There were some famous names on this list including Pete Rademacher (1956) and Sugar Ray Seales (1972). However, much of their fame came after the won the gold. Rademacher made his pro debut against heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson, who won Olympic gold as a middleweight in 1952. Seales,who was the only member of the 1972 team to win a gold medal, fought Marvelous Marvin Hagler three times as a pro (losing twice and getting a draw) and left boxing after being declared legally blind. In fact, there is a legend that Seales actually memorized an eye chart so he could pass a physical to take a bout.
Another name on the list has local ties. Norvel Lee (above) is recognized as the first Olympian from the Beltway region to win a gold medal. Lee accomplished this feat in 1952 at the Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
Lee was born in Eagle Rock, VA and later moved to Covington, KY where he made news outside the ring in 1948 by being arrested for being one of the first African-Americans to sit on an all-white bus. That same year, Lee just missed making the Olympic team. Also, that year, Lee earned his master's degree in DC at Howard University.
Lee fought on the Washington, DC Golden Gloves team in 1951 and was scheduled to meet future world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johannson in an US vs. Europe competition, but Johannson had an eye injury and couldn't compete. Lee was a three-time national Golden Gloves champion.
In 1952, Lee ended up being a reserve on the Olympic team as a heavyweight, but was told he could make the team if he could compete as a light heavyweight. Lee dropped the necessary weight and went on to make the team (where he was a teammate of Patterson, who later fought three memorable championship bouts against Johannson) and win the gold medal.
Lee never turned professional and worked in corrections and adult education. Lee also spent a short time as a professional boxing judge. He was one of the judges for the infamous Riddick Bowe-Elijah Tillery fiasco at the Washington Convention Center in October of 1991. Lee would pass away of cancer in 1992 at the age of 67 at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
Great reading thanks . Norvel lee....
ReplyDeleteWhy does race always have to be
ReplyDeleteincluded in your commentary.
We all know that african Americans were discriminated against for years but so were many others.None were more descriminated against than native americans.
maybe you could find some native american boxers to do some commentary on.
In the words of the great dion sanders..COME ON MAN.Gary keep doin what u doin.Really dude.
DeleteThis has nothing to do with race. This was Beltway Boxing history!
ReplyDeleteWhat Mr. Lee did in Kentucky had nothing to do with boxing. Where do you see that I included race in this? I talked about this because of the history of the region -- not because he was black!
Eagle Rock, VA is in Botetourt County, VA and is right next to Bedford County, VA home of Scott "CUJO" Sigmon.
ReplyDeleteCome On Man is what Keyshawn Johnson says.
ReplyDeleteWho really cares about Sigmon Hensley? He was exposed on national TV.
ReplyDeleteQuit riding that train from behind that curtain.
lantej1948 VA and all of the South had Jim Crow laws,most people know that as fact,so once again Race was brought into the picture for whatever reason,not historical info of 1948 Va.
ReplyDeleteBut the incident Lee was involved in was in KENTUCKY in 1948!! Every bio of Lee I have read mentioned this incident as a part of Lee's history.
ReplyDeleteIt was mentioned for people who may not have known who he was.
I am sure KENTUCKY had its own set of laws regarding race,article is very informative gary. took Mr Lee alot of courage to stand up for himself and his race,the human race. Keep up the good work on local pros ,amatuers,current and past,would like to know more about baltimore's Jeffra,thanks
ReplyDeleteSee here Mr Williams you have went and done it again.
ReplyDeleteYou have the potential to be a good sports reporter but as long as you keep adding the African american heritage in the subject you are going to be limited on how far you can go in this busniess.Why can't fighters just be fighters and not black or white or spanish or whatever?
Just a thought.
Well, because it was a historical situation and if we forget any history, we are doomed to repeat it. What Mr. Lee (as I have already said) did in 1948 was a significant historical fact.
ReplyDeleteWhile they are fighters, they are also human beings as well. It was a significant part of that man's history. If I were to omit that, it would do the memory of that man a disservice.
If the athletes of today would take more of a stand on social issues, maybe there wouldn't be so much foolishness today. That's a discussion for another time.
How is this guy part of beltway
ReplyDeleteboxing history?
Kentucky is a long way from Wasington DC.Even that part of southwest Virginia is.
Did this man ever even fight in DC?
You obviously didn't read the entire story. Lee was a member of the WASHINGTON, DC Golden Gloves team and won three straight Golden Gloves titles. He was in DC when he won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1952.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been of some importance for garry to read it.if u dont like what garry is sayn read some other boxing blog.most people would call him couragous to standup for equal rights.and its still not equal.enough with the negativity.
ReplyDeleteGary, are you sure Norvel Lee went to Covington,Ky.? Covington, Va. is near Eagle Rock.
ReplyDeleteThat's according to the info I read on BoxRec and in the Washington Post.
ReplyDeleteHistorical situation for who?
ReplyDeleteAgain,lets leave race out of it.
This is boxing site , rite!
When people leave race out of the presidential election, then I'll leave race out of this situation.
ReplyDeleteDon't hold your breath, though!
Then you admit it ,you are a rascist.
ReplyDeleteNo..I'm a realist. A little history about me -- I went to the first integrated private high school in DC -- Georgetown Day School --. Anyone who knows me knows I am far from racist.
ReplyDeleteBut I also understand my history and highlight those who contribute to it. This is to avoid our culture being -- as talk show host Joe Madison puts it -- undervalued, underestimated and marginalized.
If you think I play the race card often, you are also sadly mistaken. I can probably count the number of times I have done so on this blog on one hand and it is usually either a monumental achievement that few others have done or hasn't been mentioned or when I see a true injustice done that I can find no other alternative but to call it what it is.
You are typical Mr Williams.
ReplyDelete(A monumental achievment)
Man you can't sugar coat it.
It is what it is.
Fess up and quit trying to step out of this with some backwards
talk .
(But I also understand my history)
What are you supposed to meen by that?
Absolute garbage.
Again, your are typical.
As are you, sir. As are you. You complain but don't have the guts to put your name behind it.
ReplyDeleteWhat I mean that I don't marginalize my history the way others do. That's what I mean by understanding my history.
Damn digital. It looks like you let the people who blog on your site drag you down out of character. Or i hope they didnt expose you. maybe it would be best to simply let people say what they want.......making the comment about " when people leave race out of the presidential election" come on now. Again this is a boxing blog...keep it so
ReplyDelete^ what the last cat said.
ReplyDeleteGary, thanks so much for this article on my grandfather! Our family would like to respectfully correct your information, however. We are aware that many internet sources site Kentucky, but this is false. The incident happened in Covington, Virginia while he was returning home to the area. He lived most of his adult life in DC, where he boxed. For more information on his life and boxing achievements feel free to read MY article on him or contact me directly (daryn@bslr1.com). Thanks again for the article. We love seeing more people tell his story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction! Appreciate it! Hope you also saw the discussion with this as well!
ReplyDelete