Reposting a question that has not yet been answered- I am working on a
project to collect the signature of every boxer Muhammad Ali ever
fought professionally- Of the 50 fighters Ali faced I now have 49
signatures- The only fighter whose autograph I am missing is "Sweet"
Jim Robinson- Robinson is a very obscure boxer seem to have dropped
off the face of the planet- Robonson's home base was Miami and almost
all his fights were in Florida- Can anyone help me locate Mr Robinson,
a documented "Sweet" Jim Robinson autograph, or a family member who
could assist me with this search???- Will happily pay a handsome bonus
to anyone who can help finally find "Sweet" Jim!!!

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Request for Question Clarification by tox-ga on 22 Jul 2003 17:08 PDT

Hi there!

I found your goal to be very unique and felt compelled to see if I
could uncover anything about this obscure boxer that you're searching
for. As it turns out, your comment about him 'dropping off the face of
the planet' is pretty accurate. There's very little information about
him. However, I did come across an article on the Kansas City Star and
it turns out the paper is also searching for Jim Robinson.

The url of the article is:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/columnists/jeffrey_flanagan/5885924.htm
According to the article, Jim Robinson was originally from Kansas City
and eventually disappeared. The article asked for information about
Jim Robinson, reaching out to family or friends that may know about
his whereabouts. I'm trying to get in touch with the paper to see if
anyone has given them any information. I'll post anything I find here.

Best regards, 
Tox-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by vitalmed-ga on 22 Jul 2003 18:24 PDT

Hello flash-ga,

I know that you have been seeking this information for quite a long
time. Researching this question for you has so far brought me in
contact with numerous professional boxing organization, interesting
sources of information, and professionals in the field who are
sincerely interested to help.

A significant URL that has a complete record of this Jim Robinson's
fights, which a friendly librarian called to my attention is:
 
http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=118939.

This site also points out specifically that this boxer should not be
confused with Jim Robinson, a Philadelphia Light Heavy-Heavyweight,
who fought from 1953-1962. The latter was apparently one of several
boxers by the same name, and one that was considered to be a candidate
the previous time around.

The boxer that we are seeking was also nicknamed "KS" most likely
because of his birthplace, which is also corroborated at this site.
The nickname "Sweet" has not yet appeared, but it is certainly
possible that he had more than one alias.

Some of the better recommendations for information that I have
received, and with which you are probably familiar, are Nat
Fleischer's Ring Record publication, and Ring Magazine. Jim is listed
in the former, but the latter has never covered Sweet Jim. The editors
of Ring Magazine knew who were speaking about, though.

"Fight Facts" keeps statistics of all professional boxing matches, and
the people there were perfectly willing to help, but said that they
have very little documented from the 60s when Jim was fighting.
 
I am following a number of other leads and shall be glad to share with
you any that are promising and certainly any news. Let's hang in
there. Hopefully, we will reach some knockout information!

Best regards,

vitalmed-ga

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Clarification of Question by flash-ga on 23 Jul 2003 05:37 PDT

Dear Tox-Happy Wednesday morning- Thanks so much for your help with
this project- I am aware of the recent article in the Kansas City
Star- As a matter of fact a reporter, Wright Thompson, from the paper
contacted me for infomation on Jim Robinson-I haven't been in touch
with Wright since April so I assume he has also hit a stonewall- His
number if you would like to follow up is 816-260-0305- In addition the
other reporter from the Star on this search is Jeffrey Flannagan and
his byline is "Top Of The Morning"- Needless to say any further
information you can uncover will be deeply appreciated- Look forward
to hearing from you- Thanks again- Warmest regards- Stephen Singer

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Clarification of Question by flash-ga on 23 Jul 2003 05:44 PDT

Dear Vitalmed- Thanks for your interest and your help- I am aware of
the wealth of information available on BoxRec- It has been a wonderful
source of information for me in locating other Ali opponents- Hank
Kaplan, a noted and respected boxing historian advised me that
Robinson's knickname was Sweet Jim- Your search appears to be very
professional and methodical- I hope you hit paydirt and will anxiously
await word from you- Thanks again for your help- Warmest regards-
Stephen Singer

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Request for Question Clarification by vitalmed-ga on 28 Jul 2003 14:16 PDT

Hello flash-ga,

I have been in touch with the most knowledgeable boxing historians,
the International Boxing Hall of Fame, athletic commissions, a Golden
Glove club, Black Archives, boxing journalists, and have researched in
many other sources.

Some advertisements for the documentary film, "Muhammed Ali: Through
the Eyes of the World" state that it includes clips of the Jim
Robinson fight. If these clips existed, they may have biographical
clues, but they do seem to be in this film. Another video entitled,
"The Best of Muhammed Ali: Simply the Greatest, Volume 1" is also
advertised to have footage of the fight. I cannot verify this claim
for you at the moment, but would the video be of value to you if they
are? It is advertised as being for sale for $40 at 
www.wrestletapes.net/bestofmuhammadali.html.

I am told that the program from the fight against Ali was put together
and printed on short order, and it would not contain any biographical
information. Robinson was a last minute substitute in that fight.

The person in Kansas that another researcher referred to in a previous
incarnation of your inquiry is apparently not the same Jim Robinson.
The man referred to did box as an amateur, apparently in the army, but
not as a professional.

The trails of this elusive boxer have been well tread, and further
research at this point would be redundant. The consensus of the
experts and historians seems to be that he is no longer alive.

I shall let you know if anything new turns up. Please let me know if
my work and any of the information that I have found have been of
value or at all helpful to you.

Best regards,

vitalmed-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by vitalmed-ga on 28 Jul 2003 19:38 PDT

Excuse me for the mistyped word, the clips do NOT seem to be in the
film "Muhammed Ali: Through the Eyes of the World".

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Clarification of Question by flash-ga on 30 Jul 2003 14:39 PDT

Dear Vitalmed- Thanks so much for the very thorough and exhaustive
research on "Sweet" Jim Robinson- Your efforts are quite impressive-
The videos you refer to are known to me but have no real value in our
search for the elusive Jim Robinson- Another researcher trying to help
us answer this question suggested we touch base with Angelo Dundee- I
have in fact spoken with Mr Dundee on several occasions- He was
extremely generous with his time and information- Unfortunately he had
no concrete information and suggested we try locating Jim in the
Overtown area of Miami, which we did with no luck- Actually, I thought
my best source for information would be Chris Dundee, Angelo's
brother- He was the matchmaker for this and many other fights-
Unfortunately, he passed away several years ago- Most of Chris's
boxing records have been passed along to Hank Kaplan, a noted boxing
historian also from Miami-As I mentioned earlier Hank and I have
chatted on numerous occasions about Jim Robinson but have been unable
to pinpoint even a shred of biographical information- Like you, I
think Jim has probably died, most likely in total obscurity- If we
could locate a date of birth, a social security number, or any such
information our search would receive a fresh spark of hope- Thanks for
all your help to date- You have been a wonderful "partner in crime"-
Please stay in touch if any new info should surface- Warmest regards-
Stephen Singer

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Request for Question Clarification by vitalmed-ga on 31 Jul 2003 06:08 PDT

Hello flash-ga,

I had also pleasant conversations with with Angelo ("Have No Fear,
Dundee's Here") Dundee and with boxing historian Hank Kaplan. I do
have some feelers out for date of birth, something that I mentioned in
speaking with the fellow at the Kansas City Star. I do know that he
was African American. Any other biographical details that arise could
help, whether or not they appear to be relevant on the surface, and I
encourage you to share any that occur to you.

Regards,

vitalmed-ga

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Clarification of Question by flash-ga on 31 Jul 2003 08:07 PDT

Dear Vitalmed- Happy Thursday morning- Thank you for your expeditious
reply- Your comprehensive research in such a short period of time is
incredibly impressive- Hank Kaplan and Angelo Dundee are both great
guys and wonderful sources of information- I am going to review all my
notes on Jim Robinson and if there are any scraps that might help you
in any way I will certainly forward that information immediately-
Please keep your nose to the grindstone and feel free to touch base if
you think I can help in any way- Your efforts have helped revitalize
my search which had somewhat come to a standstill after many months of
hitting the proverbial wall- Thanks again- Warmest regards- Stephen
Singer

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Request for Question Clarification by vitalmed-ga on 20 Aug 2003 07:10 PDT

Hello flash-ga,

I wish to apprise you while this question is yet live that a
photograph of Sweet Jim Robinson has turned up that was taken
considerably later than the other apparently last known record of him
in 1968, and I have spoken with the photographer who took the picture.
Do you have any other record of him since 1968?

Regards,

vitalmed-ga

Dear flash-ga,

Thank you for your reply and acknowledgements. I am continuing to
actively research this subject for you and have several open leads and
further avenues that I am pursuing. Since another researcher also
recently began to pursue this, I wish to keep the question open in
case (s)he finds the answer or more helpful information.

Best regards,
vitalmed-ga

Dear Vitalmed- Happy Thursday morning- It is very exciting to have
such an enthusiastic and proactive partner- Needless to say locating
Jim Robinson or a documented Robinson signature would be the crown
jewel to this project- Anxiously looking forward to hearing from you
in the near future- Thanks again for your help- Warmest regards-
Stephen Singer

To Flash-ga and/or any researchers working on this one:

Have you tried contacting Angelo Dundee?  If you haven't already done
it, our expert on the boxing team here at Showtime suggests it.  He
says, "Not only did he train Ali, but he still resides in Miami and
knows everybody in boxing and should know if Robinson was still
alive."

Hello cryptica-ga,

I am hoping to hear back from him, thank you.

vitalmed-ga

Another thought from our Showtime boxing producer.  He says Robinson
could conceivably fought under other names -- that many boxers did
that -- and constantly changed their names, particularly if they were
moving around and had financial problems.  He suggested that it's
possible Jim Robinson wasn't even his real name.   Wouldn't it be
great to find an old landlord with a cancelled rent check!

Instead of looking for the guy, why not search for the signature. 
Look for the contract he signed with Ali.  Maybe Ali even has a copy
of it with the signature.

Dear Cryptica- Thanks for the folow-up comment- We are aware that many
boxers fought under several names and it's possible Jim Robinson was
one of those fighters with an alias or two- Unfortunately,without a
date of birth or a social security number we are having NO luck
tracking Robinson under any name or alias- Locating a check or really
any documented signature would be euphoric for me- Thanks again for
the imput- Warmest regrda- Stephen

Dear Ynstyn- Chasing the signature and not the man is a concept that
is not foreign to us- Unfortunately,based on our research the state of
Florida has no signed boxing records prior to 1980- We have checked
with Angelo Dundee, Ferdy Pacheco, Hank Kaplan and other boxing
insiders and have been unable to locate anything signed by Jim
Robinson- Robinson had a fight with a fellow named Yama Bahama in
Nassau- We made about 20 calls to the mimister of sports hoping that
perhap there was a signed contract on file there- Alas, we had no luck
in Nassau either- Appreciate the help and the imput- Please feel free
to follow up- Warmest wishes- Stephen

Dear Vitalmed- Happy Friday morning- Hope all is well- Just returning
from a needed vacation- Your continued assistance in this project is a
great source of encouragement- Speaking with a contact in the Social
Security administation I am lead to believe that the Jim Robinson we
are looking for last reported income in 1973- After that there is no
record of any reported income for Robinson- This could either mean
that he died, left the country,became totally disinfranchised or
incapacitated- In the year 2004 he will be 63 and could thus begin to
collect social security benefits- I have been advised by this contact
to check back in 2004- Any information you can gather from the
photographer would be greatly appreciated- Will anxiously look forward
to hearing from you- By the way if you think it necessary I will
gladly reopen this question- Again thaks for all your assistance-
Warmest regards- Stephen