IF YOUR INTO PHILLY BOXING YOU GOTTA CHECK THIS SITE OUT

[GorDoom]

A Philadelphian named John DiSanto has started this marvelous website that is a tribute to Philadelphia boxing. This site is a must see for any hard core fight fan.

Check it out!: www.phillyboxinghistory.com/index.htm

GorDoom

[jyoungfan2]

I've spoken with John and he is first class. Every city should have a website like his. He's supposed to come over one of these days and add some of my philly memoribilia to his website. John was the reason Jeff Chandler made it to california a few months ago for his induction. Jeff didn't have any picture ID and John made sure he got him to a DMV for a non driving license. A truly great website honoring all the philly greats. I believe John has also gone around with a video camera and interviewed a lot of Philly fighters to make sure their stories are caught on film.

[StingerKarl]

That is fantastic.
Cyclone Hart was my favorite middleweight of the 70's-bar none.
He was one bad dude.

Karl

[gregbeyer]

good site. got a kick out of the photos of gus dorazio. what a mug on that guy. looks made of scar tissue.
greg

[kikibalt]

In Jan.18 1992 my son Tony fought Rodney Moore at
the Civic Center in Philly.
An boy was it cold, 9 degee below zero an for a
Calif. guy that f******king cold

Frank B.

[robsnell]

the site John has is very good indeed and as you say each city of note should have one. John is a good man and does appreciate any help he can get. I and others have done so and he is most considerate.

[jyoungfan2]

I s/w John today. He actually went around and spent time with some of phillys fighters, like harold johnson, during the holiday season, just to say hello and see how they were doing. Boxing is full of scumbags, thank god it also has a few john Desantos as well.
I've met a lot of fighters in my time and they are always appreciative when someone recognizes them and remarks favorably on their careers. If a boxer or former boxer lives in your area, i urge you to look them up and say hello. I've seen a lot of down and out former boxers just light up when someone talks to them about their careers. I always try and go up to say hello when i recognize one, just to let them know I appreciate all the hard work they did.

[kikibalt]

Jyoungfan2

What is Harold Johnson up too these days ?

He was a hell of a boxer

Frank B.

[jyoungfan2]

Harold lives in a retirement home in philly. He still looks solid as a rock and has a handshake that can crush marbles. Mentally he's not doing so well. He can hold a conversation, but forgets what he said and repeats himself after 5 minutes. If you ask him about past fights, he does not remember much. His wrist has some calcification in it and I believe he's had some operations on it. I also think he is very lonely. He always thanks you for comming to visit and gets a sad look when you leave. I hope I look as good as him at that age. He does say he had trouble with one resident who kept calling him punchy, so he flattened him and got in a lot of trouble.

I remember the first time I saw him about 10 years ago at a "land of legends" boxing autograph show. There was a long line for ken norton and no one in line for harold. I went right up and got an autograph and said "Here's the real legend of this show".

the sweetscience. com had hank kaplan do an interview with him last year and hopefully they will show it one of these days.

[GorDoom]

Great idea, Greg! I know Harold has a LOT if fans on this board. & I sure as hell am one of them.

GorDoom

[gregbeyer]

i just thought it would be a great function of this board. guys that put so much on the line deserve to be heralded for their accomplishments. most fought for pidgeon feed and should not be forgotten.
greg

[gregbeyer]

jyoungfan,
is it possible to get an address where we can mail him. he might apreciate hearing from folks that remember him.
greg

[jyoungfan2]

harold johnson
6101 morris st
philadelphia pa 19144

I think he even might be listed in the phone book, but I'm not sure.

[GorDoom]

As a boxer Johnson, in my-not-so-humble opinion (g), was one of the three finest technicians I've ever seen in the ring. The man KNEW how to box. Definitely a top ten all-time light heavyweight.

GorDoom

Cyber Boxing Champion Harold Johnson Born: August 29, 1928 Manayunk, PA Career Record: 76-10 (32 KO), 1 NC


1946

----- Joe Riley Wilmington, VT KO 2

----- Charley Lester Wilmington, VT KO 2

----- Jack Simon Allentown, PA KO 4

Oct 25 Randy Ingram Philadelphia KO 4



1947

Jan 10 Frank Lowry Philadelphia KO 2

Jan 24 Chappie Manning Reading, PA W 6

Feb 10 Jimmy Holden Allentown, PA KO 4

Feb 17 Joe Van Loan Philadelphia KO 2

Mar 10 Tony Gillo Philadelphia W 6

Apr 28 Leon Szymurski Philadelphia KO 3

May 26 Fred Lester Philadelphia KO 8

Jul 8 Tommy Ruth Philadelphia KO 6

Aug 4 Al Pinel Philadelphia W 6

Oct 6 Eddie Beazley Philadelphia KO 1

Nov 6 Jimmy Moore Atlantic City KO 5

Nov 24 Herbie Katz Philadelphia KO 1

Dec 11 Kid Wolfe Atlantic City W 8



1948

Mar 1 Kenny Harris Philadelphia W 8

Mar 29 Kenny Harris Philadelphia W 10

May 13 Vernon Williams Atlantic Ctiy W 8

Sep 28 Agustin Guedes Philadelphia KO 3

Nov 9 Jimmy Holden Allentown, PA W 8

Dec 14 Willie Brown Philadelphia KO 7



1949

Feb 23 Arturo Godoy Philadelphia W 10

Apr 26 Archie Moore Philadelphia L 10

Jun 18 Henry Hall Milwaukee W 10

Jul 25 Henry Hall Milwaukee W 10

Oct 26 Jimmy Bivins Philadelphia W 10

Dec 7 Bert Lytell Dayton, OH W 10



1950

Feb 8 Jersey Joe Walcott Philadelphia KO by 3

Dec 18 Harry Daniels Philadelphia KO 2



1951

Jan 22 Dusty Wilkerson Philadelphia KO 4

Feb 9 Chuck Hunter New York W 8

Jun 18 Elkins Brothers Philadelphia KO 10

Jul 23 Chubby Wright Philadelphia W 10

Sep 24 Archie Moore Philadelphia L 10

Dec 10 Archie Moore Milwaukee W 10



1952

Jan 29 Archie Moore Toledo, OH L 10

Mar 17 Clarence Henry Philadelphia W 10

Aug 6 Bob Satterfield Chicago L 10

Sep 16 Leonard Morrow Toledo, OH KO 3

Oct 6 Bob Satterfield Philadelphia KO 2

Nov 24 Nino Valdes New York W 10



1953

Jan 16 Jimmy Slade New York W 10

Mar 21 Bill Gilliam Toledo, OH W 10

May 11 Toxie Hall Miami W 10

Sep 8 Ezzard Charles Philadelphia W 10

Nov 7 Henry Hall Milwaukee W 10

Nov 19 Chubby Wright Hershey, PA W 10



1954

Jan 29 Jimmy Slade New York W 10

Feb 15 Charlie Williams Miami KO 8

Mar 17 Paul Andrews Chicago W 10

Aug 11 Archie Moore New York TKO by 14

(For World Light Heavyweight Title)

Oct 8 Billy Smith Philadelphia KO by 2

Dec 7 Julio Mederos Miami Beach W 10

Dec 22 Marty Marshall Detroit W 10



1955

Feb 11 Paul Andrews New York KO 6

May 6 Julio Mederos Philadelphia NC 2



1956

Dec 8 Bert Whitehurst Porland, ME W 10



1957

Mar 12 Bob Satterfield Miami Beach W 10

May 31 Clarence Hinnant New York KO 1

Sep 20 Wayne Bethea Philadelphia W 10

Dec 17 Sid Peaks Toledo, OH KO 5



1958

Jan 17 Bert Whitehurst Syracuse, NY W 10

Apr 15 Ollie Wilson Hartford KO 2

Dec 3 Howard King Chicago W 10

Dec 15 Rudy Watkins Chicago W 10



1959

Aug 4 Johnny Yorke Pittsfield, PA KO 6

Nov 11 Sonny Ray Chicago KO 10



1960

May 4 Clarence Floyd Philadelphia W 10



1961

Feb 7 Jesse Bowdry Miami Beach KO 9

(Wins Vacant NBA Light Heavyweight Title)

Apr 24 Von Clay Philadelphia KO 2

(Retains NBA Light Heavyweight Title)

Jul 1 Eddie Machen Atlantic City W 10

Aug 29 Eddie Cotton Seattle W 15

(Retains NBA Light Heavyweight Title)



1962

May 12 Doug Jones Philadelphia W 15

(Retains World Light Heavyweight Title)

Jun 23 Gustav Scholz Berlin W 15

(Retains World Light Heavyweight Title)



1963

Mar 19 Tommy Merrill Scranton, PA KO 9

Jun 1 Willie Pastrano Las Vegas L 15

(Loses World Light Heavyweight Title)

Dec 6 Henry Hank Philadelphia W 10



1964

Apr 20 Hank Casey Santa Monica, CA KO 8



1965

Inactive



1966

Jan 7 Johnny Persol New York L 10

Dec 6 Pekka Kokkonen Vienna W 10



1967

May 1 Herschel Jacobs New Orleans W 10

Aug 7 Eddie Jones New Orleans W 10



1968

Feb 3 Lothar Stengel Frankfurt W 10

Jun 11 Johnny Alford Miami Beach W 10



1969-70

Inactive



1971

Mar 30 Herschel Jacobs New York KO by 3

[kikibalt]

I can vaguely remember seening his 1954 fight on t.v. with Archie Moore, an if i remember right he was winning the fight before he got k.o.

Frank B.

[gregbeyer]

thanx fan,
i will drop him a letter. wonder if there is a computer where he is. i know when they found ernie lopez the folks at his shelter were able to show him that his record was posted at boxrec. its got to be pretty cool that these guys can do that. hope a few others drop harold a line.
greg

[GorDoom]

bump

[Elmer Ray]

As a boxer Johnson, in my-not-so-humble opinion (g), was one of the three finest technicians I've ever seen in the ring. The man KNEW how to box. Definitely a top ten all-time light heavyweight.

totally agree gordoom, i actually rate harold in my top 5

[GorDoom]

bounce

[tedsares]

A Philadelphian named John DiSanto has started this marvelous website that is a tribute to Philadelphia boxing. This site is a must see for any hard core fight fan.

Check it out!: www.phillyboxinghistory.com/index.htm

GorDoom

Incredible site. A writer's dream and a real shortcut for research. Thanks for the link.

Ted The Bull

[MATTDONNELLON]

Do any of you Philly fans have info(other than his Boxrec record) on Irishman Tom Toner, who boxed out of Philadelphia 1928-30?

[GorDoom]

bump

[brutu]

A couple years ago,someone at another web site said that they are working on a book with Roy"Tiger"Williams.
Anyone know about this?
Roy Williams is about 67 years old now.
This month marks the 35th anniversary of his fight
with Earnie Shavers at the Aladdin in Las Vegas.
I think Shavers once said that was his toughest fight.