An amateur boxing official, former coach and long-time member of the Cloverdale Legion is being remembered through the establishment of a new trophy being awarded for the first time at this Sunday’s tournament at Branch 6.
The Jim Gallagher Memorial Trophy has been established to honour the many contributions the late Cloverdale resident made to amateur boxing in B.C. and acrosss Canada.
Gallagher, who passed away last year at 78, is a 2013 inductee to the B.C. Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame, and he was named Boxing B.C.’s Official of the Year in 2011, says John O’Shea, one of the organizers of this Sunday’s tournament and past president of Boxing Canada.
A founding partner of Gallagher Bros. Contracting Ltd., Gallagher was a long-serving coach at the Cloverdale Boxing Club.
“He was one of the small band of people who brought a Liverpool boxing team here in 1976, and the international relationship has continued ever since,” said O’Shea, who, like Gallagher, originally hailed from Liverpool.
Gallagher was an important boxing official both nationally, and provincially.
“He was a true volunteer,” said O’Shea. He was a judge at amateur boxing events for more than 40 years.
“He’s judged at thousands and thousands of amateur boxing shows,” he said. “He’s been a judge at every amateur ring in the Lower Mainland.”
His community contributions include serving as a past volunteer with the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association.
The inaugural recipient of the Jim Gallagher Memorial Trophy is Carol Skanks, who’s remained a tireless volunteer with the Maple Ridge Boxing Club into her 80s.
“She’s an unsung hero,” O’Shea said.
The amateur boxing tournament starts at 1:30 p.m. at the Cloverdale Legion, at 17567 57 Avenue, on June 23.
Eight bouts are expected.
