Pete Melendez Local El Paso Boxer 1933-2009
Pete Melendez boxeador local de El Paso 1933-2009

Pete Melendez Local El Paso Boxer 1933-2009

" Award winning sports journalist Ray Sanchez wrote in his column back in 1996 the following: “Every time I think of Pete Melendez I think of electricity. When he was boxing, he was taut as a wire, quick as the speed of light, explosive as a lightning bolt.” Ray was correct as Pete’s record is absolute proof that the truth is better than fiction. From his first fight in 1949 at the CYO in downtown El Paso to his last fight in 1956 Pete would establish a record fit for a king. And a king he was. Fighting at 112 pounds he established one of the most improbable amateur records in history ringing up 372 wins against only eight losses. Along his magnificent and fabled journey he captured four Regional Golden Gloves Championships, two Texas Golden Gloves State Championships, two National Golden Gloves Championships (1953, 1956) and in 1956 he was the Flyweight victor for the Chicago Golden Gloves Champions versus the New York Champions in the annual inter-city duel. He really was electric and he is an El Paso ‘Hero’"

Area: Out of Area / Out of Area

Source: Tom McKay

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

His sister Aurelia Mejarez Melendez (our mother) misses him very much and speaks fondly of him often.

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Irrigation

Irrigation is the artificial application of water to land to ...

U.S. Cavalry Traveling

This pictures captures the U.S. Cavalry traveling on the road.

Men Preparing To Fire Artillery

This picture shows men, probably revolutionaries, preparing to ...

Mexican Revolution

Brauilo Hernandez--Abraham Gonzalez-Madero--Pascual Orozco. Men ...

Cathedral de Chihuahua

The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross, Our Lady of ...

Water Plaza

Water Plaza in Chihuahua, Mexico-1912.

Harry Mitchell On A Fishing Trip

Prior to the arrival of the railroads, the main source of ...

John F. Kennedy with Richard Lopez of El Paso, TX 1961

President John F. Kennedy meets with the Boys' Clubs of ...

Mrs. Lopez Mateos and Daughter

President of Mexico's wife Mrs. Lopez Mateos and daughter.

Lopez Mateos - President of Mexico

López Mateos was born in Atizapán de Zaragoza to Mariano ...

First Lieutenant William Deane Hawkins - El Paso, Texas

Deane Hawkins was a smart boy-at El Paso's Lamar and Alta Vista ...

Sara Perez de Madero

Sara Perez de Madero (1870-1952) was the wife of revolutionary ...

Pancho Villa and his Men

The image shows Pancho Villa and his men. Villa is the fourth ...

Emmett Mills

Emmett Mills was born in 1841 in Thorntown, Indiana. His ...

Allen Mills

Allen Mills was born Edgar Allen Mills on Jan. 28, 1844 in ...

W. W. Cox

W. W. Cox is one of many individuals who was either directly or ...

Oliver M. Lee

Oliver M. Lee, W. W. Cox's brother-in-law, received the ...

Don Santiago Kirker

James (Santiago) Kirker, merchant, Indian fighter, and ...

Train on its Way to Alamogordo

Since the railroad had been built in El Paso in 1882, the city ...

Ambulance Car

Soldiers are posing in front of a car. The sign on the side of ...

Snow in El Paso in 1910

This house was surrounded by snow in 1910.

Fitzgerald Children on Horseback

Gertrude Fitzgerald took pictures of her own children as well as ...

Two People on Horses

The image shows a man and a woman on horses. The location is ...

home.search_collection