These are known gates of shows featuring Charley Burley in main events: Jan. 27, 1938- Tiger Jackson, Pittsburgh ( Duquesne Gardens)……….K0-2 Gross Gate- Slightly Over $600. Feb. 3, 1938- Johnny Folio, Pittsburgh (Duquesne Gardens)………….W-6 Gate- $717. Oct. 23, 1939- Irish Mickey Maker, Pittsburgh (Moose Temple)………..KO-1 Gate- $836. July 29, 1940- Georgie Abrams, Millvale (Hickey Park)……………….…D-10 Gate- $3,054. Aug. 20, 1940- Kenny LaSalle, Millvale (Hickey Park)…………………...W-10 Gate-$2,855. Sept. 3, 1940- Jimmy Bivins, Millvale (Hickey Park)……………………..L-10 Gross Gate- $2,302. Oct. 17, 1940- Eddie Pierce, Pittsburgh (Butler Street Arena)………….W-10 Gate- Less Than $400. June 3, 1941- Ossie Harris, Millvale (Hickey Park)...............................KO-9 Gate- Some $2,000. Aug. 26, 1941- Otto Blackwell, Millvale (Hickey Park)..............................W-8 Gate- A respectable $2,198. Dec. 12, 1941- Ted Morrison, Minneapolis (Armory)………..………….TKO-2 Gate- About $1,100. Dec. 23, 1941- Jerry Hayes, Eau Claire, Wis. .......................................KO-4 (There was about $1,100. in advance sales for the charity card featuring this main event. Expenses for the card were limited to $500., which was the total of the fighters' purses. Gene LaRue, the local promoter, and Tommy O'Loughlin, the promoter of boxing cards at the Armory in Minneapolis, staged this card.) Jan. 9, 1942- Shorty Hogue, Minneapolis (Armory)…………………...KO-10 Gate- $1,400. Jan. 23, 1942- Jackie Burke, Minneapolis (Armory).............................TKO-5 Gate- Less Than $1,000. Feb. 26, 1942- Holman Williams, Minneapolis (Armory).........................W-10 Net Gate- Around $1,500. March 13, 1942- Jay Turner, Minneapolis (Armory).................................TKO-7 Gate- About $1,600. April 10, 1942- Cleo McNeal, Minneapolis (Armory)................................KO-5 Gate- Less Than $1,000. April 30, 1942- Sammy Wilson, Minneapolis (Armory).............................KO-2 Gate- $3,416.22 (This bout took place on a show that also featured Sugar Ray Robinson and Reuben Shank in separate bouts.) June 23, 1942- Holman Williams, Cincinnati (Crosley Field)..................W-10 Gate- $1,558. (This bout took place on a card featuring three other scheduled ten-round bouts.) Aug. 22, 1942- Holman Williams, New Orleans (Victory Arena)...........TKO-9 Gate- $4,195.98 Feb. 3, 1943- Harvey Massey, Oakland (Auditorium).........................TKO-9 Gate- $2,400. March 3, 1943- Aaron Wade, Oakland (Auditorium)................................W-10 Gate- $3,195. March 12, 1945- Joe Carter, San Francisco (Civic Auditorium)................W-10 Gross Gate- $13,693.65 Oct. 8, 1945- Oakland Billy Smith, San Francisco (Civic Auditorium)..W-10 Gate-$15,000. March 14, 1946- Charley Dodson, Pittsburgh ( Aragon Gardens)...........TKO-3 Gate- $2,253.16 April 25, 1946- Oakland Billy Smith, Oakland (Auditorium)......................W-10 Gate- $14.060. July 16, 1946- Charley Banks, Millvale (Zivic Arena)..............................W-10 Net Gate- $6,157. Aug. 5, 1946- Bert Lytell, Millvale (Zivic Arena).....................................W-10 Gross Gate- $5,151.60 Feb. 2, 1950- Chuck Higgins, Pittsburgh (Aragon Gardens).................KO-1 Gross Gate- $2,120.79 March 2, 1950- Buddy Hodnett, Pittsburgh (Aragon Ballroom)................KO-6 Gate- $1,075.43 - Chuck Johnston
It is tough to sell great skill people especially live cannot appreciate the dominance it doesn't translate well IMO to fans who are not versed in boxing nuances This just better shows why he never got a title shot
Charley Burley simply had far too many boring bouts. That fact may have been the main reason that Burley wasn't able get a world title shot or lucrative bouts. In regards to Burley's race being a possible factor, I doubt if it was much of one. Mike Jacobs, the most important boxing promoter of the time, had quite a number of black boxers making numerous appearances on his boxing shows, notably Joe Louis, Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson and Beau Jack. Of course, all four of the mentioned boxers were terrific gate attractions with Louis being the greatest one of the era in that department. - Chuck Johnston
Victory Arena in New Orleans....where Charley burley once fought: "The Coliseum arena definitely was a real place and was home to many important chapters in local sports history, including boxing and wrestling matches like the one you remember with the famously flamboyant "Gorgeous George" Wagner. The Coliseum wasn't located in the Garden District or Irish Channel, however. It was at North Roman and Conti streets in the Tulane-Gravier neighborhood. It opened in July 1922 with a bout between local fighter Martin Burke and New Jersey boxer Charlie Weinert. The facility was the brainchild of businessmen and promoters John Dillon, Frank Edwards, Al Buja and Peter Judlin, and at the time The Times-Picayune billed the Coliseum as "one of the finest and most compact indoor auditoriums in the South," with a seating capacity of 8,000. The 1938 WPA New Orleans City Guide listed its boxing matches among the highlights for visitors to the city. This content is protected Many well-known boxers fought there, including Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Joe Louis, Willie Pastrano, Ralph Dupas and Sugar Ray Robinson. Gorgeous George, the 1950s wrestler who was known as much for his hair and wardrobe as for his antics inside the ring, appeared at the Coliseum nearly a dozen times between 1951 and 1955. Many of those matches were broadcast on the city's new TV station, WDSU. The Coliseum also hosted college and high school sports events and music performances. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. even spoke at an event there in 1957. The Coliseum closed in 1960, and today the site is home to a metal supply company."
