U.S. Sugar Stamp Released
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Today, April 7 2006, the USPS releases the Sugar Ray Robinson Stamp In New York, NY. This 39-cent commemorative will be available in a PSA pane of 20.
I am not sure whether to write this in the fashion of Howard Cosell or the Cowardly Lion (“put ‘em up…put ‘em up”). I will start by saying that designer Carl T. Herrman from Carlsbad, California did an excellent job of creating a classic look that captures the essence of a vintage fight poster from the 1940’s or 1950’s. Herrman’s design was created from a photographic portrait that was made during Robinson’s peak fighting years. This stamp is to be released during the Golden Gloves competition at Madison Square Garden. This is noteworthy, as Sugar Ray won the 1940 Golden Gloves in New York.
Sugar Ray Robinson was born Walker Smith Jr. on May 3, 1921 in Detroit Michigan. You may wonder how Walker Smith Jr. became Sugar Ray Robinson. His parents moved to Harlem while Walker Smith was young and as a teen in Harlem, Walker Smith Jr. visited the gym frequently. He did so borrowing an Amateur Athletic Union boxing card from his friend Ray Robinson. As his talent in the ring began to draw attention, future coach George Gainford commented that the youth’s style and fluid motions were “sweet as sugar”. So became the legend, the boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.
During his boxing career he won 175 fights, lost only 19, drew 6, 2 no contests, and had a remarkable 109 knockouts to his credit. So strong was Robinson during his career that world champion Muhammad Ali called him “the king, the master, my idol.” In 1990 Robinson was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The Ring magazine, in 1997, named Sugar Ray “pound for pound, the best boxer of all time.” In 1999 the Associated Press named him both the greatest welterweight and middleweight boxer of the century.
Sugar Ray Robinson died April 12, 1989 in Culver City California, having suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. Among his life achievements were becoming a boxing legacy, an acting career that included 29 appearances in film and television, and the Ray Robinson Youth Foundation he started in Los Angeles. The Youth Foundation became his focus, as he poured all his energy into working with kids and church. For a sports writer’s look at Sugar Ray Robinson, go to http://www.espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/RobinsonSugarRay.html
