Fighting for sign to honor lost boxing arena Sunnyside Garden
By Nicholas HirshonDaily News
December 22, 2010
Queens News readers are stepping into the ring to back a historical sign honoring Sunnyside Garden, a red-brick arena that long hosted boxing and wrestling.
After the venue was featured in the last installment of the Queens Heritage Quest series, fight fans replied with personal tales of the borough's pugilistic past.
For John Busso, 73, of Jackson Heights, the article brought back memories of his late brother and the former lightweight contender, Johnny Busso, who died in 2000.
Busso won 42 of 51 pro matches during a career that began with nine fights at Sunnyside Garden, which also saw a campaign stop by John F. Kennedy in 1960.
Long Island Rep. Peter King, who grew up nearby, said the Queens News story, "certainly captured the mood and spirit of Sunnyside."
The article covered several other unheralded neighborhood boxing arenas in Queens. Lavington Charles recalled his father-in-law, Bob (Killer) James, sparred in the 1940s and 1950s at Jamaica Arena on 144th Place.