Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Upcoming Event - 2015 New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame 46th Annual Dinner and Induction Ceremony

On Thursday evening, November 12, 2015, the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame will hold it’s 46th Annual Dinner and Induction Ceremonies at the beautiful Venetian, located at 546 River Drive, Garfield, New Jersey starting at 7:00p.m. Tickets are priced at ONLY $85.00 per person. Fourteen (14) of Boxing’s finest will be inducted in the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, and they are as follows:

John Brown, USBA super featherweight title & NABF super featherweight title, fought World Title fights against Shane Mosley, Diego Corrales & Steve Forbes twice. He also fought Miguel Cotto, Lamont Peterson, Angel Manfredy, Jesus Chavez and stopped Gabriel Ruelas.

Valentin Contreras, former New Jersey & Regional Amateur Champion. Current International Boxing Commissioner for all Dominican fighters outside Dominican Republic, trainer, etc.

George Hill, Boxing judge since the 1980’s, who judged Gatti/Ward 2 & 3, Plus many World title holders such as Pernell Whitaker, Livingstone Bramble, Terry Norris, Tracy Harris Patterson, Sven Ottke, Charles Brewer, Bernard Hopkins, Ronald Wright, David Tua, Hasim Rahman, Michael Weaver, Jesse James Leija, Wladimir Klitschko vs. Samuel Peter, Arthur Abraham, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito vs. Kermit Cintron, Joshua Clottey vs. Zab Judah, Lucian Bute vs. Edison Miranda, Mikey Garcia, Bryant Jennings, Lamont Peterson vs. Amir Khan

Bill Johnson, Boxing Trainer who he has worked with everyone from former world champions such as his son Leavander, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Bruce Seldon and Carl “The Truth” Williams.

Andre Kut, Boxing Promoter, he started off as an Amateur Boxing, then trainer, manager and then promoter. Kut’s company, KEA Boxing, was first formed in 1992 to train and manage boxers, then he changed direction in 2004 to concentrate on promoting boxing events. He has kept boxing a live in New Jersey by running many club shows throughout the state.

Curtis Parker, USBA middleweight title, rated as high as #6 in the World back in the early 1980’s. Holds wins over Willie Monroe, Elisha Obed, Mike Colbert, Frank Fletcher & Ricky Stackhouse. He also lost 2 close decisions against Mustafa Hamsho. He also fought John Mugabi, Wilford Scypion, Alex Ramos, Michael Olajide, Frank Tate & Michael Nunn.

Daryl Peoples, the President of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) since May of 2010. Daryl has appeared on the Boxing Digest 50 most influential people in boxing list and has appeared on the boxing power index for the past 2 years.

Mark Taffet, an influential part of HBO fight game – Pay-per-view Marksman. HBO’s senior vice president of sports operations and pay-per-view. The title means Taffet is the primary man responsible for distributing and marketing matches that typically cost fight fans between an additional $40 and $50 to watch. The Rutgers graduate gets his hands much dirtier than that, however, and has thus long been one of the sport’s most anonymous-yet-influential power brokers.

Donald Trump, during the 1980’s Atlantic City was the capital of the Boxing World and Donald Trump had a lot to do with it, including many of Mike Tyson fights.

Micky Ward, all you have to say is Arturo Gatti. Their 3 fights were among the top trilogies in boxing history.  The Ring Magazine named three of Ward’s bouts Fight of the Year:
 Micky Ward vs. Emanuel Augustus (2001)
 Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti I (2002)
 Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti III (2003)

Dave Weinberg, produced a number of award-winning features and investigative pieces such as a story about mismatches in boxing. As far as awards are concerned, Dave been honored eight times in the last 13 years by the Boxing Writer’s Association of America in their national writing contest now known as the Bernies. He is also a voter for the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

POSTHUMOUSLY

Bouie Fisher, Boxing Trainer who trained Bernard Hopkins. He also trained Ivan Robinson and was a part of his two epic fights with Arturo Gatti. He also briefly trained Hasim Rohman along with other countless fighters in the Philadelphia area.

Kevin Smith, Up and coming Light Heavyweight who fought a draw against Mike Quarry only to have his life cut short just 2 months later.

Harry Wiley, Boxing Trainer who trained Sugar Ray Robinson throughout most of his career. He also helped train Henry Armstrong and was the trainer for Muhammad Ali when he fought Jimmy Ellis.

Also, the NEW JERSEY BOXING HALL OF FAME will be honoring their Senior Amateur, Junior Olympic Amateur & Professional Boxers of the Year as well as the Amateur Official & Coach of the Year Plus our “2015 Man of the Year”.

http://www.njboxinghof.org/


Saturday, September 26, 2015

Jacob Purdy House

Jacob Purdy House
60 Park Avenue
White Plains, NY 10603

The Jacob Purdy House served as General George Washington's headquarters in White Plains during the American Revolution from July 23rd to September 16, 1778. The house is also believed to have been Washington's headquarters while fighting took place near Chatterton Hill during the Battle of White Plains on October 28, 1776. The home was purchased by Samuel Purdy in 1730, and passed to his son Jacob around 1785. The home passed from the Purdy family to Samuel Mott in 1869. The home was in danger of demolition until the Battle of White Plains Monument Committee purchased the house in 1963.

Below is a link to the White Plains Historical Society site along with some photos that I took during my recent visit:

http://www.whiteplainshistory.org/JacobPurdyHouse.html

MW












Thursday, September 10, 2015

First Presbyterian Church of Oxford at Hazen, NJ

First Presbyterian Church of Oxford at Hazen
Highway 519 & Brass Castle Rd.
Belvidere, NJ 07823

Last month, I decided to visit the First Presbyterian Church of Oxford at Hazen in Belvidere, NJ. The actual congregation dates back to 1729, with the first church being built in 1744. I decided to visit this church in northwest New Jersey because of my ancestral connections to the church. My McMurtrie ancestors on my father's side of the family were members of this congregation. The grave stones of a distant uncle, Abraham McMurtrie, and distant cousins can still be seen in the church graveyard which sits next to the 1856 church building.

Below is a link to the church's official website, along with some photos I took during my recent visit:

http://firstoxfordpresbyterian.com/index.htm

MW

                                             

















Thursday, September 3, 2015

Reading Pagoda

Reading Pagoda
98 Duryea Dr
Reading, PA 19602

The Reading Pagoda was commissioned by William A. Witman, Sr. at a cost of $50,000 in 1906. Construction of the Pagoda was completed atop Mount Penn in 1908. The Pagoda was originally intended to be a luxury resort. However, financial issues prevented its opening. In 1911, the City of Reading purchased the Pagoda for $1 from local business owner Jonathon Mould. Today, the Reading Pagoda is a symbol of the community. The Reading Phillies, a minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, use the Pagoda as an alternate team logo.

Below is a link to the official Reading Pagoda website, along with some photos I took during my recent visit:

http://www.readingpagoda.com/

MW