HALLS of FAME - Canadian Boxing

Photos: Mike Caird (Victoria), Jack Meda (Prince George),

HALLS OF FAME - AMATEUR BOXING in CANADA

The year 2009 has seen a number of former boxers entered in a local, provincial of international sports or boxing hall of fame.
Names of interest include - Lennox Lewis, Steve Beaupre, Scotty Olson and Mike Caird

MIKE CAIRD - Former amateur boxer and coach - Victoria, BC, Canada

Caird will be inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame on November 21, 2009
at the Pacific Institute of Sports Excellence along with a number of others such as the late
Jack Short known by many as "The Voice Of The Races", golfer Bill Wakeham, fastball builder
Herb Bate, olympic medalist Jesse Monroe-Gonin, Moe Elewonibi and
the Victoria Lawn Bowling Club.

Some of the sponsors include:
IBM, Pacific Institute of Sports Excellence, Save On Foods, Pacific Sport Victoria,
Pemberton & Holmes, Little & Davies, Mann Moulson & Co., Joe Frenette.
Brian Zelley, Times-Colonist, Chek News, C-Fax 1070 and Outside The Box Info.

CAIRD's JOURNEY:

For Mike Caird, his boxing journey began in the mid-Fifties as an amateur boxer
in Victoria with numerous bouts including his victory in the 1963 BC Golden Gloves
and participation in many club shows and tournaments including the
1964 Vancouver Island Amateur Boxing Championships.

His coaching journey began after 1964 until about 2001 when boxer Donny Orr Jr.
won a senior National Boxing Championship and in 2000 Orr was in the Summer Olympics
as part of the Canadian Olympic Boxing Team that included Michael Strange, Scott MacIntosh
and others (See listing).

Some of the other coaches that worked with Mike throughout the years were:
Gordie McGaw, Larry Montgomery, Brian Zelley, Lou Bujdoso, Jim Ballendine,
Ian Weir and Don Orr Sn.

Some of the boxers were:
Geoff & Gary Robinson, Wayne Crowe, Dan Wright, Ian Weir, Danny O'Sullivan,
Matt Montgomery, Paul Panke, Cliff Ballendine, Jason Heit, Theresa Taylor and Orr.

History - BOXING BC

In understanding the history of amateur boxing, a good place to start is the history of the Golden Gloves in places like Vancouver from 1939 to 2009.

The first Golden Gloves tournament in British Columbia was in 1939.

At the end of the action PHIL VICKERY was named Golden Boy,

and the rest is history.

Sadly,  Radio Officer Philip Arthur Vane Vickery died on
June 22, 1943.

His name can be found on the Ottawa Memorial and in the 

Commonwealth War Graves records.

Throughout the decades, other boxers would be declared Golden Boy

such as Ray Lampkin, Neil Knight, Sammy May, Harold Mann,

Al Curtis, Kalman Santosi, Dick Findlay and many more.

In the Junior Golden Gloves activity, one boxer stands alone.

CLIFF BALLENDINE was declared BC Junior Golden Boy for
three straight years in 1979, 1980 and 1981.