In the best of times, sports play a big role in our culture. As entertainment or an obsessive hobby, sports can be a great diversion from the more mundane aspects of our lives. Great athletes command a lot of attention as role models and celebrities. They are like royalty. You might not care about basketball, but I bet you know who Lebron James is. And it’s no coincidence that thousands of 4th graders in New England are named Brady.
During hard times such as we are living through now, sports can transcend mere entertainment and become a mirror of the struggles we all face. It’s not an original thought to say that sports heroes can be inspirational. That is a huge part of their appeal. Athletes show us how preparation and teamwork and commitment can lead to achievement. More significant to the times, sports can teach us how to overcome loss, to play through pain, and to get back up when knocked down.
These thoughts are at the forefront of my mind now after reading some sad news this weekend. Boxing legend “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler had passed away at age 66. He was one of the most dominant athletes of the 80s in any sport. Hagler was the undisputed middleweight boxing champion from 1980 -1987, an almost unprecedented title reign. The news report did not mention the cause of his death. But 66 is still pretty young for such an incredible athlete to die.
Marvin Hagler grew up in Brockton, Mass. He learned to box as teenager in a local gym above a hat store. Like the other boxing legend from Brockton, Rocky Marciano, Hagler was idolized as a blue-collar champion. There was a time when he was as big a Boston sports figure as Tom Brady or David Ortiz.
I met Marvin Hagler once in 1984 pretty much by accident. He was promoting something, I cannot remember what, at a coffee shop in the Seaport district. At the time I was interning for a professional photographer in the neighborhood and was fetching coffee for clients.
It’s a bit awkward to meet someone famous, to feel star-struck in their presence. But the Marvelous One lived up to his name; he was a cool cat, friendly and easy going. What I remember most about the encounter was shaking Hagler’s hand. It felt like a thick piece of iron wrapped in 2 or 3 layers of velvet. I could sense a dense, unbreakable lethality under his gentle grip. I get chills thinking about it even now.
I’ve previously written in this forum about boxing and my childhood worship of Muhammad Ali. Watching Ali’s matches on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” with my grandmother was a foundational part of my upbringing. Ali was always an otherworldly figure to me, part man and part god. Marvin Hagler was different but no less inspiring. To me he was a real person whom I had looked in the eye and almost spilled coffee on. I was a teenage nobody and he chatted with me like a friend.
In the ring, Hagler differed from Ali as well. He was all business, a powerful juggernaut who always seemed to be moving forward. Unlike the theatrical pomp of Ali’s “Rumble in the Jungle”, Hagler’s iconic 1985 match with Thomas “Hitman” Hearns was a blistering brawl known simply as “The War”. I dare anyone to watch Round One of that fight and not be in awe of both men.
Early on in that fight, Hagler took a punch from Hearns that opened a cut above his right eye. Though the ref did not stop the fight, Hagler knew he would now have to make quick work of the equally ferocious Hearns. That cut would only get worse and lead to his defeat if he didn’t end the match quickly. Bloodied and determined, he kept coming, landing bombs while taking some direct shots from Hearns that seemed to have no effect on Hagler. In the second round, he continued the onslaught while Hearns was on rubbery legs. After knocking Hearns to the mat in the third round, the ref stopped the fight. Marvin Hagler won via TKO, technical knockout. Hearns’ trainers had to carry him back to their corner. Many in the boxing community call it the most physical fight of all time.
Hagler in the dark trunks, Hearns in the light trunks
Re-watching “The War” a few times over the years, I marvel at the Marvelous Marvin Hagler. He was the perfect combination of power, grace, speed, and grit. It’s difficult in some moments to connect the warrior fighting on the screen to the cool dude I met that day – then I remember that handshake.
As much as I loved Muhammad Ali, when I really think about it, it’s Marvin Hagler whom I try to be like in my life and in my work. In the most difficult moments, like so many moments during this pandemic, I try to be that determined blue-collar fighter. And I believe we have seen all of Hagler’s best qualities in so many people at Dana-Farber during the past year. All around we have seen people power through tough battles, wipe the metaphoric blood from their eyes, and keep moving forward. And like Hagler, when the moment calls for it, we can forego all that power to offer a gentle hand.
That’s what sports can offer us during the pandemic: visceral, real-life examples of how to take the hits, keep on going, and achieve great things in the face of a powerful adversary.
Great article!
Thanks David! Growing up just south of Brockton, I knew who Marvin Hagler was even though no one in my house was a fan of boxing. Athletes, and especially local athletes, give you hope that you too can achieve your dreams. Working alongside world renown clinicians and researchers also gives us hope that the dream of knocking out cancer can be achieved!
Wow, what a thrilling encounter that must have been! Great story, David!