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Spotlight on Former Athlete: Boxing Program at SLIThe Spotlight of Former Athlete this month brings the original writer out of moth balls as the Athletic Network continues to focus on our rich athletic history. (Bruce Brown replaced Ed Dugas as the writer of the Spotlight feature in January, 2010 and will return). This month the feature will focus on a sport which no longer exists at the university, although from 1930 to 1947 it was near and dear to the hearts of our students and those associated with the boxing program. The above years were times of great difficulty in our country and the roller-coaster ride of the Boxing program’s financial support mirrors those realities. Because of the tentative offering of the program, pictures and information posted on the Athletic Network could be located in only ten issues of the L’Acadien. Additional information for posting on the website is welcomed. A boxing program was offered for the first time by SLI in 1930 and as the program grew, it was as large as a collegiate sport could become at a university with the resources of SLI. The picture below illustrates the strong support of the program…all permanent and moveable seating were filled to capacity during this 1942 boxing match at Earl K. Long Gymnasium. (Probably a match against LSU who the Bulldogs always competed well against.
One of the outstanding performers of the young program was 1938 team captain, Carlo Listi, pictured below. He was the SAAU lightweight champion and his final record was 28 wins, four draws, and one loss. Listi later became sheriff of Lafayette Parish.
Perhaps the crown jewels of the boxing program came in 1942 when Harper and Campbell won national titles in their respective weight classes. On March 29, 1941 at Penn State University, heavyweight boxer, Louis Campbell, became the first Southwestern boxer to win a NIAA Championship. Click here for the Athletic Profile of Louis A. Campbell http://athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=55&profID=577 His profile includes information provided by Paul Bergeron who was a student in school at the time of Campbell’s boxing exploits. Paul details the LSU/SLI match of January, 1940 where SLI defeated the Tigers, the reigning Southeastern Conference Champions by a score of 5-3. Scroll down the link http://athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=55&profID=577 and the chapter on Louis Campbell in Bruce Brown’s book, Prides of Acadiana, is posted in its entirety. Entitled "Louis Campbell: The Gentle Giant", it provides a close and personal glimpse of the student, the person, the athlete and the boxer. Bruce also reveals what life was like on the SLI campus during those years. During the 1942 season, Boxing team captain, Donald Harper (pictured below) won the national crown in the 120 lbs. class.
An interesting twist of events occured in 1947, when the university determined it could no longer financially support the boxing program and the Veteran’s Club became the sponsor. Who would coach the team in this type of arrangement? None other than Louis Campbell. Please click here for the story of the 1947 team http://athleticnetwork.net/site542.php Boxing coaches changed on a frequent basis during the early years, until the appointment of George "Gee" Mitchell in 1936. Mitchell remained with the program until it was dropped by the university. Information about his background and appointment as the boxing coach are located in the 1938 page of the boxing photo gallery. Please click here for the Boxing Photo Gallery and History which documents 10 years of boxing from 1930-1947 http://athleticnetwork.net/site390.php Click on the year you wish to view for information and pictures of the boxing teams as depicted in the L’Acadiens. Please click here for the alphabetical listing of boxers by year http://athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=52&teamID=34 , scroll down for the year you wish to view, and click on the name for the boxer’s profile. Recently, Don Landry, former USL student coach, manager, and sports information staff, has becoming involved in preserving the history of high school and college boxing in Louisiana. Click here for his Athletic Network Profile http://athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=55&profID=3026 which documents his athletic career as a high school and college coach, college athletic administrator, and Commissioner of the Sunshine State Conference. Retired and now living in Baton Rouge, Don recently wrote the Athletic Network. "High school boxing was extremely popular in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. College boxing was very popular in the 30’s and 40’s." "Eight Lousiana colleges sponsored boxing teams: SLI, LSU, Tulane, Loyola, Centenary, McNeese, Louisiana Tech and Northeast. At various times SLI, LSU, Tulane and Loyola produced national powers. Several SLI boxers won national championships." "Progress has been made. Public Broadcasting had a segment on high school boxing and the show has been shown six times. The Louisiana State Museum had their curator at the last boxing reunion and taped oral history interviews with eight great boxers. They have already committed to attend the next reunion that is scheduled to be held in Lafayette. Former boxers at the reunions and listeners to various radio shows on which I have appeared, have responded and shared scrapbooks, pictures, stories, etc. We are still seeking additional information."
"I am seeking information on SLI that would help us write a history of the program. Of course I would also welcome any interesting information on other colleges or any of the high schools. If anyone, has pictures or articles, please contact me by e-mail at werback@cox.net or by mail at the following:
Don Landry 836 Highland Knoll Ct.,Baton Rouge, La. 70810 225/766-7349
As with previous Spotlight features, any information or pictures about former UL athletes is welcomed and should be emailed to AthleticNetwork@louisiana.edu Thank you.
Our rich athletic traditions were intrusted to the vision, hope, loyalty and dedicated of these former athletes and we will forever owe them a debt of sincere gratitude. May God Bless each of them and their families.
Anyone with information, materials, pictures, memorabilia, etc., of the university’s former athletic program participants is requested to contact Ed Dugas at athleticnetwork@louisiana.edu Thank you. The Photo Gallery Link located on the left side of the home page at http://www.athleticnetwork.net contains over 9,000 pictures of former and current athletes and support groups. Just click on photo gallery and when the menu appears, click on the sport or support group you wish to view. The years of pictures posted for that team or group will appear and you may click on the year you wish to view. One click on a thumbnail picture or narrative and it is enlarged; a click on the enlarged photo and it reverts back to the thumbnail. The Athletic Network seeks to post pictures of each team and support group for each year they represented the university.
The stories of the 2009 and 2010 honorees featured in the Spotlight on Former Athletes are still included in the News Page and may be viewed by clicking on "more news" at the bottom right of the News Box, scrolling down, clicking on the title of the story. Those spotlight features which are no longer shown in the News Page, have been moved to the Lagniappe Link of the "History of UL Athletics" located on the left side of the home page. The Spotlight on Former Athletes announcement has also been placed in the profile of each honoree, excluding the pictures.
The 2010 features of the Athletic Network’s "Spotlight on Former Athletes" include:
January – Andrew Toney Men’s Basketball 1976-80. February – Orlando Thomas Football 1991-94. March – Rocky Guidry Football 1990-93, Track & Field 1991-94. April – Track & Field Network & March 20, 2010 1st Annual Track & Field Reunion. May – Keisha Ray Owens Williams Track & Field 1991-96. June – 2000 College World Series Baseball Team. July – Thirty Years of UL Softball. August – 1970 Cajuns Measured Up (Football). September – Boxing Program (1930-1947).
Ed Dugas, Coordinator
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