A Look Back at the 1980 Summer Olympic Games Part VI (Final)

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

In the Fall of 2021, Afghanistan loomed large. Whether you agree or not with the war waged there by the USA and its coalition forces over a period of twenty years, there is little doubt that for one country Afghanistan has cast a significant shadow over the history of the world. What is little realized is that it has done so for a lot longer than the last 20 years, during which the coalition forces kept the Taliban at bay. The country has its own troubled history, which goes a lot deeper than this century or even the previous one. Here though it is Afghanistan’s, although oblique, relevance to sport, which serves as a background to the greatest tragedy to have ever affected a US amateur boxing team; it is one which should never be forgotten. I have been trying to take you back to 1980.

By doing so I hope to explain how an appalling plane crash in Poland gave the US their greatest sporting tragedy; How it fitted within a worldwide context of the time; And how the US President of the time by leading a boycott of the Olympic Games of that self-same year, denied many athletes, some of whom were lost on that plane, of an opportunity to win an ultimate prize – an Olympic Gold Medal. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the promise lost in that crash, of the legacies left behind by the people who lost their lives and of the politics that saw Afghanistan dominate world politics, long before it hid the Taliban. Finally, it’s all about who missed the fateful flight and what happened after the accident.

“I am sure amateur boxing will go on. We have deaths in all parts of life. We just have to keep going.” Muhammad Ali, commenting after the tragedy.

WHO MISSED THE FLIGHT AND WHAT ABOUT THE 1984 GAMES…?

Whilst those that perished are remembered there are a few who would have been with them but for a series of fortunate circumstances. Perhaps the most notable was the 1979 AAAU champion who was to go on to be the 1980 Golden Gloves Champion, Marvis Frazier. Picked to go on the trip he was refused permission by his father. When your dad is Smoking Joe Frazier, you do tend to listen! Joe didn’t like to fly, and he didn’t like his son to either – after the events that unfolded, he may have had a point.

His place was taken by Jimmy Clark, another fighter from Philadelphia. Clark, a 1977 Golden Gloves champion, was however, also not on the flight as he missed a connecting one from Philadelphia to New York. A friend of his, Bobby Czyz, was to recall later that, “he was always late and someday would even miss his funeral.” Ironic, given that his lateness saved him his life.

Czyz, himself, can thank a broken nose from a car accident for him not taking the trip. James Shuler, the 1979 and Pan American Games champion, along with Roland Cooley, decided not to go. Shuler was to end up with an unfortunate death of his own – a motorcycle crash.

Rob “Bam Bam” Hines was also apparently scheduled to be on the trip. His replacement was the mid-Atlantic AAU bantam champ, Tyrone Clayton. Hines was, of course, to go onto become the IBF light middleweight champion.

Davey Armstrong could claim misfortune cost him the trip. Armstrong, who was on the 1972 and 1976 Olympic teams lost his airline ticket, and the officials decided not to replace it.

Alex Ramos also did not make the trip. Apparently, he got his ticket 4 days before the trip, along with a premonition. Twenty years on he was to remark, “… I got something caught in my mind, saying don’t go! Don’t go! It was not a good time for me to go and compete. Maybe God got something into my mind.”

Also claiming to have been scheduled to travel were Alex Ramos and Tony Tucker. They missed their own mortality being replaced by an immortality of sorts but would not feel the lesser for it.
These were all athletes who had legitimate reasons for being part of the US team and boxers who made their own mark on the sport. But the sport was not to be left behind. Life goes on and in the cold light of day and looking back from now to the time of the tragedy, the quote from Ali at the beginning of this section, appears quite harsh. It was, however, wholly accurate. Following the Moscow Games, Los Angeles was next to hoist the Olympiad flag. There was little likelihood of an American boycott there!

But politics, once more, played a massive role.

This time round, fourteen Easter Bloc communist countries got their own back by boycotting the Games in response to what the USA had done in Moscow. The US boxing team did not bat an eyelid, fielding an incredibly strong team, and they swept the boards.

At light flyweight Paul Gonzales took gold, Steve McCrory did the same at flyweight, whilst Meldrick Taylor took the gold at featherweight. The next five weight divisions all yielded golds for Pernell Whittaker at lightweight, Jerry Page at light welterweight, Mark Breland at welterweight, and Frank Tate at light middle. A silver was gained at middleweight for Virgil Hill and a bronze for Evander Holyfield at light heavy before the two big guys, Henry Tillman at heavyweight and Tyrell Biggs at super heavyweight brought home two golds. Only Robert Shannon at bantamweight did not medal.

Their combined professional careers provided us with no fewer than five world titlists who did not manage to gain a world title and five world champions who did. The legacy for American boxing was assured after a time when the future looked very dark indeed. Ali was right, but the memory of the loss should always hurt those of us who care most about the sport.
AND FOREVER TIME…

On the 14th of March 1980, the fallen US boxing team were: –

• Kelvin Anderson Heavyweight
• Elliott Chavis Light Heavyweight
• Walter Harris Light Heavyweight
• Andrea McCoy Middleweight
• Byron Payton Light Middleweight
• Chuck Robinson Light Middleweight
• Paul Palomino Welterweight
• Lemuel Steeples Light Welterweight
• Byron Linsay Light Welterweight
• Gary Tyrone Clayton Lightweight
• Jerome Stewart Bantamweight
• George Pimentel Flyweight
• Lonnie Young Flyweight
• David Rodriguez Light Flyweight
• Joseph F. Bland Team Manager
• Col. Bernard Callahan Referee/Judge
• Thomas “Sarge” Johnson Head Coach
• John Radison Referee/Judge
• Junior Robles Assistant Coach
• Steve Smigiel Interpreter
• Delores Wesson Team Assistant
• Dr. Ray Wesson Team Physician