University of Notre Dame - Dome Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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Trouble along the ropes as , feminine portion of audience expresses mixed emotions. Another vacant title in the 137 Ib. division was claimed by Pat Drew of New York City as he called on four years of experience in the bouts to give Floyd Boerbon of St. Paul, Minn., a boxing lesson and eke out a split decision. The third match in the 142 Ib. class ended in a TKO, scored by Jim Reno of Wayne, Michigan, over Larry O ' Mara of Chicago, 111. It was a swift, hard battle with Reno ending it after 28 seconds of the second round. The 147 Ib. title fight was the one everybody was waiting for and they were not disappointed, as Alex McAngus, 1952 champion from Honolulu, Hawaii, was dethroned in a tough scrap by old pro Vic Roblez. Roblez, from Bingham Canyon, Utah, recently returned to the scene of his 1949 and 1950 championships after a two year stretch in the Navy. The verdict was unanimous. The crowd got another fast quarrel in the 157 Ib. finals as Jim Pudlowski of St. Louis, Mo., and Joe Belfiore of Wash- ington, D. C., put on quite a donneybrook, with Pudlowski gaining a slightly-unpopular split decision. Football halfback Bob Joseph ' s bull-like rushes were too much for Don Bergman in the 167 Ib. class as the fast but not especially tricky gridder displayed some of the best counter- Cook hammers away in heavyweight prelim. What do I do now, Coach? PAGE 256

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The annual Bengal Bouts ended as usual on St. Patrick ' s Day, March 17, this year, as nine boxers walked off with the championship crowns in their respective divisions on the strength of two TKO ' s, two split decisions, and five unanimous verdicts. Five thousand spectators were on hand for the final night of the tournament, which is put on by the local Knights of Columbus for the benefit of the missions in Bengal, India. Ceremonies at intermission were highlighted by the presen- tation of the Bengal Bout Award to Charles P. (Chuck) Davey, outstanding contender for the world welterweight crown. The award is given annually to the man who has done the most for boxing in the past year. Receiving awards along with Davey were Bob Bickert of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Pete Cannon from Chicago, Illinois. Bickert, a Bengal veteran of four years, was given the Sports- manship Trophy while Cannon received the Father Ryan Trophy as the fighter making the best showing in the prelims. Tom Magill of Allentown, Pa., and Dick ( Spider ) McVeigh of Fairbanks, Alaska, got the evening off to a flying start in the 127 Ib. class. McVeigh, the darling of the crowd, started fast and had his opponent in trouble in the opening round, but Magill weathered the storm and used his longer reach to pile up enough points in the final two rounds for the decision and the right to the vacated title.

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punching in the bouts. Joseph is from Martins Ferry, Ohio, while Bergman resides in Kenilworth, 111. The second TKO of the evening came in the 172 Ib. clash as Jose Alexander of St. Louis, Mo., was forced to retire after 1:15 of the second round because of a shoulder injury, thereby placing the crown on the head of Tom Murray from Toledo, Ohio. The 177 Ib. set was the slugfest of the night, Ed Sarna of South River, N. J., winning a unanimous nod over tough Jerry Boyd of Saginaw, Mich. For six minutes both boxers stood toe-to-toe in a real pier sixer , but Sarna got in more well- timed blows. The final battle on the card was the heavyweight scrap which saw Ed Cook of Philadelphia, Pa., become the ninth newly-crowned champ in the Bengals on the strength of a unanimous decision over Bill Ahern of Long Island, N. Y. Ahern had Cook in trouble in the second round, but it was the winner who carried the fight most of the way. Referee was once again George Vander Heyden, while Albert Doyle, Emery Nemeth and Harry Richwine served as judges. Roy Blondell and Francis Maxwell were timers, Dr. Sherman Egan was the physician on hand, and trainers were Gene Paszkiet and William Johnson. 0 4 f-.-ff ' 1 1 7 PATRICK DREW 137 Ib. Champ THOMAS MAGILL 127 Ib. Champ VICTOR ROBLEZ 147 Ib. Champ ROBERT JOSEPH 167 Ib. Champ JAMES RENO 142 Ib. Champ EDWARD SARNA 177 Ib. Champ 1 953 BENGAL BO UTERS 127 POUNDS Larry O ' Mara John McGraw Gerald Mernin John Deffley Brenda Cry an Thomas McCabe William Lederer James Curtin Thomas Murray Richard McVeigh Orlando Gonzales Boris Mehoff Kent Rowe Peter Cannon Thomas Magill Dick Haefele Joseph Belfiore James Lagrou Milton McAngus Fernando Nunez Edmundo Oleo Sal Profaci Joseph Muldoon John Mooney James Pudlowski Louis Marlin John Egan HEAVYWEIGHTS Daniel Buczynski James Reno Andrew Corrao Michael Demoreville Frank Gerlitz 177 POUNDS Edward Cook Bill Ahern 137 POUNDS William Glass Paul Klebba Patrick Drew Floyd Boerbon 147 POUNDS Victor Roblez 167 POUNDS Lee Getschow Edward Sarna James Walsh Francis Lolli Alexander McAngus Charles Mears Jerry Boyd Gideon Jarvis 142 POUNDS Don Bergman John O ' Hara George Desmet Jont Tyson 157 POUNDS Robert Joseph Hugh Vergara Jack Lee August Freda John Mulvaney Robert Bickert Jose Alexander John Happ Getchow wonders what happened. THOMAS MURRAY 172 Ib. Champ JAMES PUDLOWSKI 157 Ib. Champ EDWARD COOK Heavyweight Champ