Stanley Weston
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Stanley Weston’was a boxing afficionado who became a prolific sportswriter and sports photographer. He promoted the sport of boxing in innumerable ways throughout his career. Weston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006.
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[edit] Early Career - Boxing Publications
Weston's love affair with boxing started in 1937 when he landed a summer job as a stock boy at The Ring magazine where he worked for his neighbor, and founder of The Ring, Nat Fleischer. Learning from Fleischer, Weston immersed himself in nearly every facet of the boxing magazine business. He was a writer, photographer, graphic designer, artist and eventually a publisher. In 1953 Weston launched a magazine whose title was Boxing & Wrestling, a competitor to The Ring. His office, art studio and typewriter were all conveniently located on his kitchen table. It was a tough time for Weston. He was competing against his old boss and one of the most popular magazines of the time – yet he persevered.
[edit] Magazine Publisher
Over the years he would launch numerous publications, forever coming up with interesting angles and cover stories that kept fight fans from around the world reaching for his magazines.
Stanley Weston followed his goals and made history. He made history because he was a prolific recorder of history – boxing history. In addition to The Ring, the impressive roster of magazines Weston published included Boxing & Wrestling, Boxing Illustrated, Boxing International, World Boxing, Boxing, The Boxing Almanac, Big Book of Boxing, and KO. In fact, in the history of sports publishing, no one has published more boxing magazines than Stanley Weston. Over his 65 year career, Weston published approximately 2,000 magazines devoted to pugilism, a feat that is certain to stand as one of the most enduring records in magazine publishing.
[edit] Artist, Photographer, Author
Most members of the Boxing Hall of Fame who have been enshrined as an observer earned their rightful place for their accomplishments in just one facet of the sweet science. Perhaps they were writers, photographers, historians or artists. But for those who knew Mr. Weston, as he was affectionately referred to by his loyal employees, his expertise was not limited to just one aspect of boxing. Instead, he was truly a boxing renaissance man with expertise in many areas.
He was a talented boxing artist who painted 57 covers for The Ring – with his first cover – an extraordinary painting of Billy Conn, for the December 1939 issue.
He was a respected author who penned several of the definitive books on boxing history, including History of the Heavyweights, The Best of The Ring, and with Steve Farhood, he authored The Ring: Boxing the 20th Century, which, according to Amazon.com, ranks as one of the top 15 “must-have” boxing books of all time.
Stanley Weston was also an accomplished photographer, who, according to his own estimate, shot over 100,000 boxing photos – the majority of which are housed in the archives of The Ring magazine and add to the venerable publication’s reputation as the Bible of Boxing.
[edit] Collector of Boxing Memorabilia
While Stanley Weston used the pages of his magazines to tell many stories, he preferred to keep his own story to himself. Never a self-promoter or one to seek the spotlight, instead he preferred to let others get the credit. And he used his low-profile and boxing knowledge to his advantage. Throughout his 7 decades long career in boxing, he amassed one of the largest collections of boxing memorabilia in the world. A collection that was acquired one piece at a time with the enthusiasm of a true fight fan who knew the significance and story behind each of the thousands of pieces in his collection.
[edit] Philanthropist, Sentimentalist
Stanley Weston also gave back generously to the sport he loved and to the fighters he respected. As fellow enshrinee Hank Kaplan can attest, when fighters Weston knew and admired were destitute and in need of financial assistance, Stanley Weston would provide aid, but he did so under one condition, that the source of the contribution remain anonymous.
Finally, Stanley Weston was a sentimentalist. 52 years after joining The Ring as a stock boy, Weston purchased the magazine that gave him his first job in the sweet science. He not only resurrected the magazine from its imminent death, he re-established the publication as the definitive source for boxing news and views.
Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame: Class of 2006
