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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1982)
Portland Ob— rv»r, February 11,1982 Paça 15 Sport Talk Here's your ticket to ridel The M arch 15 fig h t between champion Larry Holmes and chal lenger Jerry Cooney w ill undoubt edly be the richest boxing event in history. Holmes reportedly will re ceive between 10-15 million dollars, and all this for a fight that is expect ed to last less than six rounds. We would be terribly remiss if we failed to mention that the reason for such a big purse is that the match is a classic B la ck -W h ite c o n fro n ta tion. Boxing for the Black man has run the gamut. In the early days o f box ing, the heavyweights were ruled by Caucasians. From the beginning, boxing was a sport that attracted athletes from society's lower echelons. The heavyweight ranks were dom inated by the Iris h , the Italians and other poor immigrants who were seeking avenues to a better life. Blacks were denied this opportun ity due to the discrimination policies o f that era. During the early 1890s to the early 1900s, entertainm ent was the only profession in which Blacks were allowed to participate, and there were no big bucks avail able. Jack Johnson was the first Black heavyweight champion. He was im mediately a role model in the Black community. Because o f his lifestyle, Jack Johnson was hated by many whites. He lived high and fast. H e dressed Jlashy, drove big cars and married a white woman. He made big money and spent big money and was the envy o f many Americans, Black and white. Jack Johnson's m arriage to a white woman caused him to lose the vast m ajority o f his white support ers, forcing Jack to flee the country and resume his career abroad. What Jack le ft here was thousands o f young Blacks taking to the boxing gyms around the country in search o f the elusive American dream. Boxing was the first sport open to Blacks and through the depression years they came to dom inate the sport. Blacks dominate from the light weight division to the heavyweights. Such great fighters as Henry A rm strong, Sandy Saddler, Sugar Ray R obinson, K id G a v ila n , and the late, great, Joe Louis were a few o f the greats who emerged as champions. Armstrong was the first man ever to hold titles in three weight d iv i sions: welterweight, middleweight and light-heavyweight. During that time Armstrong was rated as the top boxer in the w o rld , pound-per- pound. Sandy Saddler dom inated the featherweights and fought some o f his greatest battles against W illie Pep, the white ex-champion in that weight division. The Saddler-Pep fights were on the same level as the M uham m ad A li-Joe Frazier th rill ers. Sugar Ray Robinson and Kid Oa- vilan were the top welterweights o f the early '50s. Sugar Ray emerged as the greatest fig h te r pound-per- pound in the game at the time. Rob inson won titles as w elterw eig h t, middleweight and only the heat kept him from obtaining the light-heavy weight crow n. Robinson was fa r ahead o f cham pion Joey M a x im when the 115-degree heat caused him to collapse in his corner. H e could not answer the bell fo r the 13th round. On that same hot sum mer evening in New Y o rk , referee Ruby Goldstein also collapsed dur ing the 8th round and a substitute had to be called in. When the Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson, baseball was then opened to the Black m an. M a n y o f the young athletes that would have gone in to boxing were now fin d in g a more glam orous life in baseball. This led to the slow demise o f box ing for Blacks. Soon a fte r baseball, the N B A opened its doors to the Black ath letes. This led to the further demise o f boxing for the Black man. During the 1960s, when the Civil Rights movement opened doors for Blacks into all professions the brutal sport o f boxing was no longer glam orous to the Black man. Instead o f turning to the gym, they turned to the universities and colleges o f the world. When the Blacks no longer needed boxing for a living, the fight game a b ru p tly turned to the L a tinos, who then began to dominate the lower weight divisions just as the Blacks once had. M ost Blacks stayed away fro m boxing. They diverted their energies to the N F L , N B A , and major league baseball. The 1976 Olympic boxing team is credited with bringing the Black ath lete back in to boxing. A t a tim e when W aterg ate had d rained the spirits o f our nation and Americans needed something to be proud o f, along came this great Olympic team, dominated by young Blacks. But the nation cheered the young Blacks who represented o ur cou n try so well. Amateur boxing has long been dominated by European and Soviet- bloc countries. But this team— Leo R andolph, H o w ard D avis, Davey Arm strong, Leon Spinks, M ichael Spinks and C a p ta in Sugar Ray Leonard— won the hearts o f Am eri ca as they battled their way to be come O lym p ic cham pions. These young heros were sdfcn daily in the homes o f two hundred million A m ericans and all o f them were later to become professionals with the ex ception o f Howard Davis and Davey A rm strong. D avis did fig h t fo r a cham pionship and A rm strong de layed his professional debut to try for the 1980 Olympics which then- President Jimmy Carter was later to boycott. W hat Sugar Ray Leonard did, we all know. Game of the Week Give It a little m o re o o m p h . Kelvin! NFL players, owners battle The N F L Players Association and the owners arc on a collision course again. The players arc asking that 55 per cent o f the profits o f each team go to the players fund for salaries. The owners say the players are asking for too much and that they would never consider that proposal. Can they come to an agreement? W ill the players, like the baseball union, strike? W ho will win in this battle? Observer Sports will keep you posted on the events o f this fight. Read Observer Sports for the best in Sport coverage. Expert Repairs on Norelco - Schick • Sunbeam Lighters Hair Dryers and Parts Scissor & Knife Sharpening Available Small Appliance Repaired A L ií eñ ' s DONNY ANDERSON MemOer TOYOTA (leave a message). ü/ttiquß & CLoAAtC Snb/uoA fkùioAatjion "FULL SERVICE SHOP” • A U TO • TRUCK • M A R IN I • AIRCRAFT • Convertible Tops - Carpets Boat Tops - All Types Of Repairs Landau Tops - Complete Interiors o o o SCO Z O J ’ IO Z ONE DAY SERVICE Convertible Top 3 year guarantee *250°°< Carpet In Stock. 5610 N. Interstate PRO STYLE SHOP 917 S.W. Alder 224*8401 (across from the Galleria) PRO SHOP—STYLING SALON Specializing in all curly perms, styling It trimming. ■ TCB • Care Free • Classy Curl A California Curl ■ Portland Observer Top Tw enty 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Virginia North Carolina DePaul Iowa Minnesota Missouri Oregon State Georgetown Kentucky Tulsa U. San Francisco Idaho Arkansas Wake Forest Fresno State Tennessee Memphis State Alabama Kansas State Texas THE TAX LAWS HAVE BCHANGED! < > WHAT /Y O U DON’T KNOW COULD COST YOU MONEY! ELECTRIC SHAVERS Repaired — Cleaned Fattory Authorized Service - Braun - Clairol Ellron • Remington • Ronson Prep game o f the week— M a r shall 70, Jefferson 60. The Minute men captured the first h a lf cham pionship by downing the Democrats on th e ir home court in overtim e. M arsh all led throughout the con test, but the Demos managed to gain a 56-56 tie w ith 26 seconds left in regulation. The game was marked by numerous turnovers by both sides. This wasn't the usual Bobby Harris coached Jefferson team that has shown us so much discipline in the past. Jefferson dug their own grave by repeatedly putting up d iffi cult twenty-footers. Marshall buried them at the other end by driving in for easy layups. “ D ream T e a m ” members will participate in an Old Timers game at C andlestick P ark on July 17 and will be featured in a variety o f team promotions and special events this year. P h ila d e lp h ia 's 76ers may have their “ D octor” but the Grambling State Tiger basketball players boast o f 6-4 guard Kenneth Simpson as the "D o c to r.” D u rin g his prep days Simpson was often referred to as the “ Leg end.” Legend or n o t . . . People from the S W A L th in k he’ s som ething special. Simpson is G S U ’ s leading scorer so far with a 17.5 average. H e’s av eraging 11.5 boards a game, while shooting 58 per cent from the floor. A nd as a ju n io r he led the confer ence in both steals and assists. The high flying southpaw is expected to go high in this year’s N B A draft. 307 N .E. B roadw ay Portland, Oregon 97232 Phone (603) 284-1106 And for the past ten years D o nn y A nderson has followed that example selling them. For any advice on new or used cars, leasing, or general information on how to buy a car and not get burnt call him at 284-1106 Dream Team selected The San Francisco Giants a!! time “ D ream T e a m ” was announced Jan. 27 at a special screening o f the Giants 25th Anniversary film in San Francisco. Led by W illie Mays, the “ Dream Team ” features four cur rent members o f the Giants greats. Current manager Frank Robinson, was named to p ilo t the historic team. The "D ream Team ” was selected from more than 20,000 ballots cast by G ian ts fans last season. M ays was the leading vote getter w ith 13,621, followed by W illie McCovey w ith 12,399 and T o m H a lle r w ith 10,605. The members o f the “ D ream T e a m ” in alphabetical order ar*: Jack C la rk , Jim D av en p o rt, T ito Fuentes, Tom H a lle r, A1 H o lla n d , Johnnie Lemaster, Juan M arichal, Gary Matthews, W illie Mays, W illie M cC o ve y, Stu M ille r and F ran k Robinson. RAMBO MOTORS, INC. In the world's Number One im port—Toyota. by Ron Sykes. Sports Editor 414 SW W a sh in g to n Phone H I. I l/H There are over 4 7 different tax forms and there are over 100 changes in the federal tax laws With 90 much to Know you need professional service to tmd all ot the tax breaks that you are entitled to Let H&R Block uncomplicate these tax laws for you ■ Mi Our aanrtcaa ara aMo locatari al S a a r a and am ai Frod Mavara ÄfirfAfeyw. 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