COQUILLE VALLEY MUSEUM SPECTACULAR
I A SENTINEL PUBLICATION- page 8
BY JAKE WILHELM
HEAV^Hitters
Coquille’s Boxing Club rules the roost during the 1970’s
k JACKET OF MEMORIES - John Frazier admits the memories flooded back as he
held the jacket he wore when he coached the Coquille Valley KOs, a youth boxing
club that enjoyed much success and earned even more respect in the 1970s.
PHOTO-Jake Wilhelm
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541-572-5793
1541 Roseburg Road Myrtle Point, OR 97458
“Everyone kneiv
if they came to
Coquille, you
better come
¡¡ready to box!”
That’s how John Frazier of
Coquille sums up the reputation
earned by the Coquille Valley KOs
in the 197O’s.The youth boxing club
was a key part of Coquille life from
1972 to 1977, bringing yet another
way for local youngsters to learn
how to be the best they could be.
Youth boxing clubs were a big
thing in the 1970s, says Frazier, who
coached the KOs for much of this
club’s five years in the ring. Clubs
across America kept young fists fly
ing - in a good way, that is. As long
as youngsters between the age of
six and 16 had the desire, these
clubs were there to serve.
Coquille’s KOs had plenty of
competition from as close as the
Bay Area, Roseburg and as far away
as Eugene, Grants Pass, Portland, ! *
Albany and Crescent City; the boys
even traveled to Southern
California, Nevada and Missoula,
Montana. Belonging to this group
was the “in” thing; at any one time,
20 to 25 boys belonged to the KOs
and one season saw 52 youngsters
on the roster.
Matches were well attended,
too. Frazier remembers an average
crowd of 300 to 400 people at the
matches the club held in the big
auditorium at the Coquille
Community Building. That’s
because the kids were passionate,
the fans were passionate. Youth
boxing was such a big deal in
Coquille, the KOs sponsored the
Junior Olympics Boxing
Competition in 1976. Take their
reputation as great fighters, throw
in the fact bouts were televised
once in a while and always written
up in the newspaper, the boys had
a lot to be proud of.
That pride started with them,
Frazier said.
“We had great boys. They had
discipline, they had desire, it’s as
simple as that,” he said.
It was easy to see that desire
and talent play out in the ring as
youngsters made the right hits, the
right moves that helped the KOs
amass individual and team awards
(See, Hitters, page 11)
Providing Coos County with
Peace of Mind Since 1935...
A long history of service at 3
convenient locations:
ESTABLISHED IN 1976
CLAY DAVIS
P.O. Box 100.21 N. Adams
Coquille . 396-5507
•AUTOMOBILE
«COMMERCIAL
•HOME OWNERS •LIFE & HEALTH
ESTABLISHED IN 1935
1865 McPherson Ave.,
North Bend. 756-4121
ESTABLISHED IN 2000
Bandon Shopping Center
22 Michigan Ave. NE,
Bandon • 347-5435