Eddie Nichols
Eddie Nichols (1905-1955) was an amateur welterweight in the 1920's. He was born in San Antonio, Texas and moved to Chicago in 1923. His first boxing lesson came from the first black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson (who in turn became a good fighter thanks to legendary middleweight boxer Joe Choynski, they trained in jail after being arrested. At the time, in late 19th, early 20th century many states in the United States did not allow fights between mixed races and boxing was illegal in general)! In Chicago, some fonldy remember him as a fine trainer. He was the owner of Nichols Gym where many famous boxers trained (Bob Satterfield, Bob Baker, Sonny Liston when he was starting out). He died on Christmas eve December 24 1955, in his sleep. His funeral took place on Monday January 2 1956.
