Luke Judge

More than 400 children will stage a special evening of song and dance in Stoke-on-Trent to celebrate black history.

Pupils from nine city schools and the Ziggy School of Dance will take part in the event, which is being held at the Victoria Hall in the city centre on Tuesday November 16th from 7pm.

The work, “Rites of Endeavour”, has been choreographed by the inspirational dance teacher Dee De Wet who has also been working with the internationally recognised Carl Campbell Dance Company 7 who specialise in contemporary Caribbean dance.

The performance and workshops preparing for the event have been organised by Abbey Hill School and Performing Arts College as part of the World of Dance programme, which is linked to the London 2012 games.

The performance will also include songs directed by the teaching company Black Voices, whose influence from gospel to spiritual, Caribbean to African jazz and blues will ensure the show keeps up a dynamic and diverse pace.

“Rites of Endeavour” has enabled young people from five years old to 25 to explore, acknowledge and celebrate the emerging black culture and arts in the city. This is the third and final stage of a successful song and dance trilogy – the first works were “Rites of Life” and “Rites of Passage”.

Tickets cost £3 and can be purchased on the night or for more information, please contact Vanessa Darlington on 01782 236156.

historical Biographies abbey hill, ziggy

2010 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees

CANASTOTA, N.Y. — A look at the 13 people to be inducted Sunday into the International Boxing Hall of Fame:

JUNG-KOO CHANG — Known as the “Korean Hawk” for his relentless fighting style, Chang was born Feb. 4, 1963, in Pusan, South Korea, and turned professional in November 1980 at age 17. He won his first 18 bouts before losing a split decision in 1982 to Hilario Zapata for the WBC flyweight title, then knocked him out in the third round of a rematch six months later. Chang made 15 successful title defenses.

DANNY LOPEZ — Lopez was a hard-hitting featherweight who earned a reputation as one of the most crowd-pleasing fighters of all time. Born July 6, 1952, in Fort Duchesne, Utah, Lopez compiled a 40-7 amateur record. He turned pro in 1971 and posted 23 straight wins before losing in a ninth-round knockout to Bobby Chacon in 1974. Lopez rebounded with wins over Chucho Castillo, Ruben Olivares, Sean O’Grady and Art Hafey before beating Davey Kotey in 1976 in a 15-round decision for the WBC featherweight championship in Kotey’s homeland of Ghana. A string of eight successful title defenses followed before Salvador Sanchez knocked him out twice in 1980, ending his career.

LLOYD MARSHALL — Born June 4, 1914, in Georgia and raised in Cleveland. He won Golden Gloves titles in 1934-35, relocated to the West Coast and turned pro in 1937. In one of his finest bouts, he scored eight knockdowns en route to an eighth-round knockout over Ezzard Charles. Marshall had an impressive string of victories in 1944, defeating Nate Bolden, Jake LaMotta, Holman Williams and Joey Maxim. Died Aug. 11, 1997 in Sacramento.

YOUNG CORBETT II — Born William H. Rothwell on Oct. 4, 1880, in Denver and turned pro in 1896. A win over George Dixon set up a world featherweight title bid against Terry McGovern in Hartford, Conn. on Nov. 28, 1901. Corbett, who was known for frustrating opponents with insults, entered McGovern’s dressing room to intimidate the champion. The ploy infuriated McGovern and the two went toe to toe. After two vicious rounds, Corbett scored a knockout and also stopped McGovern in a rematch. They met a third time in 1906 and the fight ended in a no-decision. Corbett died April 10, 1927 in Denver.

ROCKY KANSAS — Born Rocco Tozzo on April 21, 1895, in Buffalo, N.Y., a former newsboy, he turned professional with a new name in 1911 when the ring announcer mistakenly introduced him as Rocky Kansas. Known as “Little Hercules,” the 5-foot-2 Kansas was a powerful brawler. One of the top lightweights of his era, Kansas made his 160th bout memorable, defeating Buffalo’s Jimmy Goodrich for the title in their hometown in 1925. Kansas died in 1954.

BILLY MISKE — Born William Arthur Miske on April 12, 1894, in St. Paul, Minn. Nicknamed the “St. Paul Thunderbolt,” Miske began boxing as a middleweight in 1913. Competing in the “no-decision” era, he fought Hall of Famers Harry Greb, Tommy Gibbons, Jack Dillon, Battling Levinsky and Kid Norfolk. In 1918, Miske was diagnosed with a kidney ailment known as Bright’s Disease but kept it a secret, even to his family. He fought the only title bout of his career in 1920 and was stopped in three rounds by Jack Dempsey. Despite his poor health, Miske persuaded his manager to secure one last bout so he could provide a final Christmas to his family. He knocked out Bill Brennan on Nov. 7, 1923, and died at age 29 on Jan. 1, 1924.

PADDINGTON TOM JONES — Born in Paddington, London, in 1766, Jones began his career in 1786 and became the first welterweight champion (140 pounds at that time). Although a welterweight, Jones routinely fought bigger men. In 1799, he lost in 33 minutes to 185-pound heavyweight champion Jem Belcher. He died in 1833 at age 67.

SHELLY FINKEL — Born June 27, 1944, in New York City, Finkel was a rock and roll manager before branching out into boxing. He began promoting amateur bouts in 1978 and formed a partnership with Hall of Famer Lou Duva. Among the boxers in his corner were Olympic medalists Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor, Michael Moorer, Vinny Paz, Mike Tyson and current heavyweight champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. In 1990 and 1993 Finkel was voted the Al Buck Award as manager of the year.

LARRY HAZZARD — Born Dec. 7, 1944, in Newark, N.J., the former three-time Golden Gloves champion began refereeing amateur bouts in 1967 and professional bouts in 1978. He went on to referee more than 40 world title fights. In 1985, he was appointed commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, served until 2007, and was a fervent advocate for boxer safety and health.

WILFRIED SAUERLAND — Born Feb. 29, 1940, in Wuppertal, Germany, he developed a passion for boxing after his father took him to a bout. He promoted his first show in 1978, staged his first promotion in Germany in 1980, and presided over a boxing boom in Germany during the 1990s. Sauerland Event produces 12 boxing shows per year and has a long-term agreement with German TV giant ARD.

BRUCE TRAMPLER — Born Aug. 11, 1949, in Maplewood, N.J., Trampler boxed as an amateur and worked as a trainer, promoter, ring announcer, publicist and matchmaker. Beginning in 1971, he spent 15 months in Miami under the guidance of trainer Angelo Dundee and his brother Chris, a promoter. Trampler was later mentored by matchmaker Teddy Brenner, who hired him as an assistant at Madison Square Garden in 1977. Trampler left MSG two years later and joined Bob Arum’s Top Rank in 1981. He was instrumental in the comeback of heavyweight champion George Foreman.

HOWARD COSELL — Born Howard William Cohen on March 25, 1918, in Winston-Salem, N.C., he grew up in Brooklyn and graduated with a law degree from New York University in 1940. He was admitted to the New York State bar in 1941, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and after leaving the service in 1946 opened a Manhattan law office. In 1953, Cosell began hosting a Saturday morning radio show on ABC and by 1956 abandoned his law practice. A member of ABC’s Olympic coverage in the 1960s, Cosell was one of the first sports broadcasters to call Cassius Clay by his new name, Muhammad Ali, and was a staunch supporter of Ali when the future heavyweight champion refused to be inducted into the Army during the Vietnam War. Cosell also covered Floyd Patterson, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard and the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. He called his last fight in 1982, a 15-round victory by Larry Holmes over Tex Cobb and retired a decade later. Cosell died in 1995 from a heart embolism at age 77.

ED SCHUYLER JR. — Born March 14, 1935, in Bloomsburg, Pa., Schuyler began working for The Associated Press in June 1960 and covered his first boxing match — Rubin Carter vs. Farid Salim — for the AP in September 1963. He transferred from Pittsburgh to the New York sports staff in 1965 and from 1970 until his retirement in 2002 was AP’s national boxing writer. “Fast Eddie” covered some of boxing’s historic battles, including all three Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fights, Ali vs. George Foreman in Zaire, and a series of bouts featuring Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns in the 1980s. Schuyler, who staffed boxing at the Olympic Games from 1976-2000, covered fights in 18 countries and Puerto Rico. In 1979, he was awarded the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Source: International Boxing Hall of Fame

historical Biographies george dixon, hafey, international boxing hall of fame, kotey

The past decade-plus in University of Tennessee athletics history is as checkered as the end zones in Neyland Stadium. Athletic department successes have been undermined by academic fraud allegations involving the football team, investigations into the recruiting practices of one-and-done football coach Lane Kiffin, and suspensions for basketball players arrested on drug and weapons charges.

Into this atmosphere stepped Fritz Polite. An assistant professor in the UT Department of Exercise, Sport and Leisure Studies, Polite was recruited to Knoxville four years ago to implement ILEAD — the Institute for Leadership, Ethics and Diversity. That charge, combined with his extensive sports background (he played and coached football professionally and worked with the New York Giants on profiling potential draft picks), has put Polite on a new extracurricular course — mentoring African-American male student-athletes. “They need to look at someone outside of football and basketball as a mentor,” Polite says. “They need to look at engineers and lawyers and professors — the types of people who are right here on campus.”

Polite has so far assembled a team of 10 interested faculty members, and he has sought the input, if not outright approval, of athletic department officials. “I’m going to do this with or without them, because as a faculty member I have the right to engage any student on this campus at any time,” he says, having begun mentoring athletes last fall. “And I’m hoping that the athletic department will be open and willing to work with us to try to benefit these students.”

Historically, the benefit in the relationship between mostly white colleges and universities and their black student-athletes has been one-sided to the point of exploitation, according to Billy Hawkins, associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Georgia and author of The New Plantation: Black Athletes, College Sports, and Predominantly White NCAA Institutions