Essay on Eugene “Silent” Hairston by Rochelle Wright

It is known that sport plays an important role in our life. It makes people healthy, wealthy and wise. That is why thousands of people devote their lives to sport. Sport is a prestigious profession for thousands of sportsmen. Boxing is considered to be a dangerous sport as it attracts only those who are strong and brave, those who are ready to fight to the end. Of course, there are many examples of boxers whose sport career deserves respect and admiration. Eugene “Silent” Hairston is one of them. He is a talented boxer who became a Champion and whose life story attracts attention of thousands of boxers both the professionals and the amateurs. It is known that the boxing community referred to him as “Silent” because of his hearing loss.

Eugene “Silent” Hairston is not the only deaf athlete who became famous throughout the world and who contributed to the Deaf community a lot. Such deaf sportsmen as Dummy Hoy, a famous deaf baseball player, Kenny Walker, a professional football player, James “Deaf” Burke, a well-known boxer and a number of other sportsmen proved the fact that deaf people could be talented sportsmen.

EUGENE “SILENT” HAIRSTON’S BIOGRAPHY AND CAREER

Some facts from Eugene Hairston’s biography

The famous American boxer Eugene Hairston was born in Harlem, New York in 1929. It is known that when the boy was twelve years old he had serious health problems. He was diagnosed with spinal meningitis, a serious disease known as brain fever. Unfortunately, Eugene’s parents lost the time and the doctors could not help the boy to avoid hearing loss. He became deaf at the age of twelve knowing that he should be strong enough to succeed in life. Deaf people differ from other healthy people because they live in their own world. They have no opportunity to hear the words and the sounds but they can achieve their goals and become the winners. This fact is proved by a great deal of examples in sport. The boy attended a public school for deaf children where he was taught to be persistent in everything he did. (Moore & Panara, 1996, p.212)

Eugene Hairston’s first steps to boxing

Eugene was not the only child in the family. He had his younger brothers and sisters who needed his attention and help. That is why he had to leave his school at the age of 15 in order to help his mother to take care of his younger sisters and brothers. He was a careful brother and a loving son. He understood that his family needed money. That is why he decided to find some odd jobs. He always wanted to help his poor family. However, the odd jobs were poorly paid. Eugene made up his mind to try fighting. He knew that that activity could bring him and his family enough money. Each day for about six months he went to Tremont Fighting Club which was located in Bronx. He had a note in his hands with the words: “I want to fight”. It is clear that the owners of the club did not like that idea. They refused him to take part in fighting because of his deafness. However, the boy’s assertiveness was the best quality for any boxer. The owners of the club decided to give him a chance. They saw that the boy had all the necessary traits of character to become a good boxer: persistence, strength, self-confidence, ambition. The owners of Tremont Fighting Club decided to train Eugene. At first, he began to fight as an amateur but then he became a professional boxer. (Moore & Panara, 1996, p.223)

Eugene Hairston’s achievements

It is known that Eugene had a successful start in his boxing career as he became the winner of two impressive titles. Eugene became the Champion of New York Golden Gloves, 137lb Lightweight Open Division and the Champion of Chicago Intercity Golden Gloves, 147lb Welterweight Open Division. According to the statistical data, he lost only one bout out of 61 amateur bouts during his competitive career.

During his professional boxing career, Eugene Hairston proved the fact that he was a formidable opponent. It is known that he had 45 wins, 24 knock-outs, 13 losses and 5 draws.