Chuck Adkins, 1952 Olympic Champion

[williefromrichmond]

CHARLES "CHUCK" ADKINS

Born April 27, 1932

Died July 8, 1993

1949

Feb. 14 - Charles Bozeman W rsc 2
Feb. 15 - Johnny Brown W pts
Won Gary [Indiana] Golden Gloves 135-pound championship.

Feb. 21 - Gale Outhouse (Sioux City) L pts
Lost in first round, Western Golden Gloves 135-pound championship; Chicago. Attendance: 7,235.

Apr. 4 - James Folk (Cumberland, Maryland) W ko 2
Apr. 4 - Elmer Lakatos (Youngstown, Ohio) W pts
Attendance: 5,168.
Apr. 5 - John Biancaniello (_______/US W pts
Marines). Attendance: 5,432.
Apr. 6 - William Hazel (New York) W pts
Apr. 6 - Johnny Aguilar (Alameda, W pts
California). Won National AAU 135-pound championship; Boston.
Attendance: 10,304.

1952

Jan. 16 -
_______ Spokane Invitational Intercollegiate ________; Spokane.

Jan. 29 - Jed Black, (San Jose State W pts
vs. Michigan State); San Jose. Attendance: 3,100. Adkins “won a clear-cut decision over Black, NCAA defending 147-pound champion, who went into the highly-contested match with a string of 20 consecutive dual meet victories over a three-year period” (Nevada State Journal [Reno] 1-30-52:10).

?? (San Jose State vs. Minnesota)

Feb. 9 - Pat Drescher, (San Jose State W pts
vs. Nevada); San Jose. Drescher “dropped a close and clever bout to ... Adkins.... The fast-punching Drescher stayed right on top of [Adkins], who relied on all his experience to pile up the necessary points” (Nevada State Journal [Reno] 2-10-52:9).

Feb. 15 - (San Jose State vs.
Idaho State)

Mch. 7 -
Mch. 8 -
Won Intermountain 139-pound championship; Pocatello, Idaho.

Mch. 20 -
Mch. 21 -
Mch. 22 - Gil Inava (Washington W pts
State).
Mch. 23 -
Won Pacific Coast Intercollegiate 139-pound championship; Sacramento.

Apr. 2 -
Apr. 3 - QF, attendance: 7,763
Apr. 4 - Russ Lundgren (Idaho W pts
State). Attendance10,024.
Apr. 5 - Pat Sreenan (Wisconsin) W pts 2-1
Won NCAA 139-pound championship; Madison, Wisconsin. Attendance: 13,231. Adkins won a split decision over his southpaw opponent. “He had trouble with Sreenan’s crisp left in the opening round, but came back strong to pile up the winning points” (New York Times 4-6- 52:V:1,3).

June 16 - Joe Reynolds (St. Louis) L pts
Lost in quarterfinals, Olympic Games Trials 139-pound championship;Kansas City, Missouri. Named as Olympic 139-pound alternate. Attendance: 3,000. “Adkins ... gained an early lead ..., but Reynolds’ slick counter punching and strong finish gave him the decision. Reynolds’ best round was the second when he twice shook Adkins with rights to the head” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch 6-17-52:B-3).

July 28 - Leif Hansen (Norway) W tko 1
Attendance: 5,000 (capacity crowd). “Adkins ... stopped Hansen in about 45 seconds of the first round. Adkins punched the lanky Norse blond freely and then opened a deep cut over Hansen’s right eye. Hansen [then] retired” (New York Times 7-29-52:24).
July 30 - Salomon Carrizales (Venezuela) W pts 3-0
Attendance: 5,000. “Adkins got too confident in the last round and was almost knocked out. After pounding ... Carrizales for two-and-a- half rounds, Adkins became careless and ran into a powerful left to the jaw that sent him spinning to the ropes” (New York Times 7-31-52:15).
July 31 - Alex Webster (South Africa) W pts 3-0
Attendance: 5,000. Adkins “dropped Webster twice for nine counts with sharp left hooks” (New York Times 8-1-52:10).
Aug. 1 - Bruno Visintin (Italy) W pts 3-0
Attendance: 5,000. Adkins “flashed his best form of the tournament in eliminating Visintin by a unanimous decision” (New York Times 8-2- 52:8).
Aug. 2 - Viktor Mednov (Russia) W pts 2-1
Won Olympic Games 139-pound championship; Helsinki, Finland. Attendance: 5,000. “Adkins ... entered the ring with a patch over and under his left eye to protect cuts. [Mednov] had two heavy patches over his eyes. He had big gashes requiring seven stitches over the right eye and six over the left one. [Adkins was also “hampered by a cold” throughout the tournament]. Adkins took the fight to the usually aggressive Russian. He ripped left hooks to the head to win the first round and knock the patch off of Mednov’s left eye. In the second, Adkins hammered the Russian all over the ring. He kept the barrage up in the third and made the Russian hold on. Twice the sturdy Soviet boxer was staggered and the blood flowed from his cuts. Adkins got only a split decision. The British judge voted for Adkins, 60-55, the French official gave it to him, 60-57, but Poland’s J. Neuding, the object of a bitter American protest yesterday, scored it even in points, 58-58, and cast his ballot for the Russian” (New York Times 8- 3-52:V:1,3). Until he lost to Adkins, Mednov “was undefeated in more than 300 bouts” (Nevada State Journal [Reno] 2-15-53:13).

1953

Aug. 28 - Pro debut.

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