For many years, every sport had a Hall of Fame, except for boxing. I grew up in south Jersey, and had the privilege to visit the Halls of the three major sports, being baseball, football and basketball. I have been to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York four times, the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and the Basketball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts. As my love of boxing grew in the 1980’s, I wondered why there wasn’t one for professional boxing.
I was in Las Vegas in the summer of 1985, and I vividly recall a sign saying they were going to build a Boxing Hall of Fame just off the strip. I thought what a great idea, but it never materialized. In 1989, Ed Brophy opened a new museum to showcases boxing’s colorful history in Canastota, New York, just outside of Syracuse. The initial class of inductees was the following year of 1990 and it included Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, and a list of all-time greats.
In the summer of 1991, I made my first trip to see the IBHOF, and I loved it. Although it was rather small, it was open and certainly had a chance to expand after becoming more established. There were plenty of great pictures on display, and cool exhibits to look at. I was thrilled that boxing finally had a chance to showcase it’s history, thanks to Ed Brophy and his marvelous staff.
I made numerous other trips to the see the Hall of Fame again in Canastota, and they in fact did expand in a big way, with an additional building full of fun stuff adjacent to the main museum. I also traveled up twice for Induction Weekend, in both 1996 and 1998 to show my boxing collages I made, to sell at the collector’s show.
I have been a member of the IBHOF for many years, and if you love boxing, I suggest you become one too. For just $35 a year, you can help the museum operate and function, and show how much you love the sport and the fighters that made it what it is. It’s a beautiful trip up the New York Thruway in upstate New York, and if you ever get the opportunity to go, take it.
I personally am grateful that Ed Brophy had the vision to give boxing’s greats a home to be recognized. If you love boxing, a trip to see the IBHOF is one you won’t regret.
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