Emanuel Steward was born on July 7th, 1944 in Bottom Creek, West Virginia. He was the first child of Manuel, a coal miner, and Catherine Steward. In the mountainous area where he was raised, Emanuel spent most of his free time engaging in rough and tough physical activities. His favorite pastimes included swimming, wrestling, playing cowboys, dodge ball, shooting marbles and boxing. When he was seven years old he received a pair of boxing gloves as a Christmas gift. At the time, no one would have ever imagined that these boxing gloves would begin a journey to fame, fortune and an historical legacy. Emanuel became totally fascinated with this new game called boxing. He'd often sleep with his boxing gloves on his bed and would carry them everywhere he went. After beating up all of his friends - nobody wanted to play boxing with little Emanuel anymore, so he became creative and made makeshift punching bags by filling his pillowcases with newspapers and hanging them on tree limbs in his yard, where he'd punch at them until they burst. His parents would punish him for ruining their pillowcases, but little Emanuel's desire for boxing was growing rapidly, much to his parents displeasure. When he was eight, in hopes of quelling Emanuel's thirst for boxing, it was decided to hold an illegal and unsanctioned boxing match for him. They recruited a mischievous boy from a neighboring town to fight Emanuel. The 'opponent' was a tough kid and was known as a bully around the town, he was expected to beat Emanuel and end his passion for boxing. In a cigar-smoke filled barn, bets exchanged hands as grown men held the ropes up to form a makeshift boxing ring. The two youngsters entered the ring and begun fighting. Emanuel ventually landed a punch to the other boys nose forcing him to tears and causing it to beed. Emanuel didn't stop throwing punches until an old man jumped into the ring and raised Emanuel's hand in victory. Thus began a series of unsanctioned boxing matches that Emanuel engaged in over the next three years. THE MOVE TO DETROIT When he was eleven, his parents divorced. Emanuel's mother Catherine packed up her belongings and headed north for a new life in Detroit. With her she took Emanuel and his two younger sisters, Diane and Lavern. Emanuel didn't quite understand why he had to leave his West Virginia home and move all the way to Detroit, a place he had never even heard of. With his head pressed against the window of the train watching the rain, he cried all the way. He was afraid of what life might be like in this new city. After a 24 hr rainy train ride he arrived in Detroit on a Saturday night. Sunday morning he got into a fight on the front lawn with a neighborhood kid. It wasn't easy for a new kid in town, especially for one with a southern accent who was prone to fighting. Before long, Steward once again found himself getting into fights. In an effort to get Emanuel off the streets his mother sent him to the local Catholic Youth Organization (C.Y.O.) and ordered him to resume his boxing career. He was the youngest boxer in the C.Y.O gym, and before long, he acquired the nickname "Sonny". Although his mother found work at a small factory that manufactured folding doors, Emanuel assumed the role of the 'man of the house', working odd jobs to contribute to the family income. He delivered newspapers in the evenings and on weekends assisted with groceries for locals at the super-market. He'd also cut peoples grass, rake leaves and do odd-jobs to earn extra money for his family. During the winter months he'd shovel snow, in the summer months he sold ice cream. Emanuel made his ice-cream sales from a bicycle, which he rode for up to 14 hours a day, but with these earnings he was able to buy his own automobile before he was the legal age to drive it. When Emanuel was thirteen, the boxing program at the C.Y.O. was shut down. As a result, he once again drifted back onto the streets and was having numerous run-ins with the law for street fighting. Soon the authorities were looking for him. Apparently he had left another young man gravely injured after a street fight. Emanuel now faced the possibility of being locked up. Since he was an honor student in school and rarely got into trouble when he was a member of a boxing gym, a deal was struck with the youth correctional department. The deal stated that if Emanuel resumed his boxing career and stayed out of street fights he would avoid serving time in juvenile detention. At the order of the authorities, Emanuel began training at the Brewster Recreation Center (once the home gym of Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson) in Detroit. He began training under the experienced tutelage of Jimmy Myland and Festus Trice, whom Emanuel credits with teaching him the fundamentals and proper balance. Whilst at Brewster he won back-to-back Detroit Parks and Recreation Junior Tournament titles in 1959 and 1960. CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR THE REST OF THE STORY |
| IRELAND 10 Years of the Belfast Kronk Boxing Gym “It was 10 years ago, in September 1996, that the Belfast Kronk Boxing Gym, formerly known as the Belfast ABC, found a home in the surroundings of an old Presbyterian Church built over a century and a half ago,” writes club secretary, Damian McCann. The gym at the 174 Trust Complex, Duncairn Avenue, was located at the end of a long dark corridor in a large room that was in much need of repair: a hole in the roof, broken windows, damp walls and woodworm in the floor. Never the less, the boxing club was welcomed with enthusiasm by the local community, and its popularity has grown with young people ever since. The 6 founding members who laid the building blocks for the gym to grow and flourish, were Bobby McAllister, Tony Dunlop, Pat McStravick, Jim Coogan, the late Brian Rice and myself. Bobby McAllister, ‘The Quiet Man’ of Irish Boxing was the chief architect of the project and had ambitious goals for the gym. He brought with him a lifetime of experience and wisdom as a boxing trainer; previously training hundreds of boxers and an endless list of champions from the New Lodge area and beyond. He moulded their styles and groomed their talent, knowing their every move and heart beat. He groomed champions such as Sammy Vernon, Patsy Reid, John Ward, Liam Lynch, Brian Rice, John Brown, Tony Dunlop, Gerry and Sam Storey, Hugh and Sean Russell, Kenny and Roy Webb, Jimmy and Henry Carson and many more. We opened our first bank account with a modest donation of £20. Thanks to the generosity of the local business community and donations from America over the last ten years, the gym is now in a sound financial position. The boxing club has always worked in partnership with Bill Shaw, Director of the 174 Trust, and his staff; sharing the same goals of improving and making a difference in the quality of young people’s lives in North Belfast. The gym has regularly organized boxing events in the old church hall, which mystical charm creates a wonderful atmosphere. The events have provided many enjoyable evenings of boxing and an arena of community engagement for young and old people. During the past 10 years, the trainers at the gym have sweated and toiled with the boxers 5 nights a week in a voluntary capacity. The results of their efforts have produced a host of talented champions at all levels of the sport in which families, schools and the local community can be proud of. The first boxers in the early years to bring home Antrim, Ulster and Irish championship medals to the club were Stephen and David Graham, Caoimhin Stanton, Sean Dowds, James ‘The Future’ Ferrin, Christopher Fields, Darren Hunter, Declan Lismore, Andrew Rossbottom, Sean O’Neill and Declan McCullough. As time past, during 1999 and 2000, more talent was coming through the ranks, bringing unprecedented performances and success to the gym. Some of these boxers included Michael Mc Allister, Ed ‘The Hurraine’ Graham, Peter Turley, Connor Fields, John Marley, Brendan McIkenny and Vincent Lismore. In February 2001, Barry McGuigan former Irish WBA World Featherweight Champion, officially opened an extensively refurbished gym, thanks to £80,000 funding from the Sports Lottery Fund, Belfast Regeneration Office and Belfast European Partnership Board. In June 2001, The World Senior Amateur Boxing Championships were hosted at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast. Our club was honoured as the gym to be used as a satellite training camp firstly by the USA Team and then by 35 other countries from around the globe. During 2001 and 2002, new talent drifted into the gym, also winning silverware. These boxers included Kevin Maxwell, Connolly Campbell, Cairan ‘Coco’ McAuley, Johnny Vise, Johnny and Patrick Delaney, Anthony Carson, Johnny and Patrick Purcell, Paul and Cairan and Quinn, Matthew McKenna, Michael Quigley , Ivan McTasney and Damian Maguire, just to name a few. In May 2002, two of the club’s reigning talented Irish Champions, Cairan ‘Coco’ McAuley and James ‘The Future’ Ferrin won two Gold Medals at the Four Nation Championships in Wales. In June 2002, after receiving correspondence and promotional material about the club, USA Coach Emanuel Steward from the world famous Detroit Kronk Boxing Gym telephoned me. It was the beginning of a unique friendship between a boxing legend and a small Irish amateur boxing club. Steward had by this time trained over 30 World Champions, winning over 40 professional titles and purses worth millions of dollars. World Champions such as Thomas ‘The Hitman’ Hearns, Lennox Lewis, Hilmer Kenty, Mark Breland, Jimmy Paul, Michael Moorer, Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, Evander Holyfield, Mike McCallum, Gerald McClellan, Aaron Pryor and Leon Spinks have all been trained by Steward. In September 2002, another relationship and friendship was to be forged between club coach Tony Dunlop and the most talented amateur boxer in Ireland for a generation, eighteen year old Andy Lee from Limerick. Dunlop was chosen as Irish National Team Coach for the trip to the prestigious World Juniors Championships in Cuba, with young Andy Lee on the team. Dunlop was in the Limerick’s southpaw’s corner when he won a silver medal for Ireland against top USA Champion, Jesus Gonzales in the 71Kg Division. In 2003 and 2004, more boxers joined the gym, emulating the history of the club and winning titles: Ryan Burnett, David and Jonathan Ferrin, Daniel McAllister, Matthew and Brendan McWIliams, Sean McErlean, Ryan Morgan, Jason Pedlow, and Niall Rooney. In May 2003, former Heavyweight World Champion, Joe Frazier his son Marvin, paid a special visit to the gym, checking out the talent and signing autographs. Monday, October 11, 2004, Emanuel Steward, along with the legendary 7 times World Champion, Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns, arrived in Belfast for the official renaming of the club: “The Belfast Kronk Boxing Gym”. This cemented the relationship between Emanuel and our club. Both boxing icons were absolutely thrilled to be at the gym. The rapturous Irish welcome and applause overwhelmed the two boxing celebrities as they entered the door of the gym to a sea of boxing fans, eager to meet their boxing heroes for autographs and a personal picture. The occasion was also an opportunity for Steward to meet in person, 2004 Athens Olympian and European Bronze Senior Medallist, Andy Lee. Over the next 15 months, Belfast Kronk officials were to play a pivotal role in successfully negotiating and securing the most lucrative boxer management deal ever in Ireland and of the 2004 Olympics, between Steward and Lee. Now living at Steward’s home in Detroit, Andy Lee has a record of 5 wins out 5 fights with 3 KOs, since his professional debut in March 2006. In November 2005, after domestic success in the local championships, the club travelled as invited guests to Newcastle, England. The club participated in a boxing event organized by Bilton Hall ABC, and met the City’s Mayor Bill Lynch for lunch at the town hall. Since January 2006, Brendan and Matthew McWilliams, Ryan Burnett, James Ferrin and Martin Hackett have won Antrim, Ulster and Irish titles. Young prospects for the future are Stephen McVeigh, Brandon Kane and Tieran Lindsay. Top club official, Pat McStravick commented, “The last 10 years have been very eventful with a lot of kids winning a championship medal of one sort or other. Our doors have always been open to get kids off the streets and into a sport, which has been very fulfilling. There has been a lot of goodwill towards the gym, and if the next ten years are half as good, we will have done well.” There have been many talented boxers who have come through the doors of the Kronk Gym, some with immense style and skills, others with limited ability, but sincere efforts. If I was to pick one boxer who demonstrated bravery and determination, loyalty and dedication, who never complained and would box anyone at the drop of a hat, his name is Brendan McIkenny. Brendan had the heart of a lion, a true champion of the ring: modest in winning, and gracious in defeat. The Belfast Kronk Boxing Gym would like to take this opportunity to thank Emanuel Steward, 174 Trust, as well as the businesses and individuals who have helped and supported the club over the past ten years. |
| Kronk History |
| EMANUEL STEWARD THE EARLY YEARS |
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Kronk Store. 734-663-5421
Kronk Store. 734-663-5421