JIMMY WALTERS

JAMES (Jimmy) WALTER "ring of desire"

by Brian Zelley with detailed data provided by Steven Kodiak.

(Steve became one of the original six administrators for the

newly created British Columbia Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame);

Photo: (1954 JIMMY WALTERS and  BARNEY ROSS)

Jimmy had an interesting amateur boxing journey
 from the late Forties and into the early Sixties
some of which was recorded
by Jimmy in his book "Ring of Desire".

Special thanks to Steven Kodiak for providing
 the pages of the autobiography that were given
 to him by Jimmy before he  passed away.  

The Early Years beginning in the late forties:

The boxing journey of Jimmy Walters begins in the "Eagletime

Boxing Club" in the winter of 1949 when he walked into the

gym that was located in the basement of the notable "Penthouse"

in downtown Vancouver, BC, Canada.  Jimmy's introduction

to boxing came at the hands of a seasoned boxer by the name

of Sid Morrisroe.

In his early days as a junior boxer, Jimmy won his share of 

club shows and tournaments and was one of the earlier

boxers to be named an "Emerald Boy" as the best boxer

in the junior open tournament, but at the age of  16

Jimmy would win his first  senior tournament

at the 1954 BC Golden Gloves at Vancouver's

exhibition gardens.  Walters would enter the

lightweight division but to make the finals, Jimmy would

have to defeat three opponents.  Also, in the division

was that experienced knockout artist Bill (Curly) Adams.

At the time of his first golden gloves tournament, Jimmy

was coached by  Bert Lowes and Pat West at the 

South Hill Boxing Club.  And, in a wild fight with Adams,

it was Jimmy Walters that  won the day.  For his achievement,

Walters would be named "Golden Boy runner-up" while the

Golden Boy would be the tough scrapper from the east end

named Billy Stone. In a follow=up Diamond Belt tournament

Jimmy Walters would end up with a split decision loss to 

USA army boxer  Wardell Jackson.

Beyond 1954, Jimmy Walters rocks-on in the ring:

It was in 1955, when Jimmy, Lloyd Dupas and another boxer

would travel to Tacoma for the '55 Tacoma Golden Gloves.

In the finals, after two wins, Jimmy would defeat Denny Moyer,

who would one day become the world light-middleweight

pro boxing champion of the world.  Moyer would also train

with many one time BC boxers over the years such as

ALAN CURTIS, the 1960 Golden Boy from Victoria, BC.

The Road To The 1958 Commonwealth Games

Between 1955 and 1958, Jimmy would win a good share of

tournaments including a Canadian title on the road to the

Commonwealth Games 

Alumni of the South Hill and Firefighters:

These are just a few of the faces of boxers that fought under the

direction of Bert Lowes and Pat West.  There would be many more
Mann, Tohill, Deugau,  Coulson, Kacer, Sinitsin, MacDonald 
Ostapovich, McMillan, Jack Snaith, Roger Adolph and many more.

The group photo includes Bert and Pat and boxers such as Jimmy and Lindy

The individuals include: Freddy Fuller, Dick Findlay, Dave Wylie, Brian Zelley, 
Gordie Lawson,  Jimmy Walters, John Gamble, Frank Scott and Lindy Lindmoser.