BOXING Legends of Leather Hall of Fame sets banquet for Oct. 12

Trainer John Russell will be the featured speaker.
WARREN -- The 17th Legends of Leather Boxing Hall of Fame banquet will be held Oct. 12 at Aulizio's Banquet Center.
Trainer John Russell will be the featured speaker. Russell is working with Tony "The Tiger" Hanshaw, the undefeated super middleweight from Warren, and he was the man who trained James "Buster" Douglas to what many consider the biggest upset in heavyweight history, a 10th round knockout of Mike Tyson in 1990.
Russell, who resides in Akron, was a Golden Gloves champion with a 55-5 amateur record in the mid '60s and was later a two-time All-Navy title holder. He began training amateurs in the Valley, later working with eventual lightweight champion Harry Arroyo.
Russell is a member of the Legends of Leather, being inducted in 1996.
Founding brothers
The Legends of Leather was founded in 1986 by Sal and Leo Marino and Bill Ruman.
Scheduled to be inducted this year are Gregg Augustine, Lawrence Moler, Robert Thompson and Orlando DePietro. The Man of the Year for is Steve Kostrubanic.
Kostrubanic lost his first two amateur bouts, then won 28 straight. In 1952 he won the 118-pound championship at the Cleveland Golden Gloves and has been a contributor to the Legends of Leather for the past decade.
Augustine is a 1973 graduate of Girard High who began an amateur career in 1971. He won the 112-pound novice championship in 1971 and the 112 open crown the following year. He also won the Lake Erie AAU title at the Cleveland Golden Gloves and went on to Minneapolis to the Nationals competing beyond the first round.
Promoter inducted
In 1973 Augustine moved up to 118 pounds and won that open title topping off an amateur career with a 46-5 record, which included 27 knockouts. He had 11 pro fights and went on to train some of the best amateurs in the area. Recently he has promoted pro cards locally and he has been a matchmaker.
Moler, also from Girard, came up in the late '40s when he was trained as an amateur by Matt McGowan. In 1949, as a 126-pounder, he was runner-up in the finals of the golden gloves. He entered the Navy in 1951 and trained with the legendary Great Lakes boxing team.
Thompson is a native of Keaster, Pa., beginning his amateur career in 1943 in Trumbull County and fighting in the Youngstown Golden Gloves. He won championships in 1943 and 1944. After enlisting in the Marines in World War II Thompson won championships at Cherry Point (N.C.) and Camp Lejeune (N.C.)
DePietro, who died in 1999, had a lengthy career. He began as an amateur in 1948 first as a welterweight, then as a middleweight. He fought 70 amateur bouts, losing only seven, and stopped 30 opponents. He was a Cleveland Golden Gloves runner-up where he was named Most Promising Boxer, and at the Youngstown Golden Gloves he was named The Most Outstanding Boxer.
As a pro he had a 45-9 record with 19 knockouts as a middleweight. He had a win over Don Fullmer and a close decision loss to Joey Giambra.
Other awards
Other awards to be presented: J.P. Marino Award, to John Bailey; the George "Sonny" Horne Award, to Barry Horne; the Tony Janiro Award, to Jerry Castellano; the Zill Family Award, to Dom Marino; the Frank "Chi-Chi" Cordy Award, to Reggie Giancola; the Mike Birskovich Award, to Ed Marsh; the Marino-Williams Award, to Jim Amato; the Father Anthony Teolis Award, to Marty Kovach; the Chris Tabor Award, to Randy McCloskey; the Tony Vivo Sr. Award, to Dorothy Joseph; the Fighting Sanfrey Award, to William Sanfrey; the Bolchalk Award, to Phil Accordino; the Jack Thompson Award, to Nick Jibotian and the Frank Lentine Award, to Ricky Ronci.
The dinner begins at 1:15 p.m. Tickets are $17.50 each. For tickets call (330) 652-3283, (330) 652-1577 or (330) 544-0378.