Beyond the glitz and politics of the Olympic Games,beyond the home town club show, and the dusty old gym
the real deal, the tournament of tournaments is the GOLDEN GLOVES
from places like Portland, Vancouver, Edmonton, Chicago and New York City
Beyond the bright lights, the roar of the crowd, and the long walk home,
there are thousands of untold stories of the glory and pain. It marks
a crossroads for all that enter. For some of the great champions
such as Muhammed Ali, Floyd Patterson and Emile Griffith, the Golden Gloves
was a necessary stop on the road to greatness.
Some of the original members of the B C Golden Gloves fraternity
are Gordon Grayson, Tommy Symes, Jackie Turner, Bobby Parker,
Vic Murdoch, Jimmy Crook and Terry Doyle. Some like Vic Murdock
Jackie Turner and Lyle Kehoe also competeed and won in other
Golden Gloves tournament such as the Seattle Golden Gloves.
Throughout the Fifties, many boxers would train and fight, but not all
would advance to the crossroads in a Golden Gloves tournament.
Some names to remember from the 1950's include
Dave Codville, Billy Stone. Harold Mann and Jack Straza.
In the Sixties, many B C boxers competed in the Vancouver based Golden Gloves,
but others from Oregon and Washington would provide
many magic moments such as Wes Craven and Ray Lampkin and Neil Knight.
From Vancouver Island and Prince George we saw the likes of
Harold Handlin, Les Vegas, Alan Curtis, and many more.
For those of us that competed, we all have stories to tell of the Golden Gloves
tournaments that we entered and the ones that we watched, or the ones that we
served as a cornerman or an official.
