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Golden Gloves

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For the honor in Major League Baseball, see Gold Glove.

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Golden Gloves

The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves tournaments and other notable tournaments such as the Intercity Golden Gloves, the Chicago Golden Gloves, and the New York Golden Gloves.

The national contest is sponsored and controlled by the Golden Gloves Association of America, Inc. Winners from regional Golden Gloves competitions compete in the national competition, called the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. The Tournament of Champions is held once a year, and a new tournament site is selected annually. The US Golden Gloves program is currently organized on a territorial basis to give all sections of the country representation. All tournaments are planned, promoted and directed by the Golden Gloves Charities and within the limits of the amateur boxing code.

The Golden Gloves are open to all non-professional pugilists age 16 and over. There is also a Silver Gloves amateur tournament, which is for amateur pugilists age 8 to 15 years old.

History

In 1927 Paul Gallico, sports editor of the New York Daily News conducted an amateur boxing tournament; Capt. Joseph M. Patterson suggested naming it the “Golden Gloves”. The Chicago Tribune, which also owned the New York Daily News, then announced it would conduct a “Golden Gloves” tournament the following spring. (The March 1950 issue of The Ring states that the Chicago Tribune started the tournament first, in 1926, then Gallico started his in 1927, and named it the Golden Gloves.) Arch Ward and Don Maxwell of the Tribune suggested to Gallico to have the New York Golden Gloves Champions meet the Chicago Champions in the Chicago Coliseum March 24, 1928—starting an intercity rivalry that lasted until 1961.

The Golden Gloves eliminated amateur mismatches of the past, when beginners faced injury and disillusionment. The Gloves created the “sub-novice” class, whereby beginner met beginner. The Gloves also required complete physical checkups, unlike the previous Amateur Athletic Union days.

From their inception, and up through World War II, the Chicago and New York titles were considered most elite. Not always did the Chicago champion fight the New York champion, however. With the demise of the local clubs, and the introduction of television after the war, the Intercity bouts became more significant for the times.

In 1935 the Golden Gloves expanded to include teams from other cities, provided they were sponsored by a newspaper or radio station; 38 teams entered the first year. It became known as the “Tournament of Champions”. In 1934 Joe Louis of Detroit won the 175-pound title.

In 1941, Chicago had its North, South, and West sectional champions meet and reduced to just one team. The Chicago Tribune last sponsored the Tournament of Champions in 1963. In 1964 Stan Gallup started what today is called the “Golden Gloves of America Tournament”, when 32 national champions entered. The Chicago Tribune stopped its sponsorship after the 1984 tournament. There was no Chicago tournament in 1985. Cedric Kushner started it again in 1986.

Other Chicago Tournament Champions who went on to win professional world titles include: Barney Ross (1929) (the first Golden-Glover to become a titleholder), Leo Rodak (1931, 1932, 1933), Ezzard Charles (1939), Joey Maxim (1940), Harold Dade (1940, 1941), Wallace Bud Smith (1948), Sonny Liston (1953), Ernie Terrell (1957), and Cassius Clay (1959, 1960). Other Golden Glovers include Sugar Ray Robinson, Lou Salica, Georgie Pace, Gus Lesnevich, Tony Zale, Bob Pastor, Petey Scalzo, and Billy Soose.

Around the World

Other countries have similar amateur boxing awards, such as Mexico's Guantes De Oro (literally "Gloves Of Gold" in Spanish).

National Golden Gloves Champions

Below are the lists of the national Golden Gloves championships, by division:

Notable Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions winners include:

Notable Golden Gloves winners for the state of New York include:

See also

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