Vintage: the early years of Chicago-born Golden Gloves amateur boxing

In 1923, the Tribune organized an amateur boxing tournament that would be the foundation of what would become formally called the Golden Gloves. This event was what the Tribune called “a great boxing carnival … the greatest amateur boxing tournament ever held in Chicago,” featuring some 424 young men fighting over three March days at the Ashland Boulevard auditorium. It was the brainchild of the newspaper’s sports editor Arch Ward. The Golden Gloves tag was first attached to fights that took place on March 24, 1928. At the Coliseum, eight Chicago boxers fought eight boxers from New York to an 8-8 tie. Growth was rapid, as Golden Gloves organizations formed in cities across the country and the globe. This is the 100th year of the event in Chicago and is the longest-running and largest non-national amateur boxing event in America.