PHILLY BOXING HISTORY   
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PHILLY BOXING HISTORY STAFF
 

JOHN DISANTO - EDITOR & WEBMASTER
  • DiSanto is a life-long boxing fan with a particular affection for all things Philly. Tired of waiting for the ultimate reference on the topic to be produced by someone else, John set out to tackle the job himself. He founded Philly Boxing History.com in 2004 with a passion for the sport AND its heritage. DiSanto applies his experience in marketing, research, writing, film & web to the quest to create the definitive guide to the history of the prize ring in the City of Brotherly Love. John is a member of IBRO, the Veteran Boxer's Association, and is the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame. DiSanto created the Briscoe Awards, which honors and celebrates the best of the current Philadelphia boxing scene, and the Gravestone Program which remembers deceased members of the Philly boxing community by placing headstones on their previously unmarked graves. Those honored so far are Tyrone Everett, Gypsy Joe Harris Garnet Hart, Eddie Cool, and Matthew Saad Muhammad, with more to come. DiSanto has also curated and installed several pop-up museum exhibits including the "Jeff Chandler Exhibit" (2012), the "Philly Boxing Art Exhibit" (2013), the "Kitten Hayward Exhibit" (2010). DiSanto was also named the Ring One / Veteran Boxers Association Man of the Year in May of 2007.

 
 

KEY CONTRIBUTORS
 

CHUCK HASSON

  • Widely regarded as the ultimate expert on Philadelphia boxing history, Chuck is the keeper of the Philadelphia boxing archives and has studied and written about the subject for many years. He is the co-author of the book Philadelphia's Boxing Heritage, along with Tracy Callis & Michael Delisa. Chuck is a voting member of the IBHOF. In 2013, Chuck entered the PA Boxing Hall of Fame as a Boxing Historian. For this website, Chuck provided records, articles, photos, lists, and many other items. If a really tough question comes in, it is surely Chuck who comes up with the answer. 

J RUSSELL PELTZ
  • J Russell Peltz is a Hall of Fame boxing promoter who has made Philadelphia boxing history for almost 50 years.  In 1969, he stepped away from a budding career as a journalist to launch Peltz Boxing Promotions. Quickly, he became the premiere matchmaker & promoter in the city. Russell developed scores of top-notch contenders like Cyclone Hart, Willie 'The Worm' Monroe, & Frank Fletcher, as well as great champions such as Jeff Chandler and Matthew Saad Muhammad. Russell has been a great help in the development of this Web site. He has offered his vast boxing collection, his archives, and his encyclopedic knowledge as resources, and is always quick with the answers to my many questions. Russell regularly reviews the information posted on this site and offers critical corrections and missing details. In addition, he has allowed me to lift numerous images from the great Peltz Boxing Web site. 

 
 

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

 

JIM ROGGE - Jim is a long-time boxing fan who as a young man saw every local show at the Cambria, Arena, Blue Horizon, Alhambra, et al, from 1958-1963.  After he married and while raising his family, he watched boxing on television and mixed in a few live shows whenever possible.  In the 1980s, in a comeback of sorts, Jim became a season ticket holder at the Blue Horizon and didn't miss a card for ten or more years.  Back in the late 50s and early 60s with camera in hand, Jim often camped out at Champs Gym (33rd & Dauphin) to watch and mix with some of Philly's all-time greats.  He photographed Sonny Liston, Harold Johnson, Len Matthews, Garnet Hart, Ike White and many others.  Rogge shared his excellent photos with this website and we have used them throughout our pages.  Jim's contribution is greatly appreciated as it has added much to our content.  To the left is a sample of the shots Jim contributed - Rogge then 18-years old proves that outside of the ring, Sonny Liston was really a sweetheart. 
 

 
GARY PURFIELD - Gary is a writer and photographer who has become a key contributor to the site. He has covered many fights for PhillyBoxingHistory.com as a photographer, and has shot at the Philly gyms, the Briscoe Awards
 
DARRYL COBB JR - Cobb is an up-and-coming ring photographer who is quickly becoming the go-to shooter for local fights. He has regularly provided his photos to support our coverage, and has shot the Briscoe Awards.
 
RAY BAILEY - Ray is an experienced boxing photographer who has covered fights all over the East Coast. In recent years, he has provided photos to this site for many Philadelphia, New York and Atlantic City fight cards.
 
CHRIS TONEY - Widely considered the top local boxing photographer these days, Chris has shared his fine work from numerous fights.
 
KEY ART PHOTOGRAPHY - Key has covered the local boxing circuit for the past several years and has frequently shared her photos with us.
 
 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
 

  • Gary Purfield - Gary is a boxing writer who has contributed interviews, analysis, coverage over the past several years. More recently he became the prime writing support for this web site.
     

  • Ken Hissner - Ken is a member of the VBA - Ring One and through the years, has been a boxing Jack of all trades - promoter, manager, agent, and these days, a boxing writer. Ken covers the local boxing scene and often tracks down former fighters for interviews and stories. He regularly writes for Boxing Insider.com and frequently contributes pieces for this web site.
     

  • Frank Lotierzo - Frank is a member of IBRO and has written for many boxing Web sites including Boxingranks.com, & Boxingscene.com.  He contributed articles to Philly Boxing History on Jimmy Young, Joe Frazier, Curtis Parker, & others. 
     

  • Greg Smith - On line boxing scribe, Greg Smith contributed articles on Tyrone Crawley & Gypsy Joe Harris.  Greg is a staff writer for the Web sites boxingranks.com & hardcoreboxing.net. 

 
 
FAMILIES of PHILADELPHIA LEGENDS
 
  • Henry 'Toothpick' Brown - Bryant Brown, son. 
  • Pete Byron - Pete Dooley, grandson.
  • Mike Evans - Dennis McClernand, nephew.
  • Tyrone Everett - Doris, Mike & Eddie Everett, mother & brothers.
  • Tommy Forte - Christian LaGrossa, grandson.   
  • Gypsy Joe Harris - Tony Molock & Arenta Miller, siblings.   
  • Johnny Jadick - Michael Bizik, grand-nephew. 
  • Richie Kates - Dennis A. Cesare, friend.
  • George LaRover - Bill Prosper, son. 
  • Tommy O'Toole - Tom O'Toole, grand-nephew. 
  • Jimmy Riggio - Rocco Riggio, son. 
 
 
OTHER CONTRIBUTORS
 
  • Billy Abel, Jr. - Former Philly Lightweight prospect, and fellow member of the Veteran Boxer's Association, lent me his personal collection of Spectrum & Flash Gordon fight programs. These items help to further complete the relics section of this site. 
     

  • Emily Delaney Ward & Eleanor Ward - Born in 1913, Emily Delaney grew up in West Philly and eventually went to work for Philadelphia promoter Herman Taylor.  For most of her working life, she was a fixture at the promotional company and assisted Taylor throughout an important stretch of boxing history.  She was a boxing fan and an integral cog of the operation.  Eleanor Ward, born in 1920, was Emily's sister-in-law.  She lived with Emily & Charlie Ward (her brother) in West Philly, and for many years was an employee of the Globe Ticket Company, the Philadelphia firm that produced boxing and other event tickets for decades.  After their deaths - Emily in 1989 and Eleanor in 2003 - their family discovered a precious collection of vintage, mint-condition boxing tickets kept in a box in Eleanor's closet.  The majority of that set is now in the collection of this web site, and several of the tickets were contributed by the family for free.  We are not sure which of the two ladies' careers or interest in boxing is most responsible for this legacy, but it is safe to say that together Aunt Emily and Aunt Eleanor are vital contributors to our efforts and will be remembered very kindly for it. 
     

  • Krister Palais - Krister was born and raised in Sweden, lived in France and currently lives in Norway.  He is an artist, journalist, musician, and an editor for the Boxing Records Archive.  Also a collector of fight memorabilia, he has provided the site with photos and fight details that have helped make the information presented on this site more accurate.  In addition to his contributions here and at BoxRec, Krister is working to develop an art exhibit inspired by his interest in boxing. 
     

  • Robert Snell - A boxing historian and researcher especially interested in the 1920's and 1930's, Robert has supplied me with many newspaper articles and photos of fighters from those eras, including Tommy Loughran, Midget Wolgast, & George Godfrey. 
     

  • WHYY TV12 - Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson - The spectacular film by Ken Burns premiered January 17 & 18 2005 (locally on WHYY TV12 at 9PM).  The film is also available on DVD.  WHYY was good enough to add this Web site to the Philadelphia-related boxing links on their Unforgivable Blackness Web page. 

 
 
 
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