Stick, Swagger
Object number2016.100.6
Date1932-1968
MediumWood/Metal/Adhesive
Credit LineGift of Frederick W. Lenn, Jr.
DescriptionWood swagger stick. Slightly tapered. Brass cap at wider end with USMC Eagle, Globe, and Ancho (EGA) emblem on end. Silver-tone metal EGA emblem mounted on wood just below brass end. Narrower end is missing its end cap with adhesive remaining where the cap was originally.Dimensions0.75 x 0.813 x 22 in. (1.9 x 2.1 x 55.9 cm)Historical NotesPart of a collection that documents the military boxing career of donor Frederick W. Lenn, Jr.'s father, Freddie Lenn. Lenn was born Frederick Walter Lenkoski on December 29th, 1914, in Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhood. He learned to box at the boxing program set-up by Father Cox, the famous social activist priest from Pittsburgh. He began to amateur box in 1930, at the Frawley Athletic Club. At age 17, he won the lightweight championship in the Golden Gloves. A year later he enlisted in the Marines. He spent 1934 to 1936 in Shanghai where he continued to box for the military. He won the "Light Heavyweight Champion of the Orient" at the All Asiatic match. He returned to Pittsburgh and went pro after signing with promoter Art Rooney. His last pro fight was in 1940. After Pearl Harbor he was called from the reserves and went on active duty in the South Pacific where he began his coaching career in the Marine Corps. He was a boxing trainer for the 1959-1960 Pan Am games where Cassius Clay participated. He was the first military trainer to become a head Olympic boxing coach for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He retired from the Marines in 1968.
Previous owner
Fredrick Walter Lenn Sr.
(born 1914)
Related institution
United States Marine Corps
On View
Not on view
1934-1936
American Safety Table Company
James G. Biddle Company
