Canastota, New York
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CANASTOTaI f'" NEW YORK ' ruO'.iw stota, H - BoJCffi9 Ccipffal 1 Of mu America! TOWN U. S. A TODAY Canaland Circus made DEDICATION W Canastota Early This booklet is dedicated to the sport of boxing. We hope that its contents will convey the Idea that Canastota, New Fight Town York is the ideal site for the international Boxing Hall of In the early'fO'mid 1800's, Canastota en/oyed q degree ofprosperitypro Fame. vided by the Erie Canal. It is not difficult to imagine iron-muscled We've attempted to capture the essence of the sport of bargemen docking at Canasfofa boxing as a way of life in our community, a vital part of the and wagering a pint or two over the Saturday fights. When the circus social and economic fabric ofCanastota. made one ofits frequent visits to the town, the roustabouts often We have gathered some pictures and stories that portray tangled with the canalers, and the ghosts of those bareknuckle the importance of boxing in our town from the 19th century, brawls probablystill linger in Canastota on warm, summer nights. thru the teens, the roaring twenties, the depression years, One ofthose earlypugilists was the post WWII era, the Carmen Basiiio and Billy Backus cham an immigrant from Tipperary, Ireland, one Paddy Ryan who set pionship eras, the present resurgence of boxing and into the tled in Watervliet and ran a saloon. He fought an 86-rounder to win the future where our legacy of boxing may be shared with the heavyweight title from a Joe Goss, rest of the world. then lost the title to one John L. Sullivan, the first "official" In preparing this brochure, we were ably assisted by a num heavyweight champion of the world in accredited record books. Paddy ber of people who did the digging. Mike Milmoe, Ed Brophy, Ryan, the King of the Erie Canal, most probably fought in Canastota. Frank Eitman, Peter Finn, John DeJohn, Barbara Jones and Some historians feel that the roots of the Canastota boxing connection others. We thank you for helping with your time and effort. go way back into the 19th century, and it requires fust a touch of We appreciate your help. imagination to substantiate their theories. The real beginnings of Sincerely, boxing as an organizedsport came before the turn of the century and Canastota's Involvement is a matter ofwell documented record. Bill LeMon, Editor CANA-TOTA BOB FirstMotion Pistore CANASTOTA Progestion Canastota Boxing Boxing Hotspot Match! of the One of most significant events in the ner and both received i. j li , .. ^ „ ^^veral hard blows in history of boxing and motion pictures took the encounter." place in Canastota, The first motion picture Remember, this was lona , ^ ' , "5 before the era of projection was shown in Canastota and the the instant replay, and ,t wasn't until Twenties! subject was a boxing bout, Navember that DicksonS pro/ee/»on machine it was in August of 1895 that the forerunner wos ready and the very projected fight by Mike Miimoe of the Friday Night Fights was born. The film was shown to a small ^ . When Canastota folks think obout the Thruway entrance and In the Hubbard Can AA L. t MM Lj eL Bothering outside photographic process was known as the Mohan's Machine Shop, Th^^,. j * golden days ofboxing in the community they ning Factory on Diamond Street. There were Biograph and its inventor was W,K,L, up insideI the shop with projector was set generally relate to the Carmen Basilio years fights nearly every month and on the alter .r L . j pointing Dickson, a frequent visitor to Canastota, On through a window onto a uixl of the 50s or the Billy Backus years from the nate weeks there were shows in Oneida, the fifth ofAugust that year Dickson used his autside the building. '""keshift screen mid 60s to mid 70s when the community Sherrill, Sherburne and Syracuse, new invention to record a sparring match at For the next decade the Blr.^ u spawned two world champions. The biggest name locally in boxing at the noon behind a machine shop on West Center Keith-s Theatre in New " But there were some very other exciting time belonged to Jimmy DeCapua who Street In Canastota. The stars of this historic cansidered one of the telZ^ "Z times for the boxing buffs in Canastota, The fought as a middleweight and match were Prof, Al Leonard and his pupil, the warld. Now America . ^ " r village has been a boxing hotspot for lightheavyweight. He had boxed In Florida Bert Hosley, According to a report in the recardingrightsandshowinaVt. " decades. before coming home to Canastota, At one Canastota BEE, "For more than one minute of peaple. Baling was g"! We've been doing some research on our time he was welterweight champion of they went at each other In a scientific man- beast, it all began in CanZstl" "" community boxing heritage as part of a Michigan, His career in boxing came in bet special project the Carmen Baslllo Memorial ween his regular job as a policeman, Jimmy Committee Is embarked on. Boxing and eventually had a bout with Mahan Machine Canastota are intertwined. Remember the lightheavyweight champion Mike McTigue, a On West CenterStreet Canastota High School boxing teams of the bout that Jimmy won. McTigue was champion OS of November, J963. The late 20s and 30s? in 1923-25 with the bout between the two "j"f'• '895 sparring match On Saturday we got engrossed in the 1925 coming In held In Bennington, Vermont in ond tho November, J895 Issues ofthe Canastota Bee-Journals, the late 20s, pro/ec/lon bath accurred at he rear offhis building. That Is the year that there were boxing There were lots of other local boys who shows all over the village and In surrounding were Into boxing at the time. Danny Photo byvvw Sharpe. communities. Canastota seemed to be a hub Garofalo, now living in Utica, was fighting in 3 for much of the activity, providing the spark 1925, He remembers it well, "I got out. There and the fighters, wasn't any money In it. They'd promise you cote C4AAL Eddie Kelber was a catalyst for much of the '60 for a main bout and after it was over put activity. The former New York Giants '20 on the table and say that was It, Once baseball pitcher who had been gassed and when Jimmy DeCopuo wos my second we got rUMBEIi. lost a lung In World War I, had come to our '60, Jimmy was a cop and he took out his Canastota for marriage to a Canastota gun and said we weregoing to be paid in full. MAHAN woman and became caught up in the boxing They paid the '60," MACHINE SHOP action. He was Commander of the American Another fighter of the time from Canastota Legion that year and the legion promoted was Red Johnson, There was Dominick Bruno, fights all over - In Newkirk Hall of Center Nick DeBalso, Johhny Beach, Danny's brother W. CeNTCR. Street, In Woolsey Hall on Center Street, on Seraflne, There was Pete Baltusnik, Freddie Moose Field at the Helntz farm near the Lumbrazo, Mike Costanzo, KO Chappie moved from Binghamfon to tinued as a policeman and boxer. Conosfofo to be in the thick of things. As Base Spadter tells about the McTigue fight. Canastota High School reported in "Kelsey's Ken" the B-J sports "Jimmy told me that in the 8th round he eoiumn ofthe day... "KO Chappie has located threw a punch and went into a clinch and Mc in Conostoto. He appears to be a nice boy Tigue said, "Give an old man a chance." Jim Keeps Boxing and con sure fight up a storm. He wiii be o my beat him In the 10 round non title fight. welcome addition to our excellent crop of Base thinks Johnny Beach could have been a boxers. The addition of Chappie means that champion had he put his mind to it. "There Conostoto without o doubt will lead any was this good Syracuse fighter, Joe Galnor Flame Alive Central New York village or city in the from Syracuse who was the best around, From the exciting professional boxing mat the finest boxing teams in the state. Pinky caliber of its boxers." Even then, we were a Johnny put him out under the Hubbard shed ches of the 1920's, the history of Canastota Schmidt coached these teams and the drawing cordfor young men getting involved in five rounds." Said Kelsey in the Bee- boxing moves Into the depression years of school's top athletes competed for positions in boxing. Journal, "How Johnny put Canastota on the the thirties while the sparks of the sport in every weight class. Among the scholastic Another of the fighters who come on the boxing map. Through five rounds Galnor remained glowing hotly. The next move in boxers of the pre-war era were Benny Sgroi scene a bit later was Eddie Gordy, one of never landed a single, clean blow...In this the community's love affair with the sporf who later became an intercollegiate boxing Conostoto's oil'timestrong men. battle Johnny Beach fought the best battle became a high school romance and Canastota champion at Syracuse University, the three Eddie used to ploy hardball barehanded. He that has been fought by any boxer in a local high School put together Its first boxing Montalbano brothers, Casper, Fred and Tony; carried pianos up and down stairs. He boxed, or neighboring town ring.