Legendary Manager & Trainer Gil Clancy Passes Away at 88
(CEO/Publisher Note: I had the honor to meet Gil at the 2001 IBHOF Induction weekend, my only time I went to the event. He did a ringside lecture and I asked him a question about the late Jerry Quarry whom he trained. His face lit up when he talked about Jerry and actually thanked me for asking/remembering Quarry.
As a teenager, I watched Gil’s work alongside Tim Ryan and Sugar Ray Leonard on CBS. Clancy, always added to the ringside commentary and was a joy to watch. I, extend on behalf of the entire RSR Family our deepest condolences to the Clancy family in their time of mourning. RIP MR Gil Clancy….)
The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced its flags will fly at half-staff in memory of manager / trainer Gil Clancy. He passed away early this morning. He was 88.
Clancy began training young amateurs at the PAL boxing gym in Queens, New York and eventually rose to prominence as one of boxing’s great boxing trainers and managers. During his career Clancy worked with Ralph “Tiger” Jones, Rodrigo Valdes, Juan LaPorte, Johnny Persol, Jorge Ahumada, Harold Weston, Tom Bethea, Jerry Quarry, Gerry Cooney, Oscar De La Hoya and Hall of Famers Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Ken Buchanan.
However, he is best known for his 20-year association with legendary Hall of Famer Emile Griffith, whom Clancy and Howie Albert guided to the welterweight and middleweight crowns. In 1967 and 1973, the Boxing Writers Association of America named him the Manager of the Year. From 1978 – 1981, Clancy was matchmaker for Madison Square Garden Boxing. He was also one of the premiere boxing analysts on MSG Network, CBS and HBO in the 1980s and 90s. In 1983, the Boxing Writers Association of America presented him with the Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcasting Journalism.
“Gil Clancy was one of boxing’s truly great minds,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Edward Brophy. “As a trainer and manager he was held in the highest regard by his peers. The Hall of Fame is saddened by the loss of our friend.”
In 1993, Clancy was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.