Black History Month: Edmonton boxing legend George Dunn

Written by: Michael Gourlie, Government Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta

In the early 1950s, George Dunn appeared frequently on the Edmonton sports pages.  Described as a lightning flash, his boxing career lasted only about a decade in Canada, but his contributions to sport continued after he left the ring.

Dunn was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1925, the son of William Moses Dunn and Mary Helen High-Dunn. His parents died several months apart in 1926, and he was raised by his siblings. He was working in Hartford, Connecticut at the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft factory in 1943 when he registered for the World War II draft.  He served in the US Army for just over two years during the Second World War, seeing action in the Philippines and New Guinea. During this period, Dunn took up boxing to avoid “KP” (kitchen patrol) duties.  He became a professional boxer in 1946 and lost only two matches between 1946 and 1948, racking up 14 knockouts. In his early career, he fought against Sonny Boy West and Lil’ Arthur King.

The earliest newspaper reference to his boxing career in Canada is July 1950, when he came from New York to headline a fight at the Kingsway Fastball Park in Edmonton with Al Marotti of Ohio.  He knocked out Marotti in the third round, handing Marotti his first defeat in 44 fights.  Deciding to relocate to Canada, Dunn and his wife Lillian moved to Edmonton by November 1950, where Dunn worked in the hardware department of Woodward’s when he wasn’t boxing.  He was undefeated in eight bouts until he was bested by Joey Velez in May 1951.  Dunn quickly came back, defeating Velez in June 1951 and winning the Pacific Northwest lightweight boxing championship, a title he held until March 1954.  His prowess led Ring Magazine to rank him as one of the top ten lightweight boxers in the world in October 1951.

After he lost his title in 1954, Dunn continued to box for several years and remained in the top rankings of Canadian lightweights until 1959, but he was becoming less active over time. After a planned comeback in 1960 did not materialize, he joined the Calgary Stampeders as an equipment manager from 1961 to 1977, where he received the nickname “Dunndee.”

George Dunn died in Calgary in 2011, predeceased by his wife Lillian in 2008 and survived by his children Ivy, King and Holly.  The Edmonton Boxing and Wrestling Commission added Dunn to its honor roll in 1990 in recognition of his remarkable boxing career.