œi?e ^Íortíanh (Observer
- Page 4
December 18, 2013
Portland
Thad Spencer, one of the her­
alded boxers from P o rtla n d ’s
form er Knott Street boxing gym,
died Dec, 13 2013, at the age of 70.
A hom egoing celebration will
be held Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11
a.m. at W ord Assembly Church,
2333 Harrison St. in Oakland, C a­
lif., where Spencer had lived with
his son Lance.
Thaddeus "The Babe" Spencer
Jr. was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
on M arch 28, 1943. His family
m oved to Portland when he was 3
m onths old. He came from a large
fam ily of five brothers and six sis­
ters.
He accepted Christ earlier in
life, especially considering his
father was a church sergeant and
deacon and m other attended ser­
vices faithfully.
T h a d ’s first co u sin , W illie
Richardson, introduced him to
boxing at the age of 14, but he
couldn't go to the gym where his
cousin trained because it was for
professionals only. He learned to
box at the Knott Street Com m u­
nity Center in northeast Portland
and won several Golden Gloves
and cham pionships in Oregon and
W ashington.
At the age of 15, he becam e a
sparring partner for top-ranked
h eav y w eig h t c o n te n d er E ddie
M achen. At 16, he decided to be­
come a professional boxer and
m oved to southern California. It
was there that his boxing career
began to flourish. Thad lost the
chance to fight M oham mad Ali
when Ali was stripped o f the title
for refusing induction into the
United States Army.
Thad enjoyed cooking, taking
walks and being with his family
where he was always "the life of
the party!"
: MwrsoMiiww
THAD
Thad Spencer, a
professional boxer from
Portland, graces the
cover of The Ring
magazine in 1960.
SPENCER
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The life, words and deeds of Nelson Mandela were celebrated during a special memorial service
Dec. 10 at Maranatha Church in northeast Portland. Pictured (from left) are members of the
committee which planned the event Dr. Leroy Haynes, Dr. T. Allen Bethel, David Capuie, Keyse
Jama, Doro Perry and Kelvin Hall.
Nelson Mandela Memorial
A m em orial Service in Portland for Nelson
M andela, the father and form er president o f the new
South Africa, drew hundreds of people to M aranatha
Church in northeast Portland.
The Dec. 12 event was sponsored by the Albina
M inisterial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police
Reform and the Center for Intercultural O rgani­
zing.
The service was held to celebrate and honor
M andela’s struggle for freedom , his life, words and
deeds. M andela was a world icon for freedom lov­
ing people throughout the world.
C h a r le s W a s h in g t o n
Past Publisher of the Portland Observ
in memory of an outstanding and dedicated
member of Portland's Longest Standing
Minority Publication.
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