Frankie Nelson

Name: Frankie Nelson
Hometown: Davenport, Iowa, USA
Birthplace: South Carolina, USA
Height: 173cm
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record

Frank Nelson was an African-American, born and raised in South Carolina. Sometime around 1935, before he had even turned 21 years old, he ventured north, perhaps to live with relatives and search for a job. And so it was that he found himself living at 1019 Scott St., Davenport. Before long, he got work as a porter and a bootblack at the Blackhawk Hotel Barber Shop.

Whether Nelson had any formal training as a boxer in his young life is doubtful, but once he settled in Davenport, he joined the CYO Catholic Youth Organization Gym, which had a boxing gymnasium set up at the Knights of Columbus hall. He turned out to be a pretty good little boxer, so they suggested he might enter the seventh annual Golden Gloves Tournament sponsored by the Daily Times and held at what is now Wharton Field House in Moline. He not only entered, but also went on to win the 160-pound division by defeating a darned good pugilist by the name of Louie Visconi of East Moline.

As the champ, Nelson was entitled to advance to the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. Though facing more seasoned fighters, he did quite well for himself. Unfortunately, Nelson lost a split-decision bout against Al Wardlow of Dayton, Ohio (who made the final of the tournement) in the quarterfinals. Many people thought Nelson had won the fight, but Wardlow's unorthodox southpaw style was a puzzle that the inexperienced boxer couldn't quite figure out.

Not to be deterred, Nelson also entered and won the local AAU Midwestern Association Tournament in '36, which punched his ticket to the national tournament in Cleveland. But once again, he made it only to the quarterfinals, where he lost by decision in a barnburner that most spectators thought he won. His performances in both Chicago and Cleveland did not go unnoticed, and officials were compelled to offer Nelson an invitation to the upcoming Golden Gloves Olympic Tournament in Chicago. The two finalists in each weight class would represent the United States in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany.

Nelson again boxed his way to the quarter-finals, where he met up with the tournament favourite, Milton Shivers of Detroit, a protege of world heavyweight champion Joe Louis. In what was described as the greatest boxing match ever witnessed in a Chicago Golden Gloves event, Nelson won a unanimous decision. Unfortunately, after that grueling match, he had to come back in the semifinals the same night to fight Jimmy Clark, the other heavy favourite.

Clark, however, was fresh since his earlier fight that day had been a first-round knockout and a relative pushover. In the ensuing battle, Nelson seemingly won the first two rounds, but lost the third at the point of sheer exhaustion. Nonetheless, Nelson figured he had won the match against Clark, as did many members of the audience. But the nod went to the pre-fight favorite Clark, and Nelson could only take consolation in the disapproval of the crowd, which booed the decision for 20 minutes.

Though Nelson came home feeling dejected, he soon got word that boxing officials wanted him back to join the Olympic team as the first alternate. So, the very next day, he was back on the road to Chicago, where he was put up at the Grand Hotel with the other African-American members of the Olympic squad.

Weeks later, the two finalists, Jimmy Clark and Ord Fink, represented the United States in Berlin. Disappointed and disillusioned, Nelson was left at home. Unpopular decisions by boxing judges had robbed him of three championships in 1936.

After the Olympic fights, Nelson was offered a good job in Jamestown, N.Y., by a fight promoter, so he packed his bags and headed east. On Friday, June 26, 1936, at Shepherd Stadium, Nelson was billed as a local Jamestown boy and one of the most sensational 160-pounders in the world. That night, he faced and beat Red Berry, "The Kittanning Killer and Knockout King," and Jamestown claimed from Iowa what they had taken from South Carolina.

Interestingly enough, when Nelson went to the state of Maine to fight, he was first publicized as an "Indian," but after being seen in person, the print media there described him as an "Indian-Negro." Promoters were always looking for any kind of edge or curiosity to incite excitement.

With business left unfinished, Nelson came back to Davenport in 1937, again won the Daily Times Golden Gloves Tournament and headed off to Chicago for the Tournament of Champions. Like deja vu, he made it to the quarterfinals and came up against the same Al Wardlow he had faced the previous year in the same tournament and at the very juncture! For the second year in a row, the southpaw Wardlow handed Nelson a loss by judges' decision.

Nelson gave up his goal of winning a National Golden Gloves amateur title and entered the professional arena April 27, 1937, with a win versus George Zwick. Nelson would go 6-0 before losing a fight, which took place in a circus tent constructed on the tennis courts of the former Palmer School of Chiropractic. B.J. Palmer had purchased an entire section of seats to accommodate 2,000 alumni, who were in town for their annual lyceum. Frank Nelson was one of the best Golden Gloves boxers Davenport has ever produced. He also has the distinction of being the first from what is now the Quad-Cities to make the Olympic Trials and very nearly represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics.

Article courtesy of Doug Smith of DougsQCCollectibles