HARRY WILEY BELONGS IN THE HALL OF FAME By Harry Wiley, Jr.

My dad was Harry Wiley the trainer of Sugar Ray Robinson . He was born 10/23/07 in New York City. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in Manhattan he decided to have a go at boxing. He started well and won his first seven fights, then "disaster" struck. He got hit by a Taxi and broke his leg. That was sadly the end of what could have been a promising boxing career but he had developed a love for this fine sport and started hanging around gyms. It was there he met Jack Blackburn and started working with young boxers, mostly amateurs. He also worked with Henry Armstrong, famous for being the first fighter to hold three world championships simultaneously.

Back then being a trainer was different! You couldn't just carry a bucket or a water bottle, or yell at your fighter, "you Da Man!" Or as I recently heard a corner man yell at his fighter "You' re the big DAWG!" Now go out there and eat." No you had to actually know something about the game. I am relating these stories as I remember hearing them from my dad as he spoke with his friends and his other fighters.

First of all, as a corner man, (notice I didn't say trainer, that's a whole other job) your job was to assist the trainer or what they call the chief second, the man responsible for the corner. These duties may include taking care of the mouthpiece, the boxer's gloves, shoes. Yes, shoes! New boxing shoes were, and still are, smooth and must be "marked up, " with scissors or a fingernail file. Your job was not yelling at anybody, actually you weren't allowed to say anything, that was the trainer's job and you were not to ever interfere during the round breaks. The fighter needs to hear only one voice in the corner and that's the voice of the head trainer. In Ray's case, his corner was run by two old "smoothies," manager George Gainsford and my dad Harry Wiley, who were with him from the beginning, at Salem crescent church in Harlem.

There was no yelling "Come on," "You're 'Da Man'" stuff, everything was small and concentrated, a wink and a nod between George and Harry was all that was needed. This made seamless, smooth running of the corner. The prior was not a statement from me but from an article I read in Ring magazine, about the great Sugar man's corner. I would like to also mention a seldom heard name for that corner, the late Pee Wee Beale, they used to call him, now I don't know Mr Beale's real name but he played a major part in Ray's early corner, assisting with mouthpiece, gloves, etc. He was the equipment man, and was priceless to Ray until he passed away from cancer, I am not sure what year.

I have fond memories of my dad's stories about Ray. Like the smartest fighter he said he ever fought, which was not as most people would think, LaMotta! My dad said it was Fritzie Zivic. Ray said "that little so and so thought he had an answer for everything, but I showed him." He did, he beat him twice by decision. Every one begged George and my dad to not let Ray fight him, but Ray insisted he could take him, and he was right! As I have said to Saddo in my initial letter, I think it's a shame that no one from Ray's corner is in the IBHOF (International Boxing Hall of Fame). My dad played a pivotal role as trainer to the greatest fighter pound for pound in the history of the game, and on top of that he was Ali's trainer for two fights, Ellis and Mathis before he died.

Again I would like to say thanks to Saddo for allowing me this opportunity and for people to vent to the IBHOF about letting my Dad in. Also to thank all of you who will be kind enough to drop a line to them and hopefully you will be hearing from me again soon.

Thanks,
Harry Wiley Jr.

Saddo's Reply and Comments:

Thanks Harry …

Ok, guys the reason this article has been written is for a man who devoted his life to Boxing and seems to have been forgotten about and let down by the historians of the sport! I for one will be sending an email to the Hall of Fame to ask for Harry Wiley to be included and would appreciate it if you guys done the same. He deserves to be in and it would be a crime if we carry on forgetting his achievements because "HE TRAINED THE BEST P4P BOXER OF ALL TIME." What more is needed! I have included the Hall of Fame's Email address at the bottom of this page, so please use it. The more emails they get the more chance they will add him. We can make the difference with your help. PLEASE HELP.

Regards,

Saddo

Contact them in email at  the International Hall of Fame
Or Via snail mail/FAX/phone at:
International Boxing Hall of Fame
1 Hall of Fame Drive
Canastota, NY 13032
Phone: (315) 697-7095, Fax: (315) 697-5356