THE BRIDGE OF GOLDEN MEMORIES - 1964 and 1984

Another starting point

THE TWENTY CHAMPIONS

THE BRIDGE OF GOLDEN MEMORIES: -
BY Brian Zelley

BROWN - MURDOCH - ZELLEY

(1984 - THE LAST STEP)

Brian Zelley, Roger Nepper, Leo Rock, Gilles Nepper

(The First Step)

FACES ON THE BRIDGE OF GOLDEN MEMORIES

FRED DESROSIERS - 1964 OLYMPIC BOXER

                              DALE WALTERS - Bronze Medal - 1984 LA OLYMPICS

                                           SOME OF THE FACES ON THE BRIDGE: 
                                           Fred Desrosiers,v Dale Walters,  Mike Caird


- connecting 1964 and 1984 and listing the many folks that are a part of the 1964 and/or 1984 events and happenings.

1964 THE VANCOUVER ISLAND BOXING CHAMPIONS
.Brian Zelley, Howie Rabey, Gilles Nepper, Ken Alexander,
.Larry Williams,  Rifleman Walsh, Tommy Black, Wayne Powell

Some of the other boxers included Roger Nepper, Don White,
Fred Desrosiers and Mike Caird.  Coaches and cornermen
Harry Morris, George Nepper, Skimp Williams, Mike Lazare,
Taylor (Dusty) Gordon (RCN).

Faces from 1964 - Brian. Gilles & Leo

Nanaimo's Newcastle Boxing Club

1984 VANCOUVER ISLAND BOXING CHAMPIONS
Alan Brown, Craig Kelly, Danny Koughan, Dean MacDonald,
 Gary Wood, Kevin Lincoln, Mickey Souchuk, Mike Murray,
Scott Cessford, Shawn Horrigan, Tim Cessford, Trent Storey. 
                   

                                                                Faces from 1984  
                         RICK BROUGH - SCOTT CESSFORD - ALAN BROWN

                          TIM HUNTER - RICK  BROUGH - MIKE MURRAY

THE SPECIAL BOUT - March 24, 1984 : DUFFY - DELUCA

in the news reports of the 1984 Vancouver Island Boxing championships 
at Parksville's "Ballenas Secondary School" the special bout was overlooked.'
But,  for BC Amateur Boxing history, the bout is an important footnote for 
the 1984 Junior Nationals that would see the winner of this special box-off
bout win a silver medal  at the 1984 Nationals held in Burnaby, BC.

Details of the special match were reported in September 1984 issue of a
special publication of the "BC Amateur Boxing News" as follows:
"...The result of the bout was important because it aided in the selection
of TONY DUFFY for the Junior Nationals team...In the special bout
Duffy was a convincing winner over Paul DeLuca."

                                   TONY DUFFY - 1984 - Sunshine Coast Boxing


THE 1984 CHAMPIONSHIP:

One of the early reports was from the "Arrowsmith Star" by Greg Heakes
with the headline:  "YOUNG BOXERS PLAY PART IN TRANSITION"
Quoted in the Heakes' article was 
BCABA (Boxing BC) president GEORGE ARMSON:
"I think it generates interest and enthusiasm from the top of the Island
to the bottom..."

The tournament as disclosed in the 1984 BC Amateur Boxing News
-Special Annual and 1984 Olympic coverage - 

BC AMATEUR BOXING NEWS - September 1984
VANCOUVER ISLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Parksville - March 24th.- 

A most important revival took place at Parksville
on March 24th.It was the revival of the 
Vancouver Island Amateur Boxing Championships
after 20 years.  It was a tournament that would
give every registered boxer on Vancouver Island
a chance to participate and compete in their 
individual age-weight-experience category.

The idea was first discussed at a meeting
 in January 1983.  Those persons behind
the initial plan were Rick Brough, Brian Zelley.
Howard Curling, Art Smith, Brian Sacho, Niel Garda, Alex Riley and Bob Perry. But,
it wasn't very long before Monty Brown showed his enthusiasm and support for such
a tournament.

By March '84, a "spirit of co-operation and participation" prevailed with all Island
clubs willing to participate.  Also GEORGE ARMSON. BERT LOWES, 
DAVE THOMPSON, KEN MARJORAM, DR HERB DUMONT, DR. DON SHORTING,
JIM HILLS and BARRY KRANGLE (Sunshine Coast) shared in the dream to make 
this revival a success.

Special award winners were
KEVIN LINCOLN (Best All-Round Boxer and Best Senior. 
MICKEY SOUCHUK (Vancouver Island Boy)
ALAN BROWN (Island Boy Runner-up and Best Intermediate)
SHAWN HORRIGAN (Best Junior)
 DEAN MACDONALD (Most Promising Junior)
CRAIG KELLY and DEAN TOWNSEND (Best Bout)?

media articles mentoned some of the participants such as Tim Hunter,
 Kit Munro, Wade Stewart, Raymond Barton, Donnie Jay, Wayne Hinchcliffe, 
 Dave Hendrickson,  Gordon Heitland and Ben Mitchell.

There were 7 Island clubs from Gold River, Campbell River,  Parksville,
Nanaimo,  Ladysmith,  Crofton, Victoria and the Sunshine Coast Club from Gibson's 
Sunshine coach in 1984 - BARRY KRANGLE.


BEYOND 1964

After 1964, many of the boxers would not continue to compete, but some would return to 
boxing as coaches, trainers and`or officials. 

FRED DESROSIERS  would earn a spot on the 1964 Canadian Olympic team  and return to 
ring activity in the 1965 BC Golden Gloves and earn the Golden Boy runner-up spot
with Vancouver's FREDDY FULLER earning the Golden Boy award.  Desrosiers would
also compete in the 1967 BC Golden Gloves along with two of the other alumni of the
1964 Vancouver Island boxers.

MIKE CAIRD  would fade away from the ring after his loss to Rifleman Walsh, but would 
turn to coaching.  In 1974, he would be part of the revival of amateur boxing in Victoria.
Caird would be active until the early Eighties, but by 1983 he became inactive while his 
two last boxers Gary Robinson and Cliff Ballendine would turn pro under the direction
of others.   However,  about 1993 he would resume active coaching with the new found
interest due to the 1994 Commonwealth Games and coach until about 2001.  However,
in 2009, he would be inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame as a 
builder.

                                                      1974 Greater Victoria

ROGER NEPPER  would turn to coaching boxers at Nanaimo's Newcastle Boxing Club 
until 1968 when the club folded.  Gilles would help in the coaching in Nanaimo.
Boxer Leo Rock would not return to boxing after the Island Championships.

TOMMY BLACK  would turn to officiating and would referee some of the bouts in
1965 and 1966.  In the preparation to the 1994 Commonwealth Games, Tommy
would serve as a boxing volunteer.  After 1991, he would also be part of the 
Boxing Committee.

MIKE LAZARE - served as a cornerman during the 1964 tournament along with
SKIMP WILLIAMS.  Lazare would go onto win  Bronze Gloves and Emerald
Gloves championships and then leave boxing.

KEN ALEXANDER would continue to box until 1967 and along with Island
boxers BILLY TAYLOR, LES VEGAS and BRIAN ZELLEY, he would compete
in the 1967 BC Golden Gloves and the 1967 BC Diamond Belt tournaments. 

TAYLOR GORDON, the coach of the Navy boxers would move to Nova Scotia
where he would become a National Coach.  He would be one of the team 
coaches for Boxing Canada in the 1984 Olympic Games and numerous other
international tournaments and at times would serve as a committee member 
for BOXING CANADA (CABA).  

GEORGE NEPPER,  the guiding light behind the Newcastle Boxing Club
would continue to work in his shoe repair shop for many years during the 
day, but slowly his role in boxing  would decrease due to poor health. 
 However, prior to his death, he was able to be an important part 
of the beginning of the  new NANAIMO BOXING CLUB when it was
 formed in 1971 by assisting the co-founders with start-up issues and equipment. 

HARRY MORRIS, coach of the London Boxing Club and host of the 
1964 tournament would remain connected to boxing until 1968.
After 1968, the London Boxing Club would drop boxing and focus
on team sports such as soccer, basketball, slow-pitch and other activities.
In the early Seventies, Harry would leave the club.  In 1975, the club
would renew its support of boxing until it folded in 1976 and was 
replaced by the VICTORIA ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION.

For a moment it time,  Victoria's  London Boxing Club hosted
the 1964 Vancouver Island Boxing Championships, and the
tournament would remain the last official Island Boxing 
Championship, then it 1983 the idea of a revival of that
tournament was hatched at a meeting of  Vancouver Island
officials and coaches.  On March 24, 1984 at the high school
in Parksville, the revival became a reality when coaches
ART SMITH and BRIAN SACHO and the 
Parksville-Qualicum Boxing Club hosted the '84 show.
Other coaches worked to have some of their boxers ready 
for the tournament including Mike Sartori and Paul DeLuca Sr.
of the Victoria Jaycees Boxing Club, Alex Riley and Niel Garda
of the Crofton Boxing Club, the Ladysmith and Nanaimo 
Boxing Clubs, Monty Brown of the Gold River, and 
the George Shiels and Charles John of Campbell River.
Also, former Port Alberni coach Jim Hills who coached one of
the boxers to a championship victory for the Parksville club. 
Also, coach Barry Krangle for his work to get TONY DUFFY
ready for the box-off with PAUL DELUCA Jr.

That box-off bout would link to the 1984 Junior Nationals
and Senior Box-Offs in May of 1984 at the BCABA
Training Centre in Burnaby.


TONY DUFFY - TEAM BC - 1984  JUNIOR NATIONALS

From May 25 to 27th. Tony Duffy would be part  of Team BC.
Others on the team would be:
Curtis Peterson, Aaron Wolfe, John Turner,  Suraj Jaswal 
Tony Francis, Manny Sobral, Clint Dumais, and  Willy Curry.

Some of the organizers, coaches and officials of the 
1984 Vancouver Island Tournament would also be
involved with the Junior Nationals and Senior Box-offs
such as Bert Lowes, BCABA president George Armson and Brian Zelley. 

THE JUNIOR BOXERS
Norman Tynes - Guy Dugal - Edgar Davis - Curtis Peterson -
Dean Jeffries - Wesley Sunshine - Corey Burton  - Barry Christie -
B. Sebileau - K. Moore - Aaron Wolfe - Eric Grenier -
Leonard Petrie - Harvey Claveau - Shane Poole - Charles Beaudry -
Paul Mashiskino - John Turner -  Suraj Jaswal - Trent Latham -
Rene Cadran - William Blackburn - Troy Dickie - Terry Profeit -
Scotty Olson - Chris Robichaud - Jeff Hill - Tony Francis -
Dwayne Loppie - Giles Bisaillon - Peter Oxtoby - Mario Bergeron -
Steve Trenholme - Dan Jackson - Jeff Beliveau - Erik Henson -
Tony Kelsie - Paul Dube - Tony Duffy - Raymond Wiswell -
F. Toulouse - Jamie Sparks - Shawn Downey - Richard Gauthier -
Manny Sobral - George Davis - John Walker - J. Greenwood -
Clint Dumais - Richard Olson - Stewart Hilton - Steven Penrod -
Ray Downey - W. Johnson - Tom Glesby - P. Desroches -
Rodney Walsh - R. Kovacs - Mike Reuter - R. Stowell -
Danny Stripe - R. Malley - Willy Curry -  J. Letourneau -
Brian Hatfield.
SENIOR BOX-OFF COMPETITION

The competitors - Steve Pagendam - Steve Nolan - John Kalbhenn -
Sylvain Thibeault - Peter Britt - Dennis Lambert - Shawn O'Sullivan -
Lawrence Rolfe - Rick Duff - Darryl Flint - Ken Johnson - Wayne Welsh



referees and judges from B.C. were
Fred Fuller, Bert Lowes Ron Whalley.

                                              Ron Whalley, a top official in BC

Some of the others were:
Bob Carswell, Morgan Williams, Len Johnson
Al Tuci, and Jean Paul Ricard.
Other officials:
Jerry Shears, George Fraser, Allan Tummon,
Larry Krangle, Jack Mellor, Stan Smith, Pauline Carswell,
Tommy Yule, Gordon Miller, Lindy Lindmoser and Rudy Bianco.

Best Boxer Award judges:
Glynn Jones, Tommy Yule and Brian Zelley.
Bob Carswell of Lethbridge, Alberta provided the 
awards judges with a copy of the
"Fair Play Method:  Outstanding Boxer And Sportsmanship
Award Judging" program for guidance in the selection process.

THE TOURNAMENT
(Information gathered from the pages of the
 "BC AMATEUR BOXING NEWS" - June 1984)

AT THE BELL - By Brian Zelley (editor)

The 1984 Canadian National Junior Boxing Championships
was a smashing success due to the efforts of the boxers,
coaches, ring officials, CABA Executive Committee,
BCABA Executive Committee, the many helpers, and the
support and effort of LOIS JACKSON and the staff of
the Pacific Vocational Institute's Redford House.  Also,
the senior boxers and their coaches involved in the box-
offs for Canadian Olympic Team selection.

....Going into the finals, the leading conteners for the
outstanding boxer award were NORMAN TYNES,
AARON WOLFE, ERIC GRENIER, SCOTTY OLSON,
GILLES BISAILLON, JEFF BELIVEAU, STEWART HILTON
and WILLY CURRY...

BCABA EXECUTIVE:
George Armson, Bill Long, Sid Knopp, Marg O'Reilly,
Larry Carney, Shirley Knopp, Bert Lowes,
Glynn Jones, Brian Zelley and Dave Thompson.

CABA EXECUTIVE and COMMITTEE CHAIRs:
Herb Embuldeniya, Omar Gagnon, Jerry Shears,
Bill Starr, Dick MacLean, Taylor Gordon, Allan Tummon,
John Raferty, George Fraser, Dr. Joseph Falletta,
Joe Hajnal and Bill Arsenault.

BETWEEN  1964 and 1984

The mid point between those two important years
 would be the boxing season of 1974/1975 and the
important BC Tournament was the 1975 BC Golden Gloves.
over the years there have been a few stories about that tournament
- the end game was for some of the boxers it would be the beginning of the end,
For others it would be a brief comeback, or for the seasoned ones it was
another step in each of their boxing journey.

For Nanaimo boxer MICKEY GRIFFIN, the loss was described as an upset,
and in the Nanaimo area it was called a robbery, but it would be one of a few
bouts that would see an end to the boxer that was tooted as a potential
Olympic star which all began following an earlier victory over former team mate
and  1973 Canadian champion JACK SNAITH.

For JIMMY MACMILLAN, a top Canadian boxer in 1966, it would be
an amazing return after 8 long years in the boxing wilderness He would
return to earn the Golden Boy Runner-up award.  Then there was a
true warrior by the name of GORDIE LAWSON who began his road
to boxing glory in the 1967/1968 season with the Vancouver Firefighters.
Following the Sizzling Sixties, the knockout in amateur boxing became
 a rare commodity as referees were cautious and often stopped fights
 at the first sign of trouble.  But in that 1975 tournament nobody could stop
Lawson when he scored the only knockout that left the opponent down
on the deck for over a minute.

                                                 Jimmy McMillan in the mid Sixties

PHOTO PARADE

Newcastle Boxing Club

 

Victoria Boxing Club - November  1974

Alan Brown - Vic Murdoch - Brian Zelley  *** 1084

Boxers in the Finals 

Dick Finlay - 1968

Jack Meda *** 1970 ***

Earl McLeay *** Frankie Scott

Wayne Boyce ***  Jack Meda

Brian Zelley's last official fight

Golden Boys

Ray Lampkin and Neil Knight