Howard Curling "Curling's Corner"

2014 BCABHOF Nominee ** Howard Curling

Introduction: by Brian Zelley

The following paragraph was an opening passage to introduce

Howard Curling to members of boxing on Vancouver Island

and to some from the British Columbia Amateur Boxing 

Association in the spring of 1983.

"Pro patria conamur" 

"Howard Curling is the longest serving member of 

amateur boxing on Vancouver Island.  Throughout the fifties

to the end of the seventies, Mr. Curling has served the sport of

amateur boxing as a member and president of the Greater Victoria

Amateur Boxing Association, boxing coach, referee and judge, 

a member of the BC Amateur Boxing Commission, and the

Vancouver Island Amateur Boxing Commissioner from 1976 to 1979.

At the present time (1983) Howard is a registered official with BCABA.

Therefore, I take great pleasure in publishing Howard's story

"Curling's Corner":

Curling's Corner: by Howard Curling, 1983

"I believe that amateur boxing on Vancouver Island is stronger than it

has ever been since the fifties and sixties.  A major strength for
amateur boxing was the organization involved.  On November 9, 1952
the Greater Victoria Amateur Boxing Association was formed to 
organize the sport in Greater Victoria.  Also, there was  the 
BC Amateur Boxing Association and a BC Boxing Commission. 
...This form of co-ordinated organization made it possible for clubs
such as the Victoria Firefighters Boxing Club, the James Bay
Boxing Club,  the Esquimalt Boxing Club and the Colwood Boxing Club
to run shows every month and at times two a month.  At that time
Port Alberni and Chemainus also had very strong clubs. 

Some of the names that were very well known were the Hamilton
brothers from Alberni, Skimp Williams and Terry Eastman from
Chemainus, and Gordy McGaw, Brian O'Hare, Tommy Black, 
Bruce McLey, Barry Bissenden, Fred Curtis, Al Curtis, 
Bert Wilkinson and many others who kept  amateur boxing so popular.

Some key persons involved in the Greater Victoria Amateur Boxing 
Association were Al Duval, Fred Buxton, Frank Mitchell,  and
Charlie Hunt.  Persons that assisted in hosting boxing shows were
Jim Marshall, Jim Allen, Tom Crabbe, Dr. Jack Patterson and 
Eric Simmons. 

At the present time (eighties), with clubs at Victoria, Crofton, 
Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Parksville, Campbell River and Gold River
there has been an increase in boxing activity on Vancouver Island.
It is of the utmost importance that these young boxers get a chance 
to show their ability in front of the public as often as possible. 
Boxing's future on Vancouver Island never looked better. But, to
keep it healthy, we need co-operation from all clubs.  We must make
the Vancouver Island Boxing Association as strong as possible. 
We must have improvement clinics for judges, referees and coaches.
We have in Rick Brough, the man who has the knowledge, the energy,
and the experience to make all this work.  So let's all get behind Rick
and make boxing as strong as possible on Vancouver Island.  
  

Kyle McNeil's Boxing Corner

Kyle's Korner of the Ring:  by Brian Zelley
Kyle McNeil - Boxer

                                           Kyle McNeil  AND  Ryan Burgess

The Dartmouth featherweight from Bobby Tapper's Twin City Boxing Club
will see action tonight in Halifax in his seventh pro fight.

Kyle, is a university student with talented fists that won five of his first six bouts.
McNeil's pro debut took place in August 2011 with a victory over Evan Allison
at the Seaside Festival  in Shediac, New Brunswick.  Referee of his first pro bout 
was Frank Cormier.  Kyle then followed-up with four victories before dropping
a majority decision in his last bout.  

Nanaimo Boxing 1963 to 1974

NANAIMO BOXING (1963 to 1974) by Brian Zelley

Introduction:
* This is the story of Nanaimo boxing
between September  1963 and May 1974
through my eyes, articles and memories. 

*It begins with the formation of the
the Newcastle Boxing Club by
George Nepper to my final goodbye
as a founding member of the 
Nanaimo Boxing Club when I left the club
in May of 1974, but did return to attend various club shows as a coach or a
ring official.  

My last boxing bout for Nanaimo was in
1973 against boxer and later coach
Clark MacLellan of Nanaimo. 

As I was involved with boxing in
Victoria in 1974, I decided that
I would cut my active ties with
the Nanaimo Boxing Club in
1974, and a closing piece was
published in the Nanaimo 
Daily Free Press in May 1974. 


Back To the Newcastle Boxing Club:

* some of the folks involved in the Newcastle Boxing Club:

One of the many club show:

Remembering the club on the 20th. Anniversary

Back to where it all Began

.THE NANAIMO BOXING CLUB

The Nanaimo Boxing Cub was inducted into  the

British Columbia Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012

based on 40 plus years of service to the sport.

In this story, it is not about 40 years, but the beginning.

the above does not list all of the almuni

and active members of the club for that

is for a different story.

The names above include some of the folks

involved with the beginning

George Nepper, John Ormandy, Bob Pegues

Brian Zelley and Dan Wright.

As of 2013, the current coach is Barry Creswell.

Some past coaches and trainers

that did not receive the recognition that they deserved

Clark MacLellan and  Joe Preston, 

2014 Nominations BCABHOF

THE FIRST NINE TO BE NOMINATED FOR 2014

William J. Findlay

Jamey Ballard

Billy Townsend
Geronimo Bie
Jimmy McMillan
Kit Munro

Bob Pegues
Harry twist
Leif Albrechtsen






































HARRY TWIST - long term boxing coach

Harry Twist and boxers at the South Burnaby Boxing Club - the Fifties

Jimmy McMillan, a slick Canadian Champion - the Sixties

Geronimo Bie,  Canadian champion and medal winner

Jamey Ballard, a junior/youth boxer of the eighties

Billy Townsend, Canadian amateur and pro champion



THREE NEW NOMINEES:

Boxer:    Kenny Lindsay
Builders:  Mike Moore and Pat West 

THE HARRY TWIST BOXING STORY

THE HARRY TWIST JOURNEY:   by Brian Zelley
(special thanks to Freddy Fuller for providing a lead jab
to start the Harry Twist story.)

* as a youngster, Frederic Stephen Fuller would be a 
member of the South Burnaby Boxing Club along with
other boxers such as Frank and Keith Scott.  The head
coach was HARRY TWIST assisted by Johnny Phillips

* Harry Twist with some of 
the boxers at the South
Burnaby boxing club with
boxers including:
Freddy Fuller AND
Frankie Scott.

late Fifties

Freddy is pleased to
support Harry Twist's
nomination for 2014
in the 
British Columbia Amateur
Boxing Hall of Fame.


Harry's former pupil Freddy Fuller speaks up for Harry:

* Special thanks to 2010 inductee Frederick Stephen Fuller for taking
the time to step up to the plate to hit a home run for his early boxing
coach HARRY TWIST, one of the great coaches in BC Amateur boxing 
history.  

HARRY TWIST makes THE RIGHT TURN
* For his long service to the sport of Amateur Boxing
Harry was inducted into the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame:

a few of the many that were mentioned include:
Frankie Scott, Freddy Fuller, Des Archer and Johnny Phillips.

Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame:
Those connected to boxing in the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame
Harry Twist, Al Principe, Des Archer, Dale Walters,
Lennie Walters and Manny Sobral.
Harry, Dale, Lennie and Manny are also inductees of the
BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING
HALL of FAME 2010 to 2014.

The Bob Pegues Boxing Story

.Dreams Never Die: by brian w, zelley

Introduction

* To tell the Bob Pegues boxing story it is necessary to go
 back  in time to 1969.  It was a year after Nanaimo's 
Newcastle Boxing Club closed it's doors forever.

but the old coach George Nepper had that vision
that some day a new club would begin a new journey.  
So all the boxing equipment was tucked away

for some new beginning.

* In the spring of 1969, I returned to Nanaimo during a
 break from UBC, and one day, I was approached by
 a number of folks including a 

teenager by the name of Bob Pegues to help them train in boxing. 

So at some facility, we all would go there to practice boxing.  But,

it would be for a short duration.  But, the desire shown by young

Bob Pegues and the vision of the old coach George Nepper would

be a symbolic new beginning to start the Nanaimo Boxing Club.

But, it would take another two years before the new club would

become a reality when Brian Zelley and Dan Wright got permission

from the Nanaimo recreation department to train at a facility close

to Bowen road.  That new beginning would be the summer of 1971.

Also, assisting in the planning and start-up was John Ormandy, 

a family friend of Dan Wright who had trained at the old Firefighters

boxing club along with Zelley and boxer Jack Snaith.  Assisting with

the start-up was George Nepper who provided some of the old equipment

from the old Newcastle Boxing Club that turned his vision into a realityl 

To gain trainees, Brian went to the Nanaimo Daily Free Press office to
search for the sports editor who was on a coffee break at the old 
Modern Cafe close to the news office.  So Brian and the sports editor
Mark Kiemele met over a coffee at the Modern to discuss the new 
boxing club called the Nanaimo Boxing Cub. 

After the story, various folks would show up for training including
the young teenager from '69 called Bob Pegues.  Also, various folks
would come to assist with the training.
.  One of the early decisions was to decide on the training
days, the club colors and when to register the club.  Dan and I agreed
that the colors would be gold and green, the old colors of the Newcastle
club was gold and blue.  For registration, we would have four names
listed - Zelley,  Wright, Ormandy and Varro.
would appear in the 1972 BC Golden Gloves program for all to see that
we had arrived and Bob's hope, wishes and dreams became a reality. 

The Early Years of Boxing Bob:

Bob selected for the first fight card in 1972"

Pegues training with Mickey Griffin:

Mickey Griffin and Bob Pegues

training  for action in '75

One of the active trainers was 

Clark MacLellan.

Big Support For Bob's early  Journey 

 the Nanaimo Press

There could be no Bob Pegues boxing story without

a great team of editors and reporters of the

two newspapers

Nanaimo Daily Free Press and the Nanaimo Times

as we trace Bob's journey as a coach in Prince George

that important element of  a good working relationship

with the local press, radio and television 

has been important parts of the Bob Pegues boxing story

and the story of boxers Kenny Lally and Jag Seehra.

No Tomato Cans for Boxer Bob

It was January 1975 and the 

tournament was one of those

BC Festival of Sports events

and for Bob Pegues it was to easy 

opponent that Pegues would face

So Battling Bob would face 1972 Olympic

boxer Les Hamilton in the Nanaimo hosted event

Beyond Vancouver Island

It would be in the Spruce Capital of Prince George

where Bob Pegues would begin a new journey as 

a boxing trainer/coach assisting in the local club

that was started by Irving  Mann and carried on by

his famous BC boxing son Harold Mann.

However, for Bob that old desire from 1969

would resurface in a different form where 

Bob would become coach Bob in his own club. 

 

The Real New Beginning - 2000

From 2000 to 2013 it would an interesting journey

and his two key boxers were Kenny Lally and Jag Seehra.

Happy Together - Clubs helping Clubs 

Bob Pegues and Wally Doern

Wally is the head coach of the 2 River Boxing Club

in Quesnel, BC.  Over the years there was 

great co-operation between the two coaches

Following the Boxers

* to get a good understanding of Bob the coach, it is 

necessary to follow the boxers so one way is to 

read the Kennny Lally story that takes

Kenny from his junior days to his terms as a champion

Likewise there are the achievements of Jag Seehra.

In 2013, a recent historical moment was boxer Jag

and coach Bob attending the first ever 

Canadian Golden Gloves tournament in Cornwall

some may also remember Jag's appearance in 

the 2010 BC Golden Gloves tournament 

Jag Seehra and Bob Pegues

2010 BC Golden Gloves

A Touch of Class - Moments To Remember

Beyond the bright lights

in the shadows

                     

"Brother in the Night"

"Trying to do what is Right"

Oh, what a journey they have to share

as another year slips away

Kenny Lally *** Bob Pegues *** Jag Seehra

And Then There Is That Magic Carpet Ride

Who would of guessed back in 1969

when a starry eyed teenager  had a hope,

a wish and a dream in Nanaimo, BC

And, sometimes dreams come true

and the wish and the hope

turns bright and there is that magic moment

beyond the wildest dreams of a young boy named Bob

"A Belt of His Own"

My Golden Memory of Bob

As I search the chambers of my mind

there is only one clear  vision that I have

of the one they call Bob Pegues,

 the trainer of boxers and now the champion

it will alway take me back to where it all began

in some now forgotten building in a town called Nanaimo

where the desire of a young teenager flowed  like summer wine

for that something in the sweet science

And,  I ask did he get what he was looking for in '69?

Beyond Tomorrow

"A new day and a story"

Mickey Griffin and Seth Gotro

Another Mile On The Road

the Inner City Aces

The Ranking of Bob Pegues

When a persons name is listed on a ranking site

there can be no predictions where they will be rated.

Depending on the names and the era or region being

ranked, one could expect various ratings

Nanaimo Boxing Ranking

The Top Ten

Bob Pegues makes the top ten  

VANCOUVER ISLAND BOXERS and BUILDERS

Bob Pegues in the top 15

2014 BCABHOF NOMINATION PROCESS

Bob Pegues was in a one - tw race

with Bert Wilkinson and managed

to earn top spot before it was frozen

after the actual nomination process.

NANAIMO BOXING CLUB

some of the names behind the scene

ranking listing of names in Nanaimo Boxing

Bob Pegues

2014 Inductee

BCABHoF