THE CHAMPAIGN-URBANA ATHLETIC CLUB

In the late 60s and early 70s two men in Champaign-Urbana thought they would try to do something for our youth. Mr. Khair Aazaad Ali (a.k.a.) Freddie Davis, with the help of Anderson Epps, started a Boxing Club.

The first facility, leased from the Champaign Park District, was an old garage behind Washington School the Park District used as storage. They charged $1.00 per year for the men to lease the garage. There was also a grant given to the men from the Volunteer Illini Project at the University of Illinois, an organization that is still active today. The grant was used to purchase equipment. Francis Nelson Health Center offered free physical examinations to each youth who had permission from their parents to participate in the club.

Anderson Epps, a former boxing champion, wanted to do something to help some of the kids who had gotten into trouble at the Douglass Center with the law. After there had been a "brawl" (as Epps called it) at the Douglass Center, Epps took time off his job to go to court to talk to Judge G.R. Skillman. He spoke about offering a boxing program to these young men to show them there were other things to do besides getting into trouble. Judge Skillman agreed something needed to be done, and believed Epps deserved a chance to try to do something with the youths.

The first two matches were held at the Douglass Center, and one was held at the Champaign Armory on Park Street. Milton Norwood and Oscar Gipson were referees and timekeepers. Epps was a Golden Gloves fighter who fought in Chicago. In 1958, as an airman at Chanute Air Force Base, he won a Chanute Boxing Championship and a championship in the Great Lakes Tournament. He also won one match in the national tournament in California.

Khair Aazaad Ali (a.k.a.) Freddie Davis was a Golden Gloves fighter. He ended his boxing career with ninety-nine wins, seven losses, and one draw. One of the former boxers who helped Ali was Fred Newbill, a professional boxer fighting out of Cincinnati who was in line to fight Sugar Ray Robinson until he lost a fight earlier to disqualify him.

A few local men who fought with the Golden Gloves were Edward Johnson, John Watson, Wardell Briggs, Charlie Williams, Linford (Duke) Russell, Leroy Knox, Jim McClain, Jasper Osler, and the very first national champion from Champaign, Anthony Jones. Snapper Johnson and Rudy Evans would referee and assist with boxing matches.

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