McGibbon, Ray
item
- Player Name
- McGibbon, Ray
- Type
- Builder
- Sport
- Boxing
- Inducted
- 2010
- Era
- 1971 – 1990
- Description
-
Ray McGibbon began boxing around the age of 15 and his boxing career led him to box in Madison Square Gardens and Maple Leaf Gardens. In 1946, Ray was a Golden Gloves finalist. The same year, Ray and his brother John established the St. Patrick’s Boxing Gym. In the late 1970's, Ray McGibbon started the Niagara Falls Boxing Club with John Degazio.
Through the years, Ray coached many champions. He was part of the 1983 and 1984 Ontario Boxing Championships, when the Niagara Falls Boxing Gym won the Trophy for Most Outstanding Team, winning eight gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal. Ray coached many boxers who became Ontario and Canadian Champions and Olympians including Tom"The Bomb" Glesby and Billy"the Kid"Irwin. Ray also coached Brian Kelly and Mike Strange, both former Inductees of the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame.
Each year, the St. Catharines Boxing club hosts the “Ray McGibbon’s Gloves Tournament”, named after Ray McGibbon. This tournament is a stepping stone for many amateur boxers to advance their competitive careers as boxers from across Ontario contend for the coveted title. Ray is known by his boxers as being an “old school coach” and would spar with his fighters regularly, even though he was in his fifties or sixties. Ray still drops by the gym and lends a hand to his former boxes, Bill Irwin and Mike Strange, who are now coaches. Ray’s legacy will be brought to young boxers for years to come as his old school boxing techniques will be passed down from generation to generation!
Inducted at ceremony held on January 17, 2010. - Subject
-
Niagara Falls Virtual Sports Wall of Fame
Awards
Portraits - Biographical
Sports - Recreation - Leisure
- Media
Ray McGibbon