Boxing Halls of Fame
The first Boxing Hall of Fame was established by The Ring in 1954. Annual elections in the Modern, Old-Timer, and Pioneer categories were held from then through 1987. The magazine’s increased financial difficulties brought a temporary halt to publication, and its Hall of Fame was discontinued.
Independent efforts
Efforts at establishing several independent Boxing Halls of Fame were started in the 1980s, two of which were launched. The World Boxing Hall of Fame formed in 1980, and discontinued in 2010, was really an annual dinner hosted in Los Angeles; its lists of inductees exist on paper. The International Boxing Hall of Fame was established in 1989 in Canastota, N.Y., the birthplace of Carmen Basilio and his nephew, Billy Backus. Elections have been held annually since that time, the first induction ceremony taking place in June, 1990. The original categories of Modern, Old-Timer, Pioneer, and Non-Participant were joined by an Observers category in 2000-2001. (Journalists were previously included in the Non-Participants.) i
Categories
Modern
OLD-TIMER
PIONEER
BARE-KNUCKLE
MERITORIOUS SERVICE
NON-PARTICIPANT
OBSERVERS
i Goldman, Herbert G. BOXING: A Worldwide Record of Bouts and Boxers. Volume 4, Part V. The Organization of The Sport – Halls of Fame