THE OLYMPIC GOLD STANDARD
Sugar Ray Leonard was the brightest star among many to emerge from the 1976 Games.
By Michael Rosenthal I
HALF A CENTURY AFTER THEIR EPIC MEDAL HAUL AT THE 1976 MONTREAL GAMES, THE U.S. BOXING TEAM’S TRIUMPH STILL MARKS THE PEAK OF AMERICA’S AMATEUR PROGRAM
t was 1976 when the 11 men on the American Olympic boxing team traveled just across the northern border from their training camp in Vermont to compete in the Montreal Games. They returned with seven medals – including five gold – and a reputation that would evolve into legend over the years. The greatest fighter pound-for-pound of all time? Sugar Ray Robinson. The greatest U.S. Olympic boxing team? No doubt, 1976. Members of the 1984 team might disagree, but we’ll come back to that. “I covered Ali-Frazier, all three fights,” said Ed Schuyler, The Associated Press’ national boxing writer from 1970 to 2002. “I covered Douglas-Tyson. I covered a lot of big fights. And it didn’t get any bigger than [1976]. “I can’t remember the names of all of the opponents. The only thing that sticks with me is that we won five gold medals. And there was no luck involved. They earned it.” Those were different times in boxing, both amateur and professional. The sport was sizzling hot in the 1970s, arguably more robust than in any other decade in its history. The 1976 Games occurred amid the heavyweight division’s famed “Golden Era,” led by Olympic champions Muhammad Ali (1960), Joe Frazier (1964) and George Foreman (1968). Many of their fights were seen on network television, which generated a wide audience in the United States and beyond. Among those who watched were young athletes who hoped to emulate bigger-than-life stars like Ali, much as a later generation of gifted boys – including members of the 1976 team
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