Graham Paul Finlay (3 February 1936 – 29 July 2018) was a New Zealand

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who won four national amateur boxing championships, and represented his country at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

and the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

Biography

Born in Greymouth on 3 February 1936, Finlay was the son of Jack "Doc" Finlay. Trained by his father, Graham Finlay won four New Zealand national amateur boxing championship titles: the light welterweight title in 1954; and the welterweight title in consecutive years from 1955 to 1957. He represented New Zealand in the welterweight division at the 1956 Olympics in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, losing to the eventual bronze medallist, Kevin Hogarth from Australia, on points in his first bout. In the light-welterweight division at the

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Finlay was eliminated in the first round, defeated by G.R. Smith from Southern Rhodesia. Overall, Finlay's amateur record was 98 fights for seven defeats. Finlay was also a useful

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

second rower, playing for the Greymouth Marist club side that won several West Coast titles, as well as the

Thacker Shield The Thacker Shield is a rugby league football trophy awarded on an annual basis to the winner of a match between the champion clubs of the Canterbury Rugby League and West Coast Rugby League. History The shield was donated by Dr Henry Thacker in 1 ...

in 1959 and 1961. Outside of sport, Finlay operated the Chevron restaurant and milk bar in Greymouth with his brother-in-law, John Morris. In 1985, Finlay relocated to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, where he worked for the Inland Revenue Department until his retirement. Finlay died on 29 July 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, Graham 1936 births 2018 deaths Sportspeople from Greymouth New Zealand male boxers Boxers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for New Zealand Boxers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand New Zealand rugby league players Rugby league second-rows Welterweight boxers