Wilbert McClure
Wilbert McClure | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 picture of Wilbert McClure from 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 29, 1938 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | August 7, 2020 (aged 81) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Skeeter | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight(s) | Middleweight | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 33 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Draws | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Wilbert McClure (October 29, 1938 – August 6, 2020)[2] was an American professional boxer. As an amateur he won gold medals in the light middleweight division at the 1959 Pan American Games and the 1960 Olympics. As a professional he competed from 1961 to 1970.
Personal[edit]
McClure earned degrees in literature and philosophy in 1961 from the University of Toledo and a doctorate in psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1973. He later became a Massachusetts state boxing commissioner. He was honored in August 2012 for his life's work by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School.[3]
McClure was found guilty in Wilson v. McClure et al, the first legal case in the US to reach a federal court jury to challenge the concept of same-race discrimination in September 2000. The case was brought by race-black licensed boxing promoter Zeke Wilson against a state sports commission headed by the race-black chairman for damage reparations and punitive redress after his right to conduct professional boxing events was violated.[4]
In this case, race-white boxing commissioner William Pender performed direct discriminatory acts, while the race-black commission chairman Wilbert McClure failed to provide the promoter sufficient protection under his authority and cooperated in the unjust cancellation of a series of boxing events, causing financial harm to the promoter. A unanimous jury verdict found that the race-black Chairman was guilty of racial discrimination along with race-white Commissioner William Pender and both defendants were assessed punitive damages in addition to the compensatory damages awarded by the jury.[5]
The precedent-setting case is the subject of the non-fiction book, The Eighth Round. The book is being adapted into a motion picture by the same title.
Amateur career[edit]
McClure defeated Carmelo Bossi to win the light middleweight gold medal for the United States at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.
Amateur highlights[edit]
- 1960 U.S. Olympic trials 156-lb champion
- 1960 National AAU 156-lb champion
- 1959 Named Outstanding Amateur Boxer in the U.S.
- 1959 Pan American Games gold medalist
- 1959 National AAU champion
- 1959 160 lb Intercity Golden Gloves champion
- 1958 & 1959 160 lb Chicago Golden Gloves champion
- 1958 International Diamond Belt champion, Mexico City
Professional career[edit]
Nicknamed "Skeeter", McClure turned pro in 1961 and had limited success. He never fought for a major title, and lost to notable pros Luis Manuel Rodríguez, Rubin Carter (and also drew once with Carter), and Johnny Pritchett before retiring in 1970 with a record of 24 wins (12 by Knockout), eight losses and one draw.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "Boxing record for Wilbert McClure". BoxRec.
- ^ Hauser, Thomas (August 7, 2020). "Wilbert "Skeeter" McClure Dies At Age 81". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Annual Martha's Vineyard Forum: Between the Lines: Race and Gender in Sports in the 21st Century". Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ^ Wilson v. McClure et al, 135 F. Supp. 2d 66 (D. Mass. 2001).
- ^ 29 M.L.W. 274.
- ^ https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/16495
External links[edit]
- Boxing record for Wilbert McClure from BoxRec (registration required)
1952–2000: 67–71 kg | |
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71 kg (1955–1999) | |
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- 2020 deaths
- 1938 births
- African-American boxers
- Light-middleweight boxers
- Boxers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Olympic boxers for the United States
- Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing
- Boxers at the 1959 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in boxing
- University of Toledo alumni
- Wayne State University alumni
- Boxers from Ohio
- Sportspeople from Toledo, Ohio
- American male boxers
- Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games
- 20th-century African-American sportspeople
- 21st-century African-American people