What do you remember/know about Gunnar Bärlund?
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Sweet Dick Willie
- Super Bantamweight
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- Joined: 22 Mar 2021, 13:44
What do you remember/know about Gunnar Bärlund?
Ashamed to admit but not much. He was the first Finnish fighter to make an impact in the game. Also the only one (of Finns) to fight in the Garden besides Tatli. There was also a beautiful issue of The Ring magazine with GB on the cover!
Re: What do you remember/know about Gunnar Bärlund?
Don't know much about him but here is a link to an article by Miles Templeton
https://boxingnewsonline.net/features/y ... attention/
This is a google translation from a Finnish bio
BÄRLUND, Gunnar
(1911–1982)
Boxer
Gunnar Bärlund was a successful and popular heavyweight boxer. He was the first Finn to win the European Boxing Championship. As a professional, Bärlund could have challenged for the world title, but during his long career in the United States, he failed to secure a title fight.
When Gunnar Bärlund became a world heavyweight champion, it attracted a lot of attention in Finland. He was a man of the people and has been compared to his idols Tauno Palo and Georg Malmstén in the 1930s. When Bärlund returned to Finland in the summer of 1938, he was met by such a large crowd at the Helsinki railway station that it was almost impossible for the legendary radio reporter Pekka Tiilikainen to get an interview with him. The Finnish people followed Bärlund's matches in the United States on the radio. The radio broadcasts often ended with a festive "March of the Björneborgs".
Finland's all-time greatest boxer grew up in Vallgäu in Helsinki. Several other prominent boxers also came from this working-class district. As a child, Bärlund was of a slight build but had a talent that came into its own in the Jyrys sports club in Helsinki. In 1926, he competed for the first time in the club, and the following year he surprised the boxing public by winning the middleweight class at the Workers' Sports Association's union party. The prize went to Switzerland, and his success inspired a local newspaper to headline Bärlund's victories with his initials; the nickname GeBe was here to stay.
In 1928, Bärlund participated in a team that competed in the Spartakiad in Moscow, but the team members paid a high price for the trip. The Workers' Sports Federation, led by the Social Democrats, excluded athletes who had visited the Soviet Union. After the new sports federation, the Workers' Sports Unity Committee, ran into difficulties due to the growing agitation within the Lapp movement, the majority of its members switched to "bourgeois" associations. More money and better working conditions also attracted them. Bärlund was given a much easier job at Oy Karl Fazer Ab after his previous employment at the Vallgårds lumberyard. The confectionery manufacturer Fazer later capitalized on the popularity of its employee by manufacturing the GeeBee kraft chocolate in the late 1930s. Bärlund's success continued within the Kronohagen Sports Association (KIF), and the audience at the Helsinki Hippodrome and in the Gardesmanegen witnessed the new star's victories in the heavyweight class over both domestic and foreign boxers. The sports associations' economists were naturally pleased with the packed stands.
Boxing enthusiasts had high expectations for the successful heavyweight. Some hoped that Bärlund would make a lot of money from his opponents, but the majority wanted him to represent his country in the 1932 Olympic Games. In Los Angeles, expectations were dashed when Bärlund lost his first match to the future gold medalist, Alberto Lovell of Argentina. The fight was widely seen as a moral finale.
When Bärlund was discharged from the navy in 1932, he joined the Helsinki Athletic Club. In 1933, the popular hits “Aallokko kutsuu” (The Wave Beckons) and “Emma” rang out on the sandy beach. The athletes also enjoyed themselves there, including Bärlund, who supervised the order and was himself the biggest attraction. “The Guy from Vallgård” was also a sight to behold in the ring. At the European Championships in Budapest in 1934, Bärlund left nothing to chance and won Finland’s first European Championship gold medal in boxing by a landslide.
The dream of a career as a professional boxer came true already during the return trip, when Bärlund, who was 187 cm tall and spoke Swedish as his native language, transferred to the stable of Swedish promoter Bertil Kylander. This did not dampen the enthusiasm of the people; tickets for Bärlund's first professional fight in the new Exhibition Hall in Helsinki against the German Arno Köblin were sold out immediately. In 1936, the German manager Paul Damski took Bärlund to the United States, where the European boxers had to work twice as hard. Bärlund's first trip to America was partly unsuccessful, but his second visit in 1937–1938 was successful. He was ranked on the boxing magazine The Ring list in the spring of 1937. Greater success was to be expected the following year.
On March 4, 1938, Bärlund defeated Buddy Baer in Madison Square Garden in New York, becoming the second challenger to world champion Joe Louis. This is still the biggest day in Finnish boxing history. “Barlund KO's Bud Baer in 7,” the Daily News headlined the news on its front page. Speculation about a meeting between Bärlund and Louis immediately took off, but the fight never took place. Damski failed to arrange for his protégé to participate in the most lucrative matches. In Finland, people dreamed of a match for the European championship title either at Bollplan or at the new Stadium, but the projects came to nothing.
After his visit to Finland, Bärlund returned to the “dollar rings” in the fall of 1938, but in the second match he was defeated by Lou Nova by technical knockout. Bärlund’s career began to decline because his eyebrows could not withstand the attacks of his opponents. However, Finnish boxing fans got to see their favorite in the ring once again, when “Guni” had a match in Helsinki in June 1947. It was to be Bärlund’s last year in the ring. The only knockout loss in his career occurred in 1947 in the last match, against Tommy Gomez. The balance of his professional career consisted of 85 matches, of which 55 were wins, 29 losses and one draw.
Bärlund had already worked in shipyards in New York during World War II and continued with port and bridge work after his boxing career until he was 62. As a pensioner, he spent his days with his Swedish-born wife in Florida. In 1947 he became an American citizen, but he kept in constant contact with Finland through his sports friends and visited the country a few times. In 1951, in the magazine Kehä (Ringen), he gave his countrymen a training tip: “Guys back home, remember to train your left hand tirelessly. It is the boxer’s calling card.”
A statue was erected of Gunnar Bärlund in Vallgård in Helsinki and a boxing tournament bears his name: the Gee-Bee Tournament.
Juha Kanerva
Gunnar Richard Bernhard Bärlund, GeeBee, Guni, born 9.1.1911 in Helsinki, died 2.8.1982 in Florida, USA. Mother Ingrid Bärlund. Married 1938 to Eva Melin.
https://www.blf.fi/artikel.php?id=1888
https://boxingnewsonline.net/features/y ... attention/
This is a google translation from a Finnish bio
BÄRLUND, Gunnar
(1911–1982)
Boxer
Gunnar Bärlund was a successful and popular heavyweight boxer. He was the first Finn to win the European Boxing Championship. As a professional, Bärlund could have challenged for the world title, but during his long career in the United States, he failed to secure a title fight.
When Gunnar Bärlund became a world heavyweight champion, it attracted a lot of attention in Finland. He was a man of the people and has been compared to his idols Tauno Palo and Georg Malmstén in the 1930s. When Bärlund returned to Finland in the summer of 1938, he was met by such a large crowd at the Helsinki railway station that it was almost impossible for the legendary radio reporter Pekka Tiilikainen to get an interview with him. The Finnish people followed Bärlund's matches in the United States on the radio. The radio broadcasts often ended with a festive "March of the Björneborgs".
Finland's all-time greatest boxer grew up in Vallgäu in Helsinki. Several other prominent boxers also came from this working-class district. As a child, Bärlund was of a slight build but had a talent that came into its own in the Jyrys sports club in Helsinki. In 1926, he competed for the first time in the club, and the following year he surprised the boxing public by winning the middleweight class at the Workers' Sports Association's union party. The prize went to Switzerland, and his success inspired a local newspaper to headline Bärlund's victories with his initials; the nickname GeBe was here to stay.
In 1928, Bärlund participated in a team that competed in the Spartakiad in Moscow, but the team members paid a high price for the trip. The Workers' Sports Federation, led by the Social Democrats, excluded athletes who had visited the Soviet Union. After the new sports federation, the Workers' Sports Unity Committee, ran into difficulties due to the growing agitation within the Lapp movement, the majority of its members switched to "bourgeois" associations. More money and better working conditions also attracted them. Bärlund was given a much easier job at Oy Karl Fazer Ab after his previous employment at the Vallgårds lumberyard. The confectionery manufacturer Fazer later capitalized on the popularity of its employee by manufacturing the GeeBee kraft chocolate in the late 1930s. Bärlund's success continued within the Kronohagen Sports Association (KIF), and the audience at the Helsinki Hippodrome and in the Gardesmanegen witnessed the new star's victories in the heavyweight class over both domestic and foreign boxers. The sports associations' economists were naturally pleased with the packed stands.
Boxing enthusiasts had high expectations for the successful heavyweight. Some hoped that Bärlund would make a lot of money from his opponents, but the majority wanted him to represent his country in the 1932 Olympic Games. In Los Angeles, expectations were dashed when Bärlund lost his first match to the future gold medalist, Alberto Lovell of Argentina. The fight was widely seen as a moral finale.
When Bärlund was discharged from the navy in 1932, he joined the Helsinki Athletic Club. In 1933, the popular hits “Aallokko kutsuu” (The Wave Beckons) and “Emma” rang out on the sandy beach. The athletes also enjoyed themselves there, including Bärlund, who supervised the order and was himself the biggest attraction. “The Guy from Vallgård” was also a sight to behold in the ring. At the European Championships in Budapest in 1934, Bärlund left nothing to chance and won Finland’s first European Championship gold medal in boxing by a landslide.
The dream of a career as a professional boxer came true already during the return trip, when Bärlund, who was 187 cm tall and spoke Swedish as his native language, transferred to the stable of Swedish promoter Bertil Kylander. This did not dampen the enthusiasm of the people; tickets for Bärlund's first professional fight in the new Exhibition Hall in Helsinki against the German Arno Köblin were sold out immediately. In 1936, the German manager Paul Damski took Bärlund to the United States, where the European boxers had to work twice as hard. Bärlund's first trip to America was partly unsuccessful, but his second visit in 1937–1938 was successful. He was ranked on the boxing magazine The Ring list in the spring of 1937. Greater success was to be expected the following year.
On March 4, 1938, Bärlund defeated Buddy Baer in Madison Square Garden in New York, becoming the second challenger to world champion Joe Louis. This is still the biggest day in Finnish boxing history. “Barlund KO's Bud Baer in 7,” the Daily News headlined the news on its front page. Speculation about a meeting between Bärlund and Louis immediately took off, but the fight never took place. Damski failed to arrange for his protégé to participate in the most lucrative matches. In Finland, people dreamed of a match for the European championship title either at Bollplan or at the new Stadium, but the projects came to nothing.
After his visit to Finland, Bärlund returned to the “dollar rings” in the fall of 1938, but in the second match he was defeated by Lou Nova by technical knockout. Bärlund’s career began to decline because his eyebrows could not withstand the attacks of his opponents. However, Finnish boxing fans got to see their favorite in the ring once again, when “Guni” had a match in Helsinki in June 1947. It was to be Bärlund’s last year in the ring. The only knockout loss in his career occurred in 1947 in the last match, against Tommy Gomez. The balance of his professional career consisted of 85 matches, of which 55 were wins, 29 losses and one draw.
Bärlund had already worked in shipyards in New York during World War II and continued with port and bridge work after his boxing career until he was 62. As a pensioner, he spent his days with his Swedish-born wife in Florida. In 1947 he became an American citizen, but he kept in constant contact with Finland through his sports friends and visited the country a few times. In 1951, in the magazine Kehä (Ringen), he gave his countrymen a training tip: “Guys back home, remember to train your left hand tirelessly. It is the boxer’s calling card.”
A statue was erected of Gunnar Bärlund in Vallgård in Helsinki and a boxing tournament bears his name: the Gee-Bee Tournament.
Juha Kanerva
Gunnar Richard Bernhard Bärlund, GeeBee, Guni, born 9.1.1911 in Helsinki, died 2.8.1982 in Florida, USA. Mother Ingrid Bärlund. Married 1938 to Eva Melin.
https://www.blf.fi/artikel.php?id=1888
Re: What do you remember/know about Gunnar Bärlund?
From what I know, Gunnar Bärlund was a Finnish heavyweight boxer active mainly in the 1930s and 1940s. He earned a reputation as one of Finland’s first internationally recognized fighters, and yes, he did fight in Madison Square Garden a big deal for a Finnish boxer at that time. He had a long career in Europe and the US, and his style was often described as tough and relentless. The Ring magazine cover you mentioned is famous among boxing collectors, highlighting his brief international fame.