P age B2
D ecember 20, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
Stoudamires
Family
Portland is Heartland
For NBA Rookie
Home Is Where The Heart Is -
and tucked away in the beautiful city
of Portland, Oregon (centrally located
in the Pacific Northwest) is home to a
family called Stoudamire.
The name Stoudamire is synony­
mous with success in the Rose City.
The talented and young NBA Star
D am on Stoudam ire, sporting his
Mighty Mouse tatoo, recently made a
trip home in hopes of stealing a win
against the Portland Trail Blazers.
It was his only official game stop
in his home town this year, as he
begins his NBA odyssey in his rookie
year. His team, the Toronto Raptors
didn’t win their game, but Damon
successfully scored 15 points to go
along with 10 assists.
On hand was his mother, Liz
W ashington, a strong and loving
mother who takes great pride in what
her son Damon has been able to ac­
complish in his young basketball ca­
reer. Howard Avery is very proud of
him also; he help fine tune Damon’s
game.
Damon has been named N B A ’s
Rookie of the Month for his contribu­
tion to the game in November His
competitive ability helped-make the
Toronto Raptors, an expansion team,
very competitive in its first year.
W hen you look at the Grizzles
another expansion team in Vancou­
Former heavyweight champion
o f the world Mike Tyson continued
his comeback last Saturday with a
third-round knock-out over Buster
M athis Jr. in Philadelphia before an
estimated 8,000 fight fans. Tyson, who
will receive a cool $10 million for 8
m inutes and 32 seconds of work,
looked a little flustered by Mathis and
BOXING IN
PORTIA ND
by
E ric N oon
Talking with Thad Spencer,
who was the former # I heavyweight
contender in the world and lives in
Portland, there’s is nothing bigger
in the world o f sports than a heavy­
weight title fight. Spencer, who ti ies
to promote boxing in Oregon, would
love to see a title fight in the Rose
Garden but former Governor Neil
Goldsmith appointed a man to reg­
ulate boxing and wrestling in O re­
gon and Bruce Anderson has brought
both sports in Oregon to a halt.
In Mr. Anderson’s reign as box­
ing and wresting regulator, he has
been consistently unproductive at
ver, B.C., which recorded 19 straight
losses recently, you can tell the impact
that Damon is having on the league.
His mother Liz says he has al­
ways focused on a basketball career.
Damon knew what he wanted to do;
and with the athletic ability that runs
in his family his skills were enhanced.
Yes, when you think of the name
Stoudamire, basketball and sports
surely come to mind. D am on's father,
W illie Stoudamire was an excellent
basketball player. He was an All
American at Portland State Univer­
sity, and along w ith his brother
Charles, helped stage some of the
most exiting basketball games in PIL
history.
Yes, Willie is having a great time
watching his son play professional
basketball. He spends as much time as
he can attending games when he’s not
directing his program to enhance the
lives of young people. The program.
People Are Beautiful (PAB), is based
at Mallory Avenue Church. “People
Are Beautiful” could describe the
Stoudamire family; Damon’s uncle,
Charles, was drafted by the Detroit
Lions and NFL team.
For many years Charles worked
in upper management for the Ameri­
can Red Cross, he now serves as Di­
rector for the Oregon Commission O f Former Portland prep star Damon Stoudamire, now a Toronto
Paptor, is a leading candidate for Rookie-
Black Affairs. He spends most of his Of-The- Year in the NBA.
(Photo By Michael G. Halle)
TYSON CONTINUES COMEBACK WITH WIN OVER BUSTER MATHIS JR .
his tactics. It w asjust a m a tte ro f time
for Mr. Mathis as Tyson’s wild but
powerful punches started connecting
in his second fight since being re­
leased from prison. Tyson, whose only
fought less than four full rounds in 4
and a half years, will step into the ring
with W BC champion Frank Bruno on
March 16th.
“I’m looking forward to fighting
anybody, said the confident feared
fighter fromCatskil N Y . “I don't care
who it is. I’m not afraid of anyone. I’ll
fight anywhere.”
No stop right there Mr, Tyson,
you well fight where ever Don King
tell you is next, and of course that’s
the MGM Grand in Las Vegas where
working with local promoters like
Spencer, Paul Brown, Don Ownes,
Sandy Barr and anyone else who
tries to bring boxing or wrestling to
Oregon. Apparently Mr. Anderson
was somewhat self-appointed as head
man and receives a healthy wage for
keeping the two sports stagnant. This
man’s job is to regulate not stifle
every attempt to promote two sports,
the public should decide if it wants to
attend.
The state o f Oregon needs to
step up and hold this man account­
able for his position and have some
kind o f system to get these kids who
fight out o f what little clubs are left
be able to host there own fight cards.
Sure boxing and wrestling are sports
with there share o f problems, but
that’s why Mr. Anderson is in office,
to regulate, but by not working with
local promoters he’s not only cheat-
ing the state’s fan’s but many peo
pie out o f their livelihood.
The U niversity o f Portland
men’s basketball team is off to it’s
best start since 1978-79 at 6-0, de
feated Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
Saturday 9 1-70 before a disappoint­
ing crowd o f only 1,256 fans. The
Pilots, who were probably one win
short o f making the NCAA tourney
last year, lost a lot o f talent to grad­
uation and continue to succeed with
head coach Rob Chavez. The Pilots
are pressuring the ball and playing
strong heads up defense with Dionn
Holton running the show on of­
fense. The Pilots become the lone
unbeaten team remaining in the West
Coast Conference with the home
win. For some o f the best basketball
you can see in a great arena, support
the Pi lots on their run at the tourney
this year.
NEGRO LEAGUE ATHLETIC CLUB
E sta b lish e d in 1920, the p re ­
m ier sp o rt and so cial club b e tte r
know n as the “ N egro L eague A th ­
letic C lu b ” is a fratern al o rg a n i­
zatio n c o n sistin g o f 4 0 c h a rte r
m em bers.
T he N eg ro L eague A th letic
C lu b w as e sta b lish e d and c reated
by N egro b u sin e ssm a n , p ro p erty
owffers and c iv il em p lo y ees. T he
annual in co m e o f this g ro u p o f
N egro men a v erag ed betw een tw o
and three th o u sa n d d o llars.
T o g a in m e m b e rsh ip one
w o u ld h a v e to be c u ltu re d a
sp o rtsm a n and sp o n so red by an
a ctiv e m em b er. D uring this era
N egroes w ere m aking great strid es
c u ltu ra lly and eco n o m ically w hile
b u ild in g a co m m u n ity we p roudly
re fe r to as a “ B lack U to p ia .”
T he re n a issa n c e p erio d gave
b irth to an aw ak en in g built on se lf
re lia n c e and stro n g co m m u n ity
sp irit. T he N .L .A .C . had ch ap ters
time in Salem lobbying for grassroots
causes that help human service agen­
cies; which provide the much needed
services for the community.
The Stoudamire family is a fix­
ture in this community. Damon’s uncle
Anthony, is a social service worker at
theChildren Services Division; he too
was a fine athlete in his own right. His
aunt, Tia Dorsey is Vice President of
Human Resources for Blue Shield of
Oregon. Cardell Mathews works at
the Portland Ship yard as a welder,
Donald Matthew is currently working
with Damon’s father at People Are
Beautiful and hisauntCaroline, spends
her time making people beautiful at
Broadway Hair Weavers, so this story
is not just about the success o f our
Rookie o f the year candidate. This
story is about the Stoudamire legacy
as a family working, living and doing
so many things to better serve the
community and city they call home.
In the future there may be another
Stoudam ire playing in the NBA,
Antoine, who attended the University
of Oregon by way of Georgetown •’
University. He has already played
professional basketball and could have
slid in this year if it had not been for
the NBA strike. By the way, Antoine
is the son of Charles Stoudamire.
You might say its in the genes,
fate or maybe even destiny, as Damon
competes for “Rookie of the Year”.
The Stoudamire’s could well be the
family of the year for helping and
c a rin g ab o u t p e o p le in the
community.If home is where the heart
is, I’m glad home to the Stoudamire
family is Portland, Oregon.
in N ew Y ork, C h icag o and New
There is no better time than the
O rlean s and m em bers w ere know n present to introduce Black America to
to frequent the N egro L eague A th ­ this timeless era in our lives than with
le tic C lu b w hile v isitin g from theclassic sportswear line called “N e­
o th e r c itie s in w hich they w ere a gro League Athletic Club” coming to
m em ber.
select department and sport specialty
T he N egro L eague A th letic stores spring 96 nationwide.
C lu b a lso p ro v id ed n etw o rk in g
Credo:
and b u sin e ss o p p o rtu n itie s w hile
In 1920 America it was impossi­
se rv in g i t ’s m ain p u rpose as the ble fu i any prison o f color to attend a
p re m ie r sp o rt and so cial club.
white athletic or social club. This
T he ex clu siv e N egro L eague blatant prejudice was shamelessly
A th le tic C lu b was a place o f fe l­ enforced by law therefore leaving
lo w ship for like m inded men p u r­ people o f color with no alternative
su in g th e ir piece o f the A m erican but to open their own place, a place
dream and a ch iev in g this w hile where brothers and sisters could come
m o v ing sm oothly and co n fid en tly and fellowship. From this need was
w ithin th e ir on orbit. Negro League horn the Negro League Athletic Club
Athletic Club members and their fam­ It is in the spirit o f community and
ilies enjoyed their choice of tennis, perseverance that we proudly rein­
croquet, snookers, yachting parties troduce Black America to the Negro
and moonlight sails on the Hudson League Athletic Club.
River. It was truly a prosperous and
romantic period in the lives of many
Negro league Athletic Club
people o f color.
EST. 1920, classic sportswear
the thing that truly rules boxing lies,
the money. It’s pretty safe to say,
more money was lost when Tyson
finally KO'd Mathis in the third with
a whole two punch combo, than poor
Mr. Mathis gained with his $600,000
for showing up. And Tyson’s fight
with Bruno will undoubtedly be on a
pay-per-view basis and bring Don
King and company quite a bigger haul
than when Tyson stopped Bruno in
the fifth Feb. 25 1989. Mike Tyson is
still one of the most popular figure in
sports and his fight on free TV Satur­
day will just add to the revenue and
draw of his fight with Bruno in March.
Seems to be a whole lot o f money
when your talking about a fight for
survival in seconds when it comes to
a Tyson fight.
WE ALSO HAVE FILA JACKETS AT AN ELF OF
A PRICE; REG. $ 1 3 0 .0 0 NOW $ 9 9 .0 0 . A SALE
SO GREAT ON BRAND NA M E APPAREL IT
HOLIDAY QREETINQS
JUST IN TIME FOR SANTA’S CHRISTMAS SALE
AT MLK’S TENNA SHOES AND APPAREL.
YOU HAVE TO COME AND SEE FOR YOUR SELF.
WE HAVE 3 0 TO 5 0 7. OFF ON MOST MER­
CHANDISE IN STOCK. CONVERSE, PUMA AND
VANNS AT A HOLIDAY RATEI “ EUY ONE GET
ONE FREEH
WOULD MAKE RUDOLFS NOSE LIGHT UR AND
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES: “ GHETTO GEAR.
AAC A HOCKEY JERSEY. KNOCK OUT. PELLE
PELLE. BOSS. K A N G 0L AND MUCH. MUCH
MORE” .
SALE STARTS DEC. 1. UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE.
SO COME ON DOWN AND GET A WHOLE LOT
OF STOCKIN STUFFERS FOR A LITTLE BIT OF
NOTHING. LOCATED: 3 5 5 2 A NE MLK JR. BLVD.
M ER R Y C H R IS T M A S
AND REMEMBER. SUPPORT MINORITY OWNED BUSINESS.
Illl, Ten Mi Siloes
3532A NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Phone: 335-0905