A greek immigrant, Lou Kemp was the Godfather of amateur boxing on the Charlotte sports scene for nearly 50 years. A former pro bantamweight, Lou made his living working high steel construction but his passion was training young men. He produced many champions including four time world amateur and Olympian Bernard Taylor, heavyweights Neil Wallace, Waban Thomas and Olympian Calvin Brock, future world pro bantamweight champion Kelvin Seabrooks and many more. It is estimated his boxers won over 1,000 amateur matches.

Award winning broadcaster and sportswriter, Bob Quincy wrote about all sports but his passion dwelled in the squared circle. Bob won every writing award possible while with the old Charlotte News and the Charlotte Observer and covered many cards from the Golden Gloves to the fierce Thomas-Wallace battles of the sixties and seventies. He was also sports director for WBTV, the CBS affiliate in Charlotte.

Floyd Patterson was born in Waco, N.C., near Shelby.  He became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 2l when he defeated Ingemar Johanssen of Sweden. Under the tutelage of the famed Cus D'Amato of Peekskill, N.Y., the same trainer who years later would forge Mike Tyson into one of history's fiercest champions, Patterson was known for his "peekaboo" style. He never forgot his North Carolina roots.

D.C. Smith is a Legendary manager and promotor, DC carved out many boxers in the forties and fifties and staged many bouts throughout the Carolinas. He had a knack for recognizing young and upcoming fighters during the the most fertile boxing period in the Carolinas. He also designed some innovative training equipment.

Dewey Kimrey is one of the earliest pro fighters in the Carolinas, Dewey was an outstanding heavyweight whose bout with Itazo Colonello at the Garden in NYC was described by the NY Times as one of fiercest in its history. Kimrey lost by decision. He also had a tremendous rivalry with fellow Carolinian Hardrock Harden. Kimrey was 35-27 as a pro.

Marion Diehl, a true Carolinas boxing pioneer, Marion did it all. An outstanding fighter he became one of the Carolinas top officials in the fifties and sixties. He refereed and judged hundreds of amateur and pro bouts during boxing's hay days. He was highly respected and regarded for his impeccable honesty. He later became the highly regarded Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Charlotte. A major building was named in his honor.

Henry "Pappy" Gault, this Spartanburg slugger became the North American Bantamweight Champion in 1953 and then lost a decision in Sydney, Australia to Jimmy Carruthers for the World title. He fought all over the world from Thailand to Cuba in carving out a 64 win record with 25 KOs. He had two momentous fights with future world champ Willie Pep but lost both by decision. Along with Kelvin Seabrooks and Bernard Taylor he is considered one of the fastest hitters in Carolina history.

Ray S. Clark, another outstanding pioneer in Carolinas Boxing, Ray was one of the founders of the Hall of Fame. He was an outstanding amateur who became a pro fighter. He later became a trainer/manager of mostly pro fighters in the Charlotte area during boxing's highly popular time in the fifties and sixties. He was highly respected for his ability to improve young boxers' punching power as well as ring strategy.

Herman Helms, a prolific writer of boxing during its most popular time, Herman was outstanding in his knowledge of the sport and its competitors. He was the Charlotte Observer's main boxing reporter when they sponsored the Carolinas Golden Gloves which always sold out (10,880 tickets) on the final night in the fifties. He later covered boxing and football for the Columbia, S.C., State paper.