Oakland Auditorium

Venue was located in Oakland, CA, USA

History of venue

Was the home of boxing and major sporting events in Oakland from around 1918 until 1968, when the Oakland Arena was built. It still was the primary home of boxing shows through the 1970s. Before the rise of television in the 1950s, boxing shows at the Oakland Auditorium, were almost always held on Wednesdays.

The capacity of the Oakland Auditorium is believed to have been around 9,000, based on some of the top attendances drawn by Oakland's most popular boxers, like Oakland Jimmy Duffy and Earl Turner.

Other Names

Also referred to as the Civic Auditorium and Municipal Auditorium.

Promoters

Some of the promoters who worked at this venue

• Tommy Simpson (1918-31), (1933), (1938-46)
• Ora Forman during the early-to-mid 30s
• Frank Tabor early-to-mid 40s, competing with Simpson and Carlen
• Jimmy Dundee (1948-62)
• Ray Carlen during the mid 40s, in competition with Tabor and Simpson
• Charley Marsalli late 30s, and early 40s
• Joe Herman late 30s
• Jimmy Murray mid-1940s, through early 1950s
• Johnny Sylvester (1937-42)
• Joe Waterman one show in 1939, where he lost over $1000
• Jimmy Cosenza (1960s)

Matchmakers

• Jimmy Murray, matchmaker with various combinations of Simpson, Tabor, and Carlen
• Johnny Sylvester, matchmaker for Dundee in the early 50s, through 1956
• Don Chargin, matchmaker with Jimmy Dundee after Sylvester, through the early 60s
• Jimmy Dundee, matchmaker for Jimmy Murray after Murray went into promoting.