Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

Golden Gloves Tournament
Big events in 1938-39
submitted by Mildred Brown
A Golden Gloves tournament was an amateur boxing
elimination contest for young men of all sizes. The
competitors boxed for only three rounds. and the
winner advanced through their own local tournaments.
until they were eliminated by being out-pointed.
knocked out. or until they defeated all contestants of
their own weight.
Anamosa held their first tournament in I938.
Winners in that event and their weights were: Cecil
Maiolfi. Wyoming. 147: Clarence Aldrich. Monticello.
I60; Tommy Eden. Monticello. 175: Louis Thurman.
Scotch Grove. Heavyweight: Willard Bauserman.
Anamosa. 112: Hal Bakesley. Anamosa. 118: Melvin
Shedek. Oxford Junction. I26: Jack McNally. Cascade.
135.
All men advanced from the Anamosa tournament to
the Cedar Rapids Gazette-sponsored Golden Gloves
meet at the Memorial Coliseum in Cedar Rapids.
Even though the first tournament was on a small
scale. it proved so popular that an all-out effort was
made for the 2nd-Annual event the following year.
which was held January 30-31. 1939.
The event was sponsored by the Anamosa Eureka
and the Anamosa Legion. to benefit the Legion Drum
and Bugle Corps. and was held in the Anamosa School
Auditorium. with the boxing ring set on the stage. An
improvement was made in the ring for the I939
exhibition; as in 1938. it was so high that those seated
in front rows couldn't see the far side of the ring. In the
1939 event. the tournament ring was pitched flat on the
floor of the stage of the auditorium.
Anamosa football coach Wally Schwank. assisted by
Ray Purcell. supervised the practice sessions which
were held regularly at the Legion Hall. The hall was
converted into a modern fight gymnasium with
punching bags. conditioning equipment and boxing
gloves.
Mr. Schwank emphasized that there were no
obligations. no slugging under any conditions. and no
boy would be urged to enter the tournament unless he
desired. The only restriction was that the entrant must
be at least 16 years of age and must never have
competed. officiated. or taught in any athletic event for
money.
The Golden Gloves contest was in charge of Police
Officer W. G. Donnelly. Serving on the committee
were: Clyde Wilson. ring chairman: Frank Maudsley.
line-up room; Leigh Pearson. usher; Harold Yount.
tickets: Pete Robertson. cashier: James White. law and
order.
Entry fee was 25 cents per contestant and local
business men were encouraged to sponsor contestants.
to help meet their expenses. if any. The sponsors paid
all the expenses for the competitors. but they received
no cash payments of any kind.
Other towns in the area sponsored teams of
contestants. and among those signing early were
Maquoketa. Cascade. Oxford Junction. Ryan.
Wyoming. and the CCC Camp at Solon.
The second annual event consisted of 33 bouts on the
agenda. with l4 knock-outs. no serious injuries. a
packed house. and five new champions that would
advance to the Cedar Rapids meet. The standing-roomonly
crowd roared itself hoarse. as one thrill followed
another through both evenings of the fights.
The results were taken from the Anamosa Eureka
files as follows:
Only Bauserman and Aldrich are repeaters from last
year. Hal Blakesley. 118. was knocked out in the finals;
Mal Shedek. 126. didn't compete; Jack McNally. 135.
lost his first match; Cecil Maiolfi. 147. didn't compete;
Tommy Eden. light-heavy. moved into the heavy
weight class. and Louis Thumann. heavyweight. didn't
enter.
Results of the two nights of milling:
Flyweight(ll2): Charles Ellerman. of Anamosa.
unheralded and unsung. sailed into Willie Martin of the
Solon CCC. and won by a decision. Bob Moncrief of
Monticello decisioned Elvern Capron of Olin. Willard
Bauserman beat Dean Moncrief of Monticello on a
technical knockout in the third. Bausennan knocked
out Bob Moncrief in the third round. after the Monti
fighter had held his own on points. Ellerman won the
hearts of the crowd by decisioning Wayne Hulda of
Anamosa through sheer hustle. In the finals
Bauserman had his hands completely filled with
Ellerman. and eked out a decision while Ellerman drew
a great hand. The little bad-eyed rooster is from the
state home at Toledo. lives at the Lockwood home near
Anamsoa. and today is one of our most popular
citizens.
Bantamweight(118): Leslie Legget. Scotch Grove.
served notice by decisioning Jim Wilson of Cascade.
Tuesday night he knocked out Ray Behrends of
Monticello in the second round. Hal Blakesley of
Anamosa knocked out Billie Otting of Cascade in the
first frame. Hal was vastly improved over a year ago.
fought a slam-bang battle which floored his opponent
four times — three times with three punches. In the
finals Leggett demonstrated he is one of the strongest of
Anamosa‘s entries. by taking all Blakesley had to give.
and then knocking him out in the third. It was one of
the tourney's best fights.
Featherweight(l26): This division was disappointing
compared to last year. Duane Beschen of Cascade
decisioned Jim Springer of Mechanicsville. and Verdie
Richardson of Monticello beat Larry Christensen of
Solon CCC by a technical knockout. in the second.
Richardson forfeited to Beschens. The latter is very
tough. with several years of experience as a Golden
Gloves and C.Y.O. fighter.
Lightweights (135): Bud Came of the Solon CCC
pulled a big surprise by decisioning Jack McNa.lly.
Cascade champ. Came capitalized on a left jab for two
rounds and all through the third. drove into a clinch to
keep away from Jack's rights. Joe Houlahan of Ryan
decisioned Merle Schwitzer of Olin. 16 year old
scrapper who became the tournament's best-loved
scrapper because he refused to stay put away. took a
beating and kept coming back for more. But Came
decisioned Woody lnman of Anamosa. another willing
scrapper who showed vast improvement from last year.
Houlahan decisioned Came in the finals.
Welterweight (147): This was the longest class in the
meet. with nobody scared out by Cecil Maiolfi‘s easy
victories last year and everyone was disappointed when
pleurlsy kept him out this year. George Nordman of
Monticello won from Jack Lacy. when the Oxford
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