Stanley Weston

For the New Zealand rugby league international, see Stan Weston.

Stanley Weston (September 25, 1919, The Bronx, New York – April 11, 2002, Long Island, New York) was a prolific American 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.

Born to Bessie and Jacob Weinburger in the Bronx, Weston became enamored with the sport of boxing at the age of 10 after his father brought home a copy of The Ring magazine. When he was 13, Weston met The Ring founder and editor Nat Fleischer and was soon mowing the lawn and washing the car at the home of the venerable scribe. Fleischer took Weston under his wing and the pair was inseparable. After graduating from high school in 1937, Weston took a summer job with The Ring that lasted 14 years. From wrapping subscriptions, clipping newspapers and sweeping floors he was soon an integral part of Fleischer's staff. In 1939, Weston, a budding artist, painted a picture of Billy Conn that would be the first of 57 Ring covers.[1]

Somewhat paradoxically, daughter Toby Weston Cone said of her father, he "never liked going to boxing matches but was extremely interested in the sport. He felt it paralleled life in many ways."[2]

Publishing 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.

Weston, a retired Air Force major, had served in both World War II and in Korea. He took a four-year leave in 1941 to serve in the Air Force during World War II. He returned to civilian life and The Ring in 1945, but left the publication in 1951. He served in the Korean War and then launched Boxing & Wrestling, competing with The Ring. His office, art studio and typewriter were all 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.

He launched Boxing Illustrated/Wrestling News in 1958 and published it until 1964. Over the years he launched numerous publications. In addition to The Ring, the roster of magazines Weston published included Boxing & Wrestling, Boxing Illustrated, Boxing International, World Boxing, Boxing, The Boxing Almanac, Big Book of Boxing, KO, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, The Wrestler, Inside Wrestling and Sports Review Wrestling. Over his 65 year career, Weston published approximately 2,000 magazines devoted to pugilism.[1]

Weston was also a sentimentalist. 52 years after joining The Ring as a stock boy, Weston purchased the magazine that gave him his first job. He not only resurrected the magazine from its imminent death, he re-established the publication as the definitive source for boxing news and views.

Artist, photographer, author

An outstanding boxing artist, Weston painted 57 covers for The Ring with his first cover, a painting of Billy Conn, for the December 1939 issue. Weston was also a 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.

He was also an author who penned several of the definitive books on boxing history, including History of the Heavyweights, The Heavyweight Champions, The Best of The Ring, The Chronicle of Boxing and, with Steve Farhood, 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.

Personal life

Weston was married to the former Hope Patrick for 38 years. She died in 1980. He was survived by two daughters, Toby Weston Cone and Barbara Harris, along with four grandchildren & five great grandchildren.[2] Throughout his seven decades long career in boxing, he amassed one of the largest collections of boxing memorabilia in the world.[3]

Weston also provided aid to destitute boxers in need of assistance, but he did so under one condition, that the source of the contribution remain anonymous.

Championships and accomplishments

The PWI Stanley Weston Award for lifetime achievement by a professional wrestling personality was named for him in 2003, having been awarded annually by Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine since 1981.

Published "History of Heavyweight Champions" Bantam Books 1972

Ring Magaine: Boxing in the 20th Century Hardcover – August, 1993 by Stanley Weston (Editor), Steven Farhood (Drawings)

HBO Boxing Special - assisted in the production of the Ten Greatest Heavyweight Boxing Champions - consultant and footage

BB"History of Boxing" Consultant and footage

Sports Illustrated

References

  1. 1 2 International Boxing Hall of Fame, “Stanley Weston”
  2. 1 2 . NewsDay, OBITUARIES / Stanley Weston, 82, Once Publisher of The Ring, Published: April 23, 2002
  3. ↑ Diamond International Galleries, “Knockout: Stanley Weston's Collecting Legacy”
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