Hello taccat000,
Here is Billy Stephan's complete record:
"Billy Stephens" (alias Stephan)
BoxRec
http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=027279
And here is a double treat -- both the poster for the Bonavena-Stephan
fight and a short description of the fight:
"Bonavena v. Stephan"
Antiquities of the Prize Ring
http://www.antekprizering.com/bonavenastephanposter.html
With respect to videos, there may be little or nothing available,
because it seems that Stephan was a relatively average heavyweight
(career record 17-12-1). Presumably the Bonavena fight was the
biggest of Stephan's career -- but the top of the poster indicates
that there was no television broadcast. I searched for Stephan fights
on several boxing video sites, but had no success.
If you think that I have not found enough, feel free to post a request
for clarification and I would be glad to do additional research.
(With respect to videos, if you tell me the nearest city to where you
live, I could check whether there is a museum of boxing or
broadcasting that might have a video.)
- justaskscott
Search terms used on several search engines:
various combinations of -- billy, stephan [or stephens], bonavena,
video(s), boxing [or boxer(s)] |
Request for Answer Clarification by
taccat000-ga
on
19 Jul 2002 16:59 PDT
so far so good. i would like to know if any boxing mags reviews his
fights ( the ring was the premire mag at this time) if so the issue it
was in so i can find it. he is from st louis, i would like to know the
issues of any local newpaper articles about him. st louis at that time
had the post dispatch & the globe democrat. i don't expect you to find
everything but anything would be helpful. i am from st louis also
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Request for Answer Clarification by
taccat000-ga
on
19 Jul 2002 17:04 PDT
so far so good. since there are not videos, i would like to know of
any magazine reviews of his fights (ring was the main boxing mag of
the time). also any articles that were written about him, he was a
white heavyweight when such was rare & was managed by angelo dundee so
i feel he must have got some build up. he is from st louid (as am I)
and i would like to to know of any local newspaper stories of him. the
papers of the time were the post dispatch & the globe democrat.
magazines & papers i need issue & volume so i can aquire them. i know
this man & he is a real character, i feel there is a book here if a
can buttress his memories with facts
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Request for Answer Clarification by
taccat000-ga
on
19 Jul 2002 17:06 PDT
so far so good. since there are not videos, i would like to know of
any magazine reviews of his fights (ring was the main boxing mag of
the time). also any articles that were written about him, he was a
white heavyweight when such was rare & was managed by angelo dundee so
i feel he must have got some build up. he is from stlouis (as am I)
and i would like to to know of any local newspaper stories of him. the
papers of the time were the post dispatch & the globe democrat.
magazines & papers i need issue & volume so i can aquire them. i know
this man & he is a real character, i feel there is a book here if i
can buttress his memories with facts
|
Clarification of Answer by
justaskscott-ga
on
19 Jul 2002 19:14 PDT
OK, I'll see what I can find.
I can answer one part already, from that page with the poster. At the
bottom of the page, it notes that The Ring reported on the
Bonavena-Stephan fight in March 1965 ("Bits From Here and There", by
Jersey Jones, p. 64). I'll see if I can get the volume and issue
number for that.
I'll also try to find out if there are any other articles from The
Ring, the big St. Louis newspapers, or (for the Bonavena fight) the
big New York newspapers.
I don't know if I'll turn up anything useful, but I'll try! (I hope
you don't mind if it takes a little time; I'll have to contact the
publications or other knowledgeable people, and I can't be sure how
long they'll take to respond.)
By the way, one clarification: I indicated that Stephan was "a
relatively average heavyweight", but, of course, with a winning career
record and a fight against Bonavena at Madison Square Garden, he must
have been better than average!
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Clarification of Answer by
justaskscott-ga
on
31 Jul 2002 22:00 PDT
I just wanted to note that I haven't forgotten about this question.
I've sent out some e-mails with requests for information; I haven't
yet received responses, so I've also sent follow-up e-mails. There's
a chance that no one will respond -- the newspapers seem especially
reluctant to do research for free -- but you never know.
Also, I was sick for a couple of days (I'm better now), so that has
thrown off my schedule a bit.
I intend to post the results of my research soon -- at least some
information that will point you to the resources you're looking for,
even if the newspapers and boxing sources don't come through for me.
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Clarification of Answer by
justaskscott-ga
on
05 Aug 2002 18:16 PDT
I e-mailed the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the New York Times, the New
York Post, Antiquities of the Prize Ring (the site that offers the
Bonavena-Stephan poster), and The Cyber Boxing Zone – and received no
responses.
My guess is that newspapers and perhaps the other sources are
reluctant to act as a free research service for the public, because
they would be flooded with research requests. Indeed, the New York
Post states that it does not offer assistance in searching for
articles:
"Frequently Asked Questions: I'm having trouble finding an article. Do
you have search assistance?"
New York Post
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nypost/main/faq.html#search
Meanwhile, the New York Daily News, another source that I had thought
of contacting, charges a minimum of $10 to research articles up to
1997:
"Contact Us: Old Articles, Archives, Back Copies, Research"
New York Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/services/contact_us/
This illustrates the difficulty of researching "pre-Web" documents
using online sources. As you may already know, few periodicals from
before the 1990s are available for free from Internet sources.
Sometimes even current periodicals aren’t available on the Internet.
The Ring, for example, does not have a Web presence.
I think you’ll have to do the research the old-fashioned (but still
enjoyable) way – in the library. The St. Louis Public Library has
microfilm and/or print versions of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the
old St. Louis Globe-Democrat, the New York Times, and the Ring. (I
can’t provide a link for these sources, since the searches of the St.
Louis Public Library catalog are unique to the user and temporary.
All you have to do is click on the "Easy" search at
http://catalog.slpl.lib.mo.us , and then search for the full title of
the publication you want. In the results, you should look for the
record(s) that appear to be the main publication.)
I suggest that you print out the Boxrec list of all of Billy Stephan’s
fights, and select the fights against the boxers with the best career
records up to the point of the fight, which are conveniently indicated
in the list. Then you should look at the sports section from the day
of and especially the day after these fights, in the main paper(s) for
the city in which the fight occurred, as well as the St. Louis papers
if you wish. (Surprisingly, Billy Stephan never fought in St. Louis!)
Sorry I haven't found an easier solution, but I hope that what I’ve
given you here and in the original answer provides a good starting
point for your research.
P.S.: If any of the sources I contacted eventually respond, I'll let
you know.
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