A time capsule of the way it was in our neighborhood back in 1980.
GBH Archives on social media shares little bits of Boston history in short videos. On Friday, they posted one filmed in South Boston back in 1980 featuring the McDonough Boxing Gym and a ragtag bunch of Southie youths who train there. Back in the day, sports like boxing were a way to keep kids off the mean streets of South Boston.
The McDonough Boxing Gym was founded in the 1940s at the Boston municipal court building (aka the Muni) on East Broadway, which is now known as the Walsh Center.
You can watch the video here. Do you recognize any of these kids? We do – David “Ducky” Attardo and the feisty redhead is John “Red” Shea – who would later write the book Rat Bastards: The South Boston Irish Mobster Who Took the Rap When Everyone Else Ran.
Other alumni of the McDonough Boxing Gym include Peter Welch from Peter Welch’s Gym and Dana White, president of the UFC.
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
trained up there with the attardos .roaches
nice place to train