Eddie Crook, 1960 Olympic Champion

[williefromrichmond]

Edward “Eddie” Crook, Jr.

Born April 19, 1929, in Detroit, Michigan.

Died July 26, 2005, in Montgomery, Alabama.

5’ 8” 156

1940 - Began boxing at the Brewster
Center (now the Wheeler
Center) in Detroit, Michigan.

Partial record below.

1947

Crook accepted a football scholarship
to West Virginia State and played
one season there (European
[Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany]
5-26-59:11).

1948

Mch. 4 - Jimmy Shamblin W rsc 1
(Charleston, West Virginia). “Crook had Shamblin down for two nine-counts before flooring him again and Referee Wilkie Davis wisely called a halt” (Charleston [West Virginia] Daily Mail 3-5-48:10). Crook was a student at West Virginia State at the time of this bout.

1950

Crook was drafted by the US Army
and sent to Ft. Jackson,
South Carolina (European
[Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany]
5-26-59:11).

1952

May 8 - Len Burnett W rsc 1
(Atlanta General Depot).
(Augusta [Georgia] Chronicle 5-9-52:B-4).
May 9 - Harold Coles L dec
(Los Angeles, California/11th Airborne Division). Third Army light-middleweight semifinalist; Camp Gordon, Georgia. “Both sluggers moved in quickly and an old-fashioned pier-six brawl was the result. Crook [Ft. Jackson] was knocked down in the first round, but came back to floor Coles for a nine-count in the second” (Augusta [Georgia] Chronicle 5-10-52:A-8). Crook “can’t remember the name of the fellow who beat him, but it later turned out that he was a professional and Crook got the crown through a forfeit” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany 5-26-59:11). His bout with Coles seems to be the bout mentioned above.

1953

xxxx - Began a tour of duty at Ft.
Benning, Georgia. Played halfback
on the Ft. Benning football
team, as well as boxing on the
post’s boxing team. Received
offers from the Philadelphia
Eagles and the Chicago Bears
of the National Football League,
and an attractive football
scholarship at Arizona State.
Turned down all three offers
because he had decided on an
Army career (European Stars
and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse,
West Germany] 5-26-59:11)

1954

Apr. 14 - William Benjamin W rsc 1
(Fort Jackson, South Carolina).
Apr. 15 - Won his semifinal match. W
Apr. 16 - Won his final match, W
Crook represented Ft. Benning, Georgia. Third Army light-middleweight champion; Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
May 4 - J. C. “Jaycee” Johnson W ko 2
(Seattle, Washington/28th Division, Europe). (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany] 5-6-54:12).
May 5 - Omar Darty W dec
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania/4th Army, Ft. Hood, Texas). (El Paso [Texas] Herald-Post 5-6-54:24).
May 8 - Abraham “Abe” W ko 2
Linnear (Chicago, Illinois/6th Army, Ft. Lewis, Washington). All-Army light-middleweight champion; Fort Bliss, Texas. Crook represented the 3rd Army. (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany] 5-9-54:12).

1955

Feb. 7 - James Griggs W ko 2
(Mobile, Alabama). (Anniston [Alabama] Star 2-8-55:8).
Feb. 8 - Joe Moss, Jr. W ko 1
(Ft. McClellan, Alabama). (Anniston [Alabama] Star 2-9-55:13).
Feb. 9 - Leon Hall L dec
(Montgomery, Alabama). Alabama Negro Golden Gloves middleweight finalist; Montgomery, Alabama. (Anniston [Alabama] Star 2-10-55:A-16). Crook represented Ft. Benning, Georgia.
Mch. 1 - William Finnan W rsc 1
(Rockford, Illinois)
Mch. 2 - Dick Stemple W rsc 1
(Toledo, Ohio)
Mch. 2 - Art Glass L pts
(Muncie, Indiana). US Western Golden Gloves middleweight quarterfinalist; Chicago, Illinois.
Apr. 12 - Burris Wood W rsc 3
(US Army, Far East). Oakland Tribune 4-13-55:D-57.
Apr. 13 - Won his quarterfinal match.
Apr. 15 - Abraham “Abe” W ko 2
Linnear (Chicago, Illinois/Ft. Lewis, Washington). “Crook had Linnear down at the end of the first round and finished him off at 1:04 of the second” (Greeley [Colorado] Daily Tribune 4-16-55:5).
Apr. 16 - Willie Russell L pts
(Toledo, Ohio/Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri). World-Wide All-Army light-middleweight finalist; Oakland Army Base, California. Crook represented Ft. Benning, Georgia.

1956

Feb. 28 - Dennis Stettler W default
(Las Vegas, Nevada)
Feb. 28 - Jim Sargent W rsc 3
(Peoria, Illinois)
Feb. 29 - Ward Sullivan W rsc 1
(Memphis, Tennessee)
Mch. 9 - Willie Russell W pts
(Toledo, Ohio)
Mch. 9 - Willis Anderson W rsc 2
(St. Louis, Missouri). US Western Golden Gloves middleweight champion; Chicago, Illinois. “Crook dominated the bout throughout. He put Anderson down twice in the first round, once with a right cross and again with a left jab. Anderson got up and continued, but was in shaky condition at the bell. As the second round began, Crook closed in. After 22 seconds a right cross put Anderson down again and the bout was stopped” (Chicago Tribune 3-10-56:part 3, page 2).
Mch. 22 - As the US Western Golden Gloves middleweight champion, Crook should have boxed against Juan Pomare in the National (Inter-City) Golden Gloves championship in New York on this date. But the US Army would not permit Crook and two other Western champions serving in the Army to box without headguards in the competition (Lowell [Massachusetts] Sun 3-22-56:24).
Sept. 26 - Won his quarterfinal match. W
Sept. 27 - Jose Torres L ko 2
(Ponce, Puerto Rico/Second Army). All-Army light-middleweight semifinalist; Ft. Myers, Virginia. “After a cautiously-fought first round, the pair staged a toe-to-toe duel which ended explosively as Torres stepped back and finished his man with a right cross to the chin” (Pacific Stars and Stripes [Tokyo, Japan] 9-29-56:21).
Oct. 4 - Buster Tally W ko 1
(Kansas City, Missouri)
Oct. 5 - Bobby Christopherson W pts
(Minneapolis). “Crook defeated Christopherson in an exciting encounter. Christopherson once again arose from knockdowns, but could not stave off Crook in a toe-to-toe battle” (Kansas City Star and Times 10-6-56:25).
Oct. 6 - Jack McCracken W rsc 2
(St. Louis). US Olympic Midwest Regional light-middleweight champion; Kansas City, Missouri.
Oct. 18 - William Branch W rsc 2
(Carleton, Michigan/US Navy)
Oct. 19 - Vince Ferguson W ko 2
(New York City). “Crook lopped a left hook to Ferguson’s jaw in the second round and followed it with a right cross. Ferguson fell flat on his back, his head hitting the mat hard. It was several minutes before he regained consciousness. Carried from the ring on a stretcher, even though conscious, Ferguson was taken to Franklin Hospital, believed to be suffering from a slight concussion” (New York Times 10-20-56:26).
Oct. 20 - Jose Torres L pts
(Puerto Rico). US Olympic Trials light-middleweight finalist; Boston, Massachusetts. Torres “chased Crook all over the ring to win a slow decision” (Nevada State Journal [Reno] 10-20-56:8). Crook “fought the entire fight with a broken right hand, suffered when he KO’ed Ferguson, but he refused to forfeit the match with Torres” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany] 5-26-59:11).
xxxx - Crook was assigned to Berlin
in late 1956.

1957

May 7 - Mario Bandoria W dec
(Italy). “Crook suffered a broken hand while scoring his triumph and was unable to continue his quest for a CISM championship. Crook, a methodical and classy-looking ringman with a mule-kick power in both hands, battered Bandoria around the ring for a decisive decision. Even his left jabs staggered Bandoria, who took a world of punishment before being floored just before the finish. Crook threw his right only a couple of times in the first two rounds and didn’t use it at all in the third. He had Bandoria in trouble plenty of times and Bandoria’s face was a bloody mask for the last two rounds. A whistling left hook dropped Bandoria about eleven seconds before the final bell, but he staggered to his feet only to lose the decision. Crook was taken to the hospital after the bout where X-rays revealed two broken bones in his Sunday-punch right hand. Only then did US team officials learn Crook’s reason for holding back with his powerful right in the third round” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany] 5-9- 57:21).
May 9 - Lucien Fernandez L forfeit
(France). Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) light-middleweight semifinalist; Munich, West Germany. Crook had to forfeit to Fernandez because of the broken bones in his right hand (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany] 5-11-57:21).
May - Crook took his doctor’s advice to lay off boxing for at least two years while his injured hand healed. Crook spent his spare time playing football for the Berlin Bears. In 1958 he led the Bears to the Northern Conference championship and was named to the All-USAREUR squad as the first-team quarterback (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany[ 5-26-59:11).

1959

Jan. 17 - Juergen Wegner W ko 2
Berlin Command vs. Spandau [Germany] Boxing Club; Berlin, West Germany. Continuing his comeback after his hand injury in 1957, Crook “dropped Wegner for a nine-count early in the first round and decked him for good with a barrage of rights” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany] 1-20-59:22).
Feb. 5 - Won his quarterfinal match. W rsc
Feb. 6 - Bobby Mathias W rsc 2
Feb. 7 - Fernando Estrada W
(World Army Command). Army Area Commands light-middleweight champion; Kaiserslautern, West Germany). Crook represented the Berlin Command.
Feb. 19 - Won his quarterfinal match. W
Feb. 20 - Won his semifinal match. W
Feb. 21 - Booker Anderson W rsc 1
(V Corps). USAREUR Northern Regionals light-middleweight champion; Kaiserslautern, West Germany. Crook represented the Army Area Commands.
Mch. 6 - Willie Young W ko 2
(Army Trps., Seventh Army). “Crook stopped Young with a combination to the head” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany] 3-6-59:20).
Mch. 7 - Martin Mack W rsc 3
(24th Division). USAREUR light-middleweight champion; Hanau, West Germany. “Crook chased Mack all around the ring for two rounds before he caught him in the third. Mack’s seconds threw in the towel to end the uneven bout” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany) 3-8-59:20.
Apr. 3 - Won his semifinal match. W
Apr. 4 - Tom Torrence W ko 2
(Navy). Interservice light-middleweight champion; Ft. Benning, Georgia. “The hard-slugging Crook sent Torrence to the canvas three times prior to the knockout” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany] 4-7-59:20).
Apr. 27 - Record: 210-9 (Stevens Point [Wisconsin] Daily Journal 4-27-59:7).
Apr. 28 - “Crook was recalled to Europe and had to withdraw from the Pan American Games trials at Madison, Wisconsin” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany) 4-29-59:22).
May 8 - Fathy Abdel Rahman W ko 1
(United Arab Republic). “Crook moved out against Rahman, feinted twice and then exploded a stright right hand flush to the jaw. Rahman was literally picked off his feet by the force of the blow and fell face downward on the canvas. He got up at six but never knew what was going on after that. Rahman fell down again before Crook could get to him and then got up slowly to be brushed by a glancing left and that was enough. He went down for the third time and the referee mercifully ended the struggle. The crowd of 6,000 buzzed for a full five minutes after Crook’s display of power” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany] 5-10-59:20).
May 9 - Marcelo Vicari W rsc 3
(Italy). “Crook, using muscle that the Italian fans had never seen, whipped a vicious uppercut to Vicari’s chin early in the second round to put him on the canvas and then had him reeling on the ropes at the end of the stanza. Vicari just made it back to his corner and that was enough for his seconds. Instead of reviving Vicari, they simply unlaced his gloves and took him home” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany [ 5-11-59:20).
May 12 - Souleymane Diallo W ko 3
(France). Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) light-middleweight champion; Bologna, Italy. “For two rounds Diallo stayed in a shell and Crook finally got in just one punch - a devastating right that sent Diallo sprawling through the ropes out on the apron. He got up just at ten, but the referee halted the proceedings in order to save Diallo from further punishment” (European Stars and Stripes [Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany] 5-14-59:22).

1960

Apr. 29 - Tom Davis W rsc 2
(Air Force). Interservice light-middleweight champion; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (San Antonio [Texas] Light 4-30-60:5).
May 18 - Roosevelt Sanders W rsc 2
(Marines). Crook “dropped his man with a left hook to the chin late in the second round and, although Sanders arose at ‘nine,’ the bout was terminated at 2:28” (San Francisco Chronicle 5-19-60:37,38).
May 19 - Wilbert McClure L pts 0-3
(Toledo, Ohio). US Olympic Trials light-middleweight semifinalist; San Francisco, California. “A first-round knockdown suffered by McClure spurred him on to score a pair of knockdowns himself against Crook in the first round and another in the third in a wild, riotous battle. McClure, a tiger when aroused, finally won a unanimous decision over Crook” (San Francisco Chronicle 5-20-60:37). McClure recalls Crook and Jose Torres as the two toughest opponents he ever met as an amateur. “[Crook] hit me right off the bat and the ref gave me a standing eight-count. I never even saw the punch! I dropped him later in the same round. He got up and we had a helluva boxing/punching match! I dropped him again in the third round and won the light-middleweight division title” (E-mail correspondence from Skeeter McClure, 11-6-2004).
xxxx - McClure won the US Olympic Trials at light-middleweight (156 pounds); Ray Phillips, a Marine from Cincinnati, won it at middleweight (165 pounds). Crook was named the alternate to McClure. During the US Olympic training camp, however, Phillips apparently suffered an injury or experienced weight problems and Crook was selected to replace him. “Wise decision,” quipped McClure.
Aug. 26 - Geronimo Odreman W rsc 1
(Venezuela). “Crook scored a technical knockout in 2:36 of the first round. A powerful left hook by Crook stunned the rangy Venezuelan and another hook drove him into the ropes. Odreman staggered to the floor and took a count of ‘eight.’ Crook moved in with left and right hooks, driving the Venezuelan around the ring. When Odreman fell down again after a right from Crook, the referee declared the American the winner” (Nevada State Journal [Reno] 8-27-60:11).
Aug. 30 - Peter Odhiambo W pts 5-0
(Uganda)
Sept. 1 - Lo Pu Chang (Formosa) W rsc 3
Crook “decked Chang three times. Left hooks put him down twice in the first round and again in the third before the bout was stopped” (Oakland Tribune 9-2-60:E-40).
Sept. 3 - Ion Monea (Romania) W ko 2
Crook “won the first round against his Romanian rival and floored him three times in the second. A hard left jab made Monea drop his guard. Then Crook followed with a straight right to the face. Monea sprawled into the ropes and slid to the canvas. It was an eight-count knockdown. Crook floored Monea again with a hard left hook to the head. The third knockdown was scored with a right. Monea lay motionless for a moment, tried to get up, but just turned over and slumped flat on his face, slowly shaking his head until the end of the count” (New York Times 9-4-60;section 5, page 3).
Sept. 5 - Tadeusz Walasek W pts 3-2
(Poland). Olympic middleweight champion; Rome, Italy. Crook “earned an unpopular split decision over Walasek. He fought cautiously but effectively, his extreme care apparently drawing disfavor from the crowd, although Walasek did no damage, either. Eddie used a snaky left, repeatedly prodding Walasek, and comfortably avoiding the Pole’s wild swings. Crook uncorked the only jarring blow of the fight in the final round, a right to the jaw which jolted Walasek. The judges voted 3-1 for Crook, one even [with the advantage to Walasek], but the crowd hooted and jeered even through the victory ceremony and while the U.S. National Anthem was being played” (Louisville Courier-Journal, 9-6-60). “The crowd thought the Pole clearly had outboxed the American. Crook put up a game fight, spotting the Pole three inches in height. Walasek was the better boxer to most expert observers and it was difficult to determine the basis for the decision” (New York Times 9-6-60:45). Years after these Olympics, Nick Spanakos, a teammate of Crook’s on the 1960 team, recalled that “the fierce and feared Eddie Crook could demolish you with either hand.” No question about that.

[williefromrichmond]

Kevin, you ask if I have any records of British amateur boxers. I do, but I can't get into your website to send them.

[williefromrichmond]

A boo-boo! My fault. The 1956 U S Olympic trials were held in San Francisco, not Boston. Sorry.