Stephen Michael "Steve" Halaiko (December 27, 1908, in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, ...

– February 6, 2001) was an American

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 eel, ...

who competed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

Amateur career

Because of his baseball skill, Halaiko won a scholarship to Cook Academy at Montour Falls, the oldest prep school in New York State. He organized Cook's first boxing team, serving as coach and captain. Steve made rapid strides with his fists. He won the 1928 national amateur lightweight title, which qualified him for the Olympic Games in Amsterdam that same year. Halaiko won 115 of 116 amateur fights and was the U.S. AAU Champion at 135 lbs in 1928 and 1929. At the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928, Halaiko won the silver medal in the lightweight class after losing the final against

Carlo Orlandi Carlo Orlandi (23 April 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an Italian boxer who won a gold medal at the 1928 Olympics. In 1929 Orlandi turned professional. During the 1930s Orlandi held both the Italian and European lightweight titles. He then won the ...

1928 Olympic results

Below are the results of Stephen Halaiko, an American lightweight boxer who competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics: * Round of 32: Defeated Tomas Poetsch (Czechoslovakia) on points * Round of 16: Defeated

Witold Majchrzycki Walter Witold Majchrzycki (4 February 1909 – 3 December 1993) was a Polish boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. He was born in Berlin, German Empire, and died in Poznań. In 1928 he was eliminated in the second round of th ...

(Poland) on points * Quarterfinal: Defeated Pascual Bonfiglio (Argentina) on points * Semifinal: Defeated

Gunnar Berggren Gunnar Alf Erik Berggren (26 January 1908 – 2 September 1983) was a Swedish boxer who won bronze medals in the lightweight division at the 1927 European Championships and 1928 Summer Olympics. After the Olympics he turned professional and ha ...

(Sweden) on points * Final: Lost to

(Italy) on points

Professional career

Steve turned pro soon after the Olympics and quickly moved up the ladder with a string of victories. In 1930 he won his first important fight by winning an 8-round decision over former lightweight champion Sammy Mandell. 1933 would be one of his best years in the professional ring. He defeated

Cocoa Kid Herbert Lewis Hardwick Arroyo (May 2, 1914 – December 27, 1966), also known as "Cocoa Kid", was a Puerto Rican boxer of African descent who fought primarily as a welterweight but also in the middleweight division. Hardwick won the World Colore ...

twice, he beat and had a draw with

Wesley Ramey Wesley "Wes" Ramey (September 17, 1909 – March 10, 1997) was an American boxer who was dubbed the "Uncrowned Champion of the Lightweights". Although he was ranked as a top-10 lightweight contender for 10 consecutive years, he was never given a ...

and scored a decision over Paris Apice. In 1934 Steve defeated

Lou Ambers Luigi Giuseppe d'Ambrosio (November 8, 1913 – April 25, 1995), a.k.a. Lou Ambers, was an American World Lightweight boxing champion who fought from 1932 to 1941. Ambers fought many other boxing greats, such as Henry Armstrong and Tony Canzoneri ...

over 6 rounds in Syracuse and less than 3 weeks later they would battle to a 10-round draw in Providence. During Halaiko’s 13-year career he would break the top 10 rankings many times and fight the greats of his era. Among those greats were, Izzy Janazzo,

Pedro Montanez Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Galician language, Galician name for ''Peter (given name), Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic fo ...

Tippy Larkin Tippy Larkin (November 11, 1917 – December 10, 1991), born Antonio Pilliteri, was an American boxer from New Jersey who took the world light-welterweight boxing championship on April 29, 1946 in a twelve-round unanimous decision against Willie J ...

and

Tony Canzoneri Tony Canzoneri (November 6, 1908 – December 9, 1959) was an American professional boxer. A three-division world champion, he held a total of five world titles. Canzoneri is a member of the exclusive group of boxing world champions who have won ...

. His final record was 74-35-11 with 22 KO’s which spanned from 1929 to 1942. Halaiko died on February 6, 2001, at the age of 92.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Halaiko, Stephen 1908 births 2001 deaths Boxers from New York (state) Lightweight boxers Olympic boxers for the United States Boxers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in boxing Sportspeople from Auburn, New York American male boxers Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics