Golden Gloves facts for kids
Golden Gloves
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| First event | 1928 |
|---|---|
| Occur every | Year |
| Parent organization | USA Boxing |
| Website | GoldenGlovesusa.com |
The Golden Gloves of America is a group that organizes yearly amateur boxing competitions in the United States. In these events, winners get a special belt, a ring, and the title of national champion. The organization has 30 local groups, called franchises, across the country.
Hundreds of people, including coaches and trainers, help run these programs. They involve gyms and local tournaments all over the U.S. Each year, there's a big National Tournament of Champions. The name "Golden Gloves" often refers to this national competition. However, it can also mean other amateur tournaments, like the ones held in Chicago Golden Gloves, New York Golden Gloves, or the Rocky Mountain Golden Gloves areas.
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History of Golden Gloves
The idea for a city-wide amateur boxing tournament in Chicago came from Arch Ward. He was a sports editor for the Chicago Tribune newspaper in 1923. The Tribune started sponsoring the event in 1927.
At first, there was an annual tournament between Chicago and New York. Later, other cities started their own Golden Gloves events. The Chicago and New York tournaments were seen as the most important ones. Winners from certain states and regions would go to Chicago for the Chicago Golden Gloves. Winners from other parts of the U.S. would compete in the New York Golden Gloves.
The champions from the Chicago tournament would then face the champions from the New York tournament. This final event was called the Intercity Golden Gloves. It served as the National Tournament of Champions. These big matches were held in famous places like the Square Garden Chicago and Chicago Stadium. The Intercity Golden Gloves tournament took place from 1928 to 1961.
The National Golden Gloves contest started in 1962. It is still the most respected amateur boxing tournament in the United States. The Golden Gloves Association of America, Inc. runs and sponsors it. Winners from 32 regional Golden Gloves competitions come together. They form regional teams in all different weight classes. These teams then compete in the national event, known as the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. This tournament happens once a year, and a different city hosts it each time.
The U.S. Golden Gloves program is set up to include all parts of the country. All tournaments follow the rules of amateur boxing. Many amateur Golden Gloves boxers later became famous professional boxers. Some of these include Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Barney Ross, and Iran Barkley.
The Golden Gloves competitions are open to all non-professional boxers. They must be between 19 and 40 years old. Both U.S. citizens and non-citizens can compete. There is also a Silver Gloves amateur tournament for younger boxers, aged 10 to 15.
How to Compete Nationally
To compete in the national Golden Gloves tournament, a boxer must win at different levels:
- Sub-Franchise (Local/State) Golden Gloves
- Franchise (Regional) Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves amateur competitions began in 1923. This was before the Golden Gloves of America became an official organization. For a long time, there were no standard rules for weight classes. Different states had their own weight limits for boxers.
Golden Gloves Locations in the USA
Here are some of the areas that have Golden Gloves franchises:
- Buffalo Golden Gloves
- California Golden Gloves
- Chicago Golden Gloves
- Cincinnati Golden Gloves
- Cleveland Golden Gloves
- Colorado-New Mexico Golden Gloves
- Detroit Golden Gloves
- Florida Golden Gloves
- Hawaii Golden Gloves
- Indiana Golden Gloves
- Iowa Golden Gloves
- Kansas City Golden Gloves
- Kansas-Oklahoma Golden Gloves
- Michigan Golden Gloves
- Mid-South Golden Gloves
- Nevada Golden Gloves
- New England Golden Gloves
- New Jersey Golden Gloves
- New York Metro Golden Gloves
- Omaha Golden Gloves
- Pennsylvania Golden Gloves
- Rocky Mountain Golden Gloves
- Southeast Golden Gloves
- St. Louis Golden Gloves
- Texas Golden Gloves
- Toledo Golden Gloves
- Tri-State Golden Gloves
- Upper Midwest Golden Gloves
- Washington, D.C. Golden Gloves
- Wisconsin Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves Around the World
Other countries have similar amateur boxing awards. For example, Mexico has Guantes De Oro. This means "Gloves of Gold" in Spanish.
Diamond Belt Award
In the past, some amateur tournaments gave out a Diamond Belt. This was a special award for amateur champions. Different groups and newspapers in the United States sponsored these tournaments. The Philadelphia Inquirer was one of the well-known sponsors. Famous Diamond Belt winners include George Foreman, Bobby Chacon, Jimmy McCarter, Logan McElroy, and Lou Brooks.
BC Golden Gloves in Canada
The yearly Golden Gloves tournament in British Columbia, Canada, has been held regularly since 1939. The first BC Golden Gloves champions included Alan Dunn, Bob Hickey, Travis Lepine, Eric Burnell, Henry Devine, Kenny Lindsay, Phil Vickery, and Wayne Morris.
Other Regional and Special Tournaments
Sometimes, there have been special or regional Golden Gloves tournaments. One example is the Vancouver Island Golden Gloves, which ran from 1954 to the early 1960s. The first "Vancouver Island Golden Boy" was Bert Wilkinson from Victoria in 1954. Some of this history was written about in the Vancouver Island Boxing News in 1983. It was also in the BC Amateur Boxing News between November 1983 and January 1986. A poster from the 1954 tournament and a photo of Bert Wilkinson were recently used in a video. This video was for the induction ceremony of the Greater Victoria Hall of Fame.
See also
In Spanish: Guantes de Oro para niños
- Amateur boxing
- NCAA Boxing Championship
- Spanish Golden Gloves
- USA Boxing
Lists of former Golden Gloves champions, by division:
- List of US national Golden Gloves super heavyweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves heavyweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves light heavyweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves middleweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves light middleweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves welterweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves light welterweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves lightweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves featherweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves bantamweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves flyweight champions
- List of US national Golden Gloves light flyweight champions
