This week’s historical figure is Robert Avon Edgett. Bob was born in 1930 in Centre Village, New Brunswick. In his early teen years he discovered a passion for boxing, displaying great potential by 15 years old. By the time he was 19 he had won the Maritime Boxing Championship and the Quebec Golden Gloves. From 1949 to 1951 he served in the Canadian Navy and became their light heavyweight champion. He went on to win more championships from 1954 till 1962, including the Maine State Championship, and the Maritime Heavyweight Championship. In 1963 Robert purchased a building that was part of Mount Allison University and moved it to the top of York Street. This building served as Bob Edgett’s Boys’ Club for more than five decades. He coached the New Brunswick boxing team which won two bronze medals in the Canada Winter Games of 1987. He also helped create similar clubs in surrounding areas in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.Through his club he produced 18 Canadian amateur champions and hundreds of Maritime champions. In the 1990s some girls joined the boxing club, and Robert changed the name to Bob Edgett’s Boxing Club to be more inclusive. He received the Prince Edward Island Amateur Boxing Association Award. After Bob’s death in 2011, Mark Adams, one of Roberts' successful mentees, stepped forward to continue his legacy, renaming it The Bob Edgett Memorial Boxing Club. In 2020 when COVID-19 hit, the Boxing Club shut its doors permanently, but Bob’s memory lives on in the minds of the countless young people he taught and inspired.
Fun Fact!!!
From 1977 to 2013, Bob was added to five Sports Halls/Walls of Fame, including New Brunswick (Hall), Moncton (Wall), Sackville (Wall), Canadian Amateur Boxing (Hall), and Rochester, New York (Hall).
External Links:
To learn more about influential historical figures in the area, check out Charlie Scobie’s book The People of the Tantramar: https://bit.ly/3wphRoO "
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