Induction Ceremony Island Sports

MIKE CAIRD's BOXING STORY:  By Brian W. Zelley

To begin the story we need to step back in time to the mid-Fifties where amateur boxing in Greater Victoria was going through one of it's strong periods with the efforts of the boxing organization called the "Greater Victoria  Amateur Boxing Association".

During the mid-Fifties, the Association along with the "Victoria Daily Times" hosted various tournaments including the Vancouver Island Golden Gloves with assistance from the BC Boxing Commission and Island representatives Al Duval, Andy Patteson and Nick Lystar.  Others involved included the like of Jack O'Hanley, Dusty Mair, and Howard Curling.

In addition to his role in the Golden Gloves tournaments, Nick Lystar also served as a boxing coach with the Esquimalt Boxing Club.  In 1954, one of his boxers that boxed in the 1954 Vancouver island  Golden Gloves tournament was Eddie Robertson.  Then one of his new boxers was Mike Caird.   Caird would win in the light-middleweight division in the 1963 BC Golden Gloves and compete in the 1964 Vancouver Island Championships before retiring from active boxing competition.

After his time as a boxer. Caird began coaching in various locations in the late Sixties.   However,  the 1973/74  season would see a dramatic growth in the sport with the arrival of Brian Zelley and Dan Wright.  Both Brian and Dan were the two co-founder of the Nanaimo Boxing Club in 1971, and in 1973 Nanaimo boxer Jack Snaith won the Canadian senior light-flyweight amateur boxing championship, and various boxers in Nanaimo were beginning to make their mark on the Provincial stage.

Before the arrival of Wright and Zelley, Caird was assisted by Gordie McGaw and Larry Montgomery, and the two key boxers were Geoff Robinson and Wayne Crowe.  With the arrival of the two from Nanaimo came additional experience in the form of boxing experience, organization and publicity.  The door was now open at the Victoria Boxing Club to reach new levels in competition and provide support for a growing sport.

The first major achievement was that of Wayne Crowe would become a silver medalist in the Canadian senior amateur boxing championships in 1974.  The achievement by Crowe was only the beginning.  For the 1974/1975 season, Saskatchewan boxer Ian Weir would join the club to help in sparring and compete in several bouts.

In September 1974, Zelley travelled to Vancouver to attend the AGM of the British Columbia Amateur Boxing Association and received notice of some of the coming competitions.  

During the 74/75 season a new member to the club would be Danny O'Sullivan.  With seasoned veterans to help, O'Sullivan competed in the novice senior competition at the 1975 BC Silver Gloves tournament.  With coaching from Caird and Zelley, and additional sparring from boxers like Crowe and Weir, O'Sullivan won his weight class in the light-welterweight division and was named Silver Boy runner-up.  However, Dan Wright left Victoria boxing for a two year period and rejoined the Nanimo Boxing Club for one season and the North Vancouver North West Eagles Boxing Club with elite coach Elio Ius and his team of Mel Ius and Terry Cooke.

Another important contribution for Caird and members of the Victoria Boxing Club was some financial support from the London Boxing & Athletic Club.  And in the 1975/1976 season, the London Boxing Club would sponsor the boxing club for one year until the Victoria Athletic Association was formed in August 1976.  The new training facilities would be at the Quadra Athletic Associations "mortgaged building" on Quadra street.

(NOTE:  For more on Mike Caird. there are several other stories about Caird and amateur boxing in Victoria, Vancouver Island and British Columbia).

(NOTE:  Another interesting area of growth was the appointment of Howard Curling as the Vancouver Island Boxing Commissioner in the mid-Seventies.  Howard had previously been involved in boxing in the Fifties and early Sixties).