Born in Columbus, Mississippi, on December 12, 1912, boxer Henry Armstrong became the featherweight, welterweight, and lightweight world champion in 1938. He was the first boxer to hold three different titles simultaneously. After he retired, Armstrong overcame alcoholism. He also became a Baptist minister and worked with at-risk youth. He was 75 when he died… Read more »
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Sport: Boxing
Johnny Copeland
Born in Joplin, Missouri, Johnny Copeland began his Golden Gloves career in 1960 as a member of the Joplin Boys’ Club. Copeland quickly developed into a boxing sensation. Between 1961 and 1970, Copeland compiled an amateur record of 74 wins and only 15 defeats and amassed an impressive string of championships. Copeland turned professional in… Read more »
Bernie Miklasz
In the old days of newspapers, sportswriters who climbed the ladder the right way, by rolling up their sleeves and doing the grunt work, earned respect from the old guard. Working in the trenches, they’d call it. And that’s exactly the way Bernie Miklasz began his career. At age 16, he wrote for a weekly… Read more »
Leon Spinks
As an amateur, Spinks won 178 of his 185 bouts, including 133 knockouts. In 1974, Spinks competed in the World Games held in Cuba and won a bronze medal. A year later, he brought home a silver medal from the Pan-Am Games. In 1976, Spinks traveled to the Olympic Games in Montreal, where he won… Read more »
Ed Wray
Ed Wray was a sportswriter who was known for his column, “Wray’s Column” in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His career spanned 55 years. He focused mainly on horse racing, boxing, and football, particularly the history of the forward pass. The first legal forward pass was thrown by Bradbury Robinson of St. Louis University in 1906… Read more »