Lesser Known Amateur Busts

Pete Rademacher

 

Kessler's sister.

 

Kelcie Banks has to be down there....

 

Vince Shomo had an Amateur Boxing Record of 651-4 with most of his wins coming by knockouts. He use to box every week and sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. As a Pro, he was only 12 (3 KO)-10 (3 KO)-2.

Vince Shomo won four New York (City) Golden Gloves Championships. Shomo won the 1956 featherweight Sub-Novice title, and the 1957, 1959 and the 1960 lightweight Open championships. Shomo trained at the City Youth Organization Gym in New York City. In 1957 he won the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions at lightweight, by decision over Billy Copeland, also in 1957 he was on the short end of a decision to Billy Braggs for the Intercity Golden Gloves lightweight championship. In 1958 he won the Intercity Golden Gloves lightweight alternate title over Billy Braggs. In 1959 he won the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions at lightweight, by first round ko over Darrell Powell, also in 1959 he won the Intercity Golden Gloves lightweight championship by stopping Freddie Davis in the second round. In 1960 he won the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, by first round ko over Leonard Thomas, also in 1960 he decisioned Brian O'Shea for the Intercity Golden Gloves championship at lightweight. Shomo was also the National AAU Light Welterweight champion in 1957, 1958, and 1960.

 

Depends what is a bust ...

Never wins a title?

Wins one but is a nondistinguished champ?

Never gets anywhere ?

Busts are ...

Tyrell Biggs
Johnny Bumphis
Greg Page
James Broad
Jimmy Clark
Mark Breland
Howard Davis

and so many more ...

 

Russell, a good one you might like is Colley Wallace. Not only did he look frightenly look like Joe Louis(same height and weight too)...but in the amatuers fought very similiar style stalking his prey with a thudding left jab before letting lose a devastating right hand and following up with combinations. Going into his amatuer fight with Marciano, Wallace was 17-0 with 17 knockouts. Wallace ended up getting all the way to a nation golden gloves title and scored victories over future top rated contenders bob baker and clarence henry. When he turned pro, however, he really really let the experts down. The highest he ever got rated was # 10 in 1953, he never stepped up and won the big fights, got hammered by bob baker who he beat in the amatuers. Wallace simply turned out to be a very poor mans limited joe louis, instead of joe louis.

This content is protected

,

This content is protected

Born April 5, 1927, Jacksonville, Florida




Partial Amateur record:

1947

Feb. - New York Golden Gloves heavyweight championship; New York. Did not participate.

Mch. - Eastern Golden Gloves heavyweight championship; New York. Did not participate.

1948

Feb. 16 - Kenneth Gilbert W ko 1

This content is protected

“iced Gilbert with a solid left to the mid-section” (New York Daily News 2-17-48:48). Attendance: 18,577.
Feb. 16 - Gil Newkirk W ko 1
Won New York Golden Gloves heavyweight championship; New York.

This content is protected

“doubled Newkirk over with a left to the stomach and then dropped him on his side with a right flush to the jaw. Newkirk got up at the count of nine, but collapsed against the ropes to bring the fight to a close” (New York Daily News 2-17-48:48). Attendance: 18,577.
Feb. 28 - Record: 17-0, with
17 KO’s
Mch. 1 - Rocky Marciano, who W pts
fought under his real name, Rocco Marchegiano.

This content is protected

“met a real tartar in Marchegiano. He unloaded all of his dynamite on Marchegiano’s body and chin, but Marchegiano refused to go down. In fact, he roared back and staggered

This content is protected

in the second round with a right hand. (New York Daily News 3-2-48:46).
Mch. 2 - Terry Teague W pts

This content is protected

“sagged Teague with a smashing right-hand uppercut in the first round and Teague just made it to his feet at the count of nine. The bell rang right after and no doubt saved Teague, but

This content is protected

gave Teague a solid trimming” (New York Daily News 3-4-48:73-74).
Mch. 3 - Jim Hillard W pts

This content is protected

“scored a close victory” over Hillard, ... [although he] was wild with his rights and was extended considerably” by Hillard (New York Times). Attendance: 17,926.
Mch. 3 - Bob Baker W pts
Won Eastern Golden Gloves heavyweight championship; New York.

This content is protected

“did not encounter too much difficulty in outpointing [Baker], but ... [even though] he had [Baker] in serious trouble two or three times, [he] failed to floor him. Wallace’s left hooks did most of the damage, his rights being wild” (New York Times). Attendance: 17,926.
Mch. 22 - Clarence Henry W pts
Won National Golden Gloves heavyweight championship; New York.
“Wallace’s win was as close as your next breath. Henry, putting up a clever defense and counter-punching prettily over Wallace’s leads, but

This content is protected

kept moving in and scoring with left jabs. He only landed one of those patented rights of his, a right cross to Henry’s jaw that rocked Henry back on his heels midway through the final round. That one must have registered heavily with the judges” (New York Daily News 3-23- 48:47). Attendance: 18,359.
Apr. 6 - Robert Cobb W ko 1
Attendance: 4,941.
Apr. 6 - Junius Emerson W ko 1
Attendance: 4,941.
Apr. 7 - Jay Lambert W pts
Attendance: 12,452.
Apr. 7 - Bill Bangert W ko 1
Won National AAU heavyweight championship; Boston. “Wallace brought down Bangert in 2:37 of the opening round. He softened Bangert with a left hook and a few moments later sent him down for keeps with a terrific right cross” (New York Daily News 4-8-48:82).

This content is protected

knocked out the 6’5” 240-pound Bangert “with a terrific two- fisted barrage to the head” (AP). Attendance: 12,452.
June 16 - Mike Alfonso W rsc 2
Won Regional Olympic Trials heavyweight championship; Albany, New York.

This content is protected

“recovered from the verge of a knockout to stop Alfonso [5’ 8” 243 pounds] in the second round. The boys came out slugging and Alfonso quickly dropped

This content is protected

for a count of eight with a whistling right to the jaw. After

This content is protected

got back on his feet, Alfonso belabored him with several left jabs and missed another right.

This content is protected

changed his style in the second round and went after Alfonso’s broad basket, dropping him for two counts of eight before the referee stopped the bout after two minutres and 35 seconds” (Albany [New York] Times-Bulletin 6-16-48:20).
June 28 - Art Saey W ko 1
June 28 - Charles Norkus W ko 2
“Norkus had

This content is protected

down twice for nine-counts in the opening round. Then

This content is protected

tossed a wild right hook that put Norkus down for nine at the bell. Norkus was groggy at the opening of the second round and finally was felled for the full count at one minute and 47 seconds” (New York Daily News 6-29-48:46).
June 29 - Norvel Lee (Washington, L pts
DC). Semifinalist, Olympic Trials heavyweight championship; Boston.
“Wallace threw everything he had at Lee, but wound up the worse for wear and was practically out on his feet at the final bell” (New York Daily News 6-30-48:77).

1949

Feb. 2 - John Neugebauer W ko 1
“Neugebauer was a willing but unskilled opponent. He came out swinging, but

This content is protected

thumped him a few times in the mid-section to let off steam and another left and right finished Neugebauer for the night” (New York Daily News 2-3-49:67).
Feb. 7 - ( - ) W
Feb. 14 - Johnny Orgen W pts
“Wallace struggled to a hairline decision over Orgen. Out of fighting trim, slow punching and off in his timing,

This content is protected

had a full run for his time, despite a first round in which his heavier punching gave him an edge. But in both the second and third, Orgen gave as good as he took and parked his stinging right on Coley’s jaw several times. Wallace’s vaunted knockout punch was missing and neither man was in serious trouble” (New York Daily News 2-15-49:46).
Feb. 21 - Vincent Gambino W pts
Won New York Golden Gloves heavyweight championship; New York.
“Wallace had to fight hard for victory, but the conquest came unmistakably.... Taller, stronger, with a longer reach than his opponent and a better boxer as well,

This content is protected

won every one of the three rounds, leaving only the solace of a fight well and bitterly waged by the roly- poly Gambino” (New York Times). “Gambino [5’ 10” 225] lived fully up to advance notices and gave

This content is protected

his stiffest opposition in two years of Gloves campaigning.

This content is protected

unloaded his heaviest shots, but the kid absorbed them all and still came back swinging. They were both weary, punch-tired boys when the bell ended the bout and

This content is protected

, because of his heavy firing, justly earned the decision” (New York Daily News 2-22-49:46). Attendance: 18,533.
Mch. 8 - Pete Fuller W ko 3
“Fuller was no match for the sharpshooting

This content is protected

, but gave a tremendous display of fighting heart until a crunching left hook, followed by a terrific right, drove him to the floor” (New York Daily News 3-9-49:78). Attendance: 3,112.
Mch. 9 - Bob Baker L pts
Eastern Golden Gloves heavyweight semifinalist; New York. “Baker cleverly boxed his way into the finals. A lightning-fisted countepuncher, he built up points in the first two rounds and then fought off Wallace’s determined third-round rally to win a hard-earned decision. It was Baker’s counter-punching which won him the match.

This content is protected

forced the fight throughout, but Baker beat him to the punch with his left jab or jarred him with his right as he moved in. In the third round, when

This content is protected

lashed him with several solid blows to the jaw, Baker stood up to all of Wallace’s dynamite and twice scored with rapid-fire counter- punches” (New York Daily News 3-10-49:80). Attendance: 2,528.
Mch.10 - Jim Hillard W pts
Won Eastern Golden Gloves heavyweight consolation championship; New York. Attendance: 11,546.

1950

Feb. - New York Golden Gloves heavyweight championship; New York. Did not participate.

Mch. 15 - Turned pro; first bout as pro.

 

COLEY WALLACE: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

His Early Years, 1927-1950

Many boxing writers in the late 1940’s considered Coley Wallace to be one of the best and most feared amateur heavyweights in the country. Wallace seldom had to go the full three rounds to take out an opponent and he wound up his amateur career with victories over many men who later made it big in the pro ranks.

Coley Bernard Wallace was born on April 5, 1927 at 513 Bartlett Street in Deland, Florida, the son of John and Lucille (Wilson) Wallace. The Wallace family lived in Deland until they moved to 504 Wood Street in nearby Jacksonville. By 1941, Wallace was big for his age and probably a handful to control. He appears to have gotten into trouble in Jacksonville which was serious enough for his father to put him on the next train to Richmond to live with his uncle and aunt. “To keep me out of trouble,” Coley admitted shortly before his death.

His uncle and aunt, Samuel and Virginia Wallace, lived at 15 Beech Street in Richmond, in a neighborhood which has since been demolished and is now a part of the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. Once arrived in Richmond, Coley was promptly enrolled in Maggie Walker High School.

Throughout its existence as one of the two black high schools in segregated Richmond, Maggie Walker had a remarkable athletic tradition. Its teams consistently won major championships and the school supplied a seemingly unending succession of talented athletes, many of them to nearby Virginia Union University.

At Maggie Walker, Coley “was a four-letter athlete as well as the editor of the school paper,” according to the New York Daily News of February 17, 1948, page 48, graduating in 1945.


On December 11, 1945, less than six months after his graduation from high school, Coley enlisted in the U. S. Army at a recruiting office in Richmond, serving until his discharge on January 20, 1947. Following his discharge, he moved to New York City, where he lived the rest of his life.

His Amateur Boxing Career

Coley Wallace was “spotted by trainer Booker T. Lofland in 1945 while lifting heavy sacks of linen in the Richmond, Virginia railroad depot,” according to an article in the November 3, 1953 issue of Look Magazine. This agrees with Wallace family belief that Coley began boxing in Richmond and continued during his stint in the Army. It has been difficult to verify results of his early bouts because the major newspapers in Richmond during the four years he lived there were white-owned, with one important exception which I have not searched yet, and seldom devoted coverage to sporting events involving local black athletes.

 

This content is protected

This content is protected

This content is protected

 

This content is protected

Wallace fighting Bob Baker

This content is protected

This content is protected

 

back in the 40's and 50's what was the difference between the ams and pro's (of course pay)

 

I had the pleasure of talking to and also introducing Wallace at the unveiling of the Joe Louis Memorial Park Monument. Their were several ex-world champions there including 6 time world title holder Emile Griffith, Joey Giardello, Jimmy Bivins, Chuck Wepner, Lou Duva, Coley Wallace, Ali and Frazier's daughters, Bert Sugar, Dave Anderson, Joe Louis Jr., Dino Duva and many more.

He was pretty nice and he talked and signed autographs for anyone who wanted it.

Wallace was rated in the Top 10 for a total of 17 months from April 1952 to February 1955. He was rated as high as #4 in the World. Although he never reached what some people expected, he wasn't a bad fighter. He was 20-7 with 15 KO's.

His loses were to Elkins Brothers, Jimmy Bivins, Ezzard Charles and Bob Baker twice. before losing his last two bouts against Alex Brown and Bob Woodall.

Wallace starred in the 1953 movie "The Joe Louis Story" as the former heavyweight champion. He also holds a disputed unpopular amateur decision over Rocky Marciano in the 1948 New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions and he won the final of that tournament by a decision over Bob Baker. In the same year he won the New York (City) Golden Gloves, the National AAU and the Intercity Golden Gloves Championships in the heavyweight division, although he did not make the Olympics, being bested by Norvel Lee in the semi-final. In 1949 Wallace won the New York (City) Golden Gloves and made the semi-final of the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, dropping a decision to Bob Baker and won the consolation bout over Jim Hillard. Wallace died January 30, 2005 at the age of 77.

This content is protected

 

Thanks Henry, you certainly get around. Have you ever met Clarence Henry?