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The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame, established in 1958, released the names of their latest group of honorees. Thirteen individuals will be honored at the 61st Annual induction ceremony and banquet, to be held on May 19, 2019, at Romano's Catering in Philadelphia. Leading the Class of 2019 is the "Punching Postman" Tony Thornton, who will be inducted posthumously. Thornton received more votes than any other nominee this year. Six additional boxers and six non-boxers round out the new class, including one Cut Man, one Manager, a pair of Promoters, a long-time PAL Supervisor, and one boxing Judge. Tickets for the event are available now and can be purchased by calling John Gallagher at 215-920-8791. See more information on ordering tickets, program ads, and Hall of Fame Plaques in the links to corresponding forms below. _____________________________________________________________ 2019 PABHOF INDUCTEES _____________________________________________________________
LYNNE
CARTER: Lynne Carter became a
boxing judge in Pennsylvania in 1984, and later, earned her
New Jersey license as a judge. Her career of more than 35 years is still underway.
She was the first female to judge a fight in Connecticut,
was the first African American female to judge a fight in
New Jersey, and one of the first females to judge for the WBA, WBO, WBC and WBU. She has judged many world title
bouts, including Jones-Hopkins I, Judah-Rangel, Adamek-Gunn,
Gamboa-Solis, Ibragimov-Briggs, as well as non-title fights
with Riddick Bowe, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick
Taylor, Wladimir Klitschko, and many others. Cater was
inducted into the NJBHOF in 2012.
IVAN
COHEN: Ivan Cohen has been
active in the boxing business for more than half of his
life. He most notably worked with IBF junior middleweight
champion Buster Drayton, who won the title in 1986 and
defended it twice, NABF champ and WBA lightweight
challenger Tyrone Crawley, contender Anthony Witherspoon,
who won the PA state cruiserweight title in 1987 and the WBA
Americas belt in 1989. More recently Cohen managed Hank
Lundy, Tyrone Crawley Jr., his son Brian Cohen, and others.
VAUGHN
HOOKS: Known as the Turtle, Vaughn Hooks posted a 19-2, 10 KO, 1 NC record between 1983 and 1993, and briefly held the USBA light heavyweight belt. He was a popular attraction at the Blue Horizon and the Atlantic City casinos. During his career, Hooks defeated Kelvin Kelly (KO6), Anthony Williams (W6), Dawud Shaw (W8), Mike Fisher (W8), among others. He defeated Frankie Swindell over 12 rounds to gain the USBA title in 1988, but that result was changed to a No Contest. Fought as a professional for 10 years, retiring after losing his final two bouts. _____________________________________________________________
KERRY
JUDGE:
The younger brother of 2017 PABHOF inductee Jerry Judge, won
the 1979 PA state Golden Gloves before turning professional
in 1980. In the March 1981 issue of Boxing Illustrated,
Kerry was featured as a "future headliner". During his
10 year career (1980-90), Judge posted an overall record of
14-3, 7 KOs. His key wins came against Kid Sampson (W4) and
Roger Troupe (W4 & W6).
WOODIE
MARCUS:
Woodie Marcus was an excellent amateur boxer, winning five
championships, including the 1961 National AAU title.
Eventually became an accomplished boxing trainer and
administrator. A policeman for 44 years, Marcus served as PAL
Supervisor for 39 years. He also worked as an amateur referee
and judge, and was President of the Mid-Atlantic Boxing
Association. Woodie's long career in amateur boxing
impacted countless young lives and boxing careers.
AL MASSEY:
Classy Al Massey was an entertaining and popular
welterweight between 1965 and 1969. Massey went 13-5-2, 7
KOs, overall, and defeated fine boxers like Johnny Knight (W8),
Ellis Phillips (TKO1), Adrian Davis (KO1), Wally Livingston
(W6, W6), Angel Rivera (W6), and in a then-world record,
stopped Mike Cortez in just 11 seconds in 1967. Massey lost
to tough Dick DiVeronica (L10), and Miguel Barreto (L10)
during his inconsistent but colorful and memorable career.
JACK
O'HALLORAN: Philly-born Jack "The
Giant" O'Halloran fought as a pro between 1966 and 1974,
winning his first 16 bouts straight. He went 34-21-2, 17 KOs,
overall, and faced many of the top dogs in his talent-rich
heavyweight era. He lost to George Foreman (KO5), Ken Norton
(L10), Ron Lyle (KO4), Mack Foster (KO1), Joe Bugner (L8),
and Ron Stander (L10), but scored important wins over the
likes of Cleveland Williams (W10), Woody Goss (W4, W4),
Charley Polite (TKO7), Mike Bruce (KO7), Henry Clark (W12),
Al Lewis (W10), and others. Won the California state
heavyweight championship in 1972 with his win over Charlie
Reno (W12).
After his boxing career, O'Halloran became an actor and
appeared in Superman & Superman II (with Christopher Reeve),
Farewell My Lovely (with Robert Mitchum), Dragnet (with Tom
Hanks & Dan Aykroyd), and other film and TV roles.
ADOLPH
RITACCO:
South Philly legend Adolph Ritacco was a trainer and cut man
who worked with some of Philly's very best fighters,
including Matthew Saad Muhammad, Joey Giardello, Kitten
Hayward, Dan Bucceroni, as well as non-Philadelphians Oscar
Bonavena, Bud Smith, Jimmy Carter and many more. He was
famous for his blood-clotting concoctions that worked well,
but once got him suspended after helping to save Saad
Muhammad's title in a fight with John Conteh. Prior to his corner-man career, the diminutive Ritacco was a
flyweight boxer with a reported amateur record of 91-1, and
a professional resume of 8-0-2, with 4 KOs. Ritacco died in 2008
and will be inducted posthumously.
ART ROONEY & BARNEY MCGINLEY:
During the 1930s and
1940s, the Art Rooney - Barney McGinley Pittsburgh
promotional firm was among the leading boxing promoters in
the country. They ushered in the golden age of the Steel
City, promoting Teddy Yarosz, Billy Conn, Charley Burley,
Sammy Angott, Jackie Wilson, Fritzie Zivic and many others.
Rooney & McGinley staged many outdoor extravaganzas at Forbes Field, including
Jersey Joe Walcott's heavyweight title-winning effort
against Ezzard Charles, before 28,000 fans. They also owned the
NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. Both Rooney and McGinley are
deceased and will be inducted posthumously.
CHARLES SINGLETON: Charles Singleton
fought professionally between 1979 and 1984, going 17-1, 11
KOs, during that stretch. Singleton won his first 17 bouts
before losing by TKO to Tim Broady in his final fight. His
winning streak included victories over Darnell Hayes (W10),
Stanley Ross (TKO8), Leonardo Rogers (KO4), Dennis Jackson
(W10), Mario Rosa (W6), and Kid Sampson (W6).
WILL
TAYLOR:
Will "Stretch" Taylor
was a popular Blue Horizon performer who once fought for the
IBF world title, and won the USBA championship with a
victory over Ray Berry (W12). Defended his title with a KO6
of Ernest Mateen. Also beat Richard Grant (W10) and Sam
Ahmad (W10). His world title shot came against Reggie
Johnson (L12) in 1999. Taylor also lost to David Telesco (TKO11) and Bryant Bannon
(L4) in a bout early in his career. In his final fight,
Taylor lost another decision to Reggie Johnson in a 2001 USBA/NABF title bout. Taylor died in 2012 and will be inducted posthumously.
TONY
THORNTON:
Tony Thornton, the
Punching Postman, was a popular boxer from Glassboro, NJ who
fought for world titles three times during his 12 year
career (1983-1995). Thornton won the USBA regional title in
both the middleweight and super middleweight divisions.
He defeated good pros like Mike Tinley (W12), Darren Zenner
(TKO4), Dave Tiberi (TKO4), John Scully (W10), Merqui Sosa
(W10), and Tyrone Frazier (W10), en route to a 37-7-1, 26
KOs, overall career record. Thornton lost world title bouts to
IBF champion Roy
Jones Jr. (TKO3), IBF champ James Toney (L12), and WBO
champion Chris Eubank (L12). Tony died in 2009 and will be
inducted posthumously. |
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