Ring 8, the New York City branch of the Veteran Boxers Association (VBA), has been helping fighters and serving as a surrogate family to scores of active and retired pugilists of all levels since its inception in 1954. Meeting regularly at the Waterfront Crab House restaurant in the Long Island City section of Queens, New York, guests can meet some prominent – and some not so prominent – boxers from the past and present. In recent months the organization was instrumental in securing a headstone for former welterweight champion Kid Gavilan.

“The organization goes all out to assist fighters in need,” said Mike Silver, who along with Bobby Cassidy Jr. and Sal Rappa, serves as one of the organization’s official historians. “At their monthly meetings, a fan or an historian can uncover troves of information. There is so much history associated with the organization and its members, some of whom are not remembered at all by today’s fans.” VIEW FULL STORY…