahoma W tko 2
City).

Feb. 28 - James Hairston (Kansas W pts
City, Missouri), attendance: 9,764. “Brooks had a tough customer, [but his] cleverness won him a unanimous decision” (Chicago Tribune 3-1-51, pt. 6, page 1).

Mch. 9 - Fred Morales (Fort Worth), W pts
attendance: 18,835. “The infighting tactics [of Morales] through the first portion of the [bout] had Brooks stymied, [but Brooks] finally solved this problem and was tagging [Morales] freely at the finish” (Chicago Tribune 3-10-51, pt.3, page 2).

Mch. 9 - David Moore (Springfield, W pts
Ohio), attendance: 18,835. Won Western Golden Gloves 118-pound championship; Chicago. “Moore ... had drawn rave notices throughout the [competition] and threatened to live up to them until Brooks took command of their argument” (Chicago Tribune 3-10-51, pt. 3, page 2).

Mch. 19 - Lou Perez (New York) W pts
Won National Golden Gloves 118-pound championship; New York. Attendance: 9,431. “This was a terrific battle. Little Perez had no respect for Brooks’ reputation or record and kept punching all the way against the great western star. Brooks was the faster and sharper puncher and landed more often to gain the victory, but Perez gave him a going over inside....” (New York Daily News 3-20-51, page 58).

Mch. 29 - Jacques Dumesnil W pts
(France). Won International Golden Gloves 118-pound championship (US vs. Europe); Chicago. Attendance: 15,859. “Probably the most impressive fighter of the evening was ... Brooks.... The smooth- working, hard-hitting 17-year-old youngster emulated the style and finesse of his idol, Sugar Ray Robinson, in a one-sided win....” (Dixon [Illinois] Evening Telegraph 3-30-51, page 9).

Apr. 9-11 - National AAU 118-
pound championship - Did not participate.

Dec. 1951/Jan.-Feb. 1952 (probably Jan. 1952) - Won Columbus Golden Gloves 118-pound championship.

1952

Feb. __ - __ - Northeastern
Ohio District Golden Gloves tournament - Did not participate.

Feb. __ - Mch. __ - Western
Golden Gloves 112-pound championship - Did not participate.

Mch. 24 - Intercity Golden Gloves
112-pound championship - Did not participate.

Apr. 7-9 - National AAU 112-
pound championship - Did not participate.

May 23 - Record: 61-5.

May 24 - Bill Williams (Louisville) W pts
“Brooks had an edge in a close first round, scoring with a good right to the jaw, a left hook to the head and another right to the heart near the end of the round. The Clevelander hurt Williams twice in the second round, the first time with a long right to the head and the second with a snappy left hook to the jaw. Williams opened the third round very fast, but Brooks slowed him up with rights to the jaw and left hooks to the body” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 5-25-52, section C, pages 1, 6).

May 25 - Leroy Jeffery (Saginaw, W pts
Michigan). Won Central Region Olympic Trials 119-pound championship; Toledo, Ohio). “[Brooks] put on a masterful boxing show to outclass the slugging ... Jeffery” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 2-26-52, page 27).

June 16 - William Hill (Washington, W pts
D.C.), attendance: 3,000. “Brooks ... boxed beautifully. He landed some telling counter punches and blocked Hill’s best blows” (Kansas City Star 6-17-52, page 16). Brooks “suffered a cut over his right eye in the second round from an unintentional butt [and] the tourney physician almost stopped the bout.... Originally slated to compete in the 119- pound class, Brooks scaled only 113 1/2 pounds [before the Trials] and decided to drop to the 112-pound division” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 6- 22-52, section C, page 6).

June 16 - Charles Brakeford (Engle- W pts
wood, New Jersey). “Brooks had the cut [over his right eye] opened slightly, but then turned boxer and won easily” (Cleveland Plain Dealer 6-22-52, section C, page 6).

June 18 - George Goodbeer (Los W tko 2
Angeles), attendance: 4,500. Brooks “scored a smashing technical knockout.... Goodbeer had to quit at 2:28 of the second round when he suffered a severe cut over his right eye” (Nevada State Journal [Reno] 6-19-52, page 8).

June 18 - Jackie Spurgeon (New W tko 3
York), attendance: 4,500. Won Olympic Trials 112-pound championship;
Kansas City, Missouri. “Spurgeon was a game competitor, [but] he didn’t have the reach or experience to handle Brooks. The bout was stopped at 1:37 of the third round after Spurgeon was no longer able to fight back” (Kansas City Star 6-19-52, page 20).

July 28 - Risto Luukkonen (Finland) W pts
“Brooks ... finished strongly to [gain a unanimous decision].... [He] won on the strength of a powerful finish when he swarmed all over the slender Finn, nailing him with short left hooks and a short right to the head....” (Syracuse Herald-Journal 7-28-52, page 19).

July 30 - Alfred Zima (Austria) W pts
“Brooks gave a boxing lesson to ... Zima, ... using counter punching to score a unanimous decision” (New York Times 7-30-52:15; Nevada State Journal [Reno] 7-31-52, page 11).

July 31 - Mircea Dobrescu W pts
(Romania). “Brooks ... won a split decision over ... Dobrescu. [He] built up his margin in the first two rounds with short, straight jabs....” (Walla Walla [Washington] Union-Bulletin 8-1-52, page 9).

Aug. 1 - William Toweel (South W pts
(Africa). “Brooks scored ... good left hooks for a unanimous decision over ... Toweel” (Great Bend [Kansas] Daily Tribune 8-1-52, page 1).

Aug. 2 - Edgar Basel (West W pts
Germany). Won Olympic 112-pound championship; Helsinki, Finland. “Brooks took a [unanimous] decision over ... Basel” (Walla Walla [Washington] Union-Bulletin 8-3-52, page 11).

1953

Jan. 28 - Turned pro.

Updated January 27, 2008