Larry Holmes turned 76 years old today. He is, without question, one of the top ten, and probably one of the top five heavyweight boxers of all-time, when he was in his prime. He is often overlooked by new fans, in part because he wasn’t a trash talker, but also because his style of boxing was purely fundamental and not the kind of excitement that an Ali or Tyson gave us. One isn’t better than the other, but Larry’s jab worked well for him. So well that he held some variation of the heavyweight championship for 7 years. Among his victories, he defeated Ken Norton, Muhammad Ali, Ernie Shavers, Mike Weaver, Gerry Cooney, Tim Witherspoon, Carl Williams, and Marvis Frazier. He was at 48-0 before the mafia outright robbed him he fell short of tying Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record in his match with Leon Spinks in 1985. Everyone in Easton will tell you “they know” Larry, that’s everybody but me. I actually have met him plenty of times, but that’s different from knowing someone. I do know Larry Jr., and he’s an absolutely great dude (go check out his new cigar bar, Legends, which is opening in downtown Easton). So I know Mr. and Mrs. Holmes did a great job at that.

Is Larry the greatest athlete to ever come out of the Lehigh Valley? He might be. Mario Andretti is the only man to ever win the Indy 500, Daytona 500, and Formula One Championship though, so there’s an argument that he is also a top ten, or even top five athlete of all-time in his sport. Larry has competition to just be the greatest athlete ever to come out of Easton though- Bobby Weaver won the Olympic Gold Medal in Los Angeles in 1984 in freestyle wrestling. It would be really hard to argue against any of them as the best ever. There are competitors though.

Joe Kovacs of Bethlehem Catholic is a three time Olympic Silver Medalist in the Shot Put, and has won two World Championships. Stan Dziedzic of Allen won an Olympic Bronze Medal in Wrestling at the 1976 Olympics, to go with his three NCAA Division II and one Division I championship. Andre Reed of Dieruff is in the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame and started in FOUR Super Bowls. Saquon Barkley obviously won last year’s Super Bowl with the Eagles and was named Offensive Player of the Year. His fellow Whitehall Zephyrs Matt Millen and Dan Koppen won four and two Super Bowls in their NFL careers. Jim Ringo of Phillipsburg won Super Bowl I and another championship on his way to making both the Packers and Eagles Hall-of-Fame. Ned Bolcar of Phillipsburg won an NCAA Championship for Notre Dame’s 1988 team and played in the NFL. Chuck “Concrete” Charlie of Liberty High School was a two way menace for the Eagles and won two championships. Kristen Maloney was an Olympic Bronze Medal winning gymnast out of Pen Argyl. Sandy Koufax is one of the greatest pitchers of all time and resides in the Center Valley area. Darian Cruz wrestled in the 2024 Olympics and finished 5th. Marty Nothstein, long before politics, won an Olympic Silver (’96 Atlanta) and Gold (2000 Sydney) in track cycling. Meredith Sholder of Emmaus played on the 2024 U.S. Olympic Field Hockey team. Curt Simmons from Whitehall pitched on the 1950 NL Champion Phillies and made three All-Star Games. Brian Schneider of Northampton had a long MLB career with the Expos, Nationals, Mets, and Phillies. Anthony Recker of Catasauqua was a catcher for the A’s, Cubs, and Mets. Matt McBride from Liberty appeared for the A’s and Rockies. Aaron Gray of Emmaus had a decent run in the NBA, mostly as a member of the Chicago Bulls. You can’t forget defending Super Bowl Champion Jahan Dotson of Nazareth. Cindy Werley of Emmaus was on the 1996 Olympic Field Hockey Team. Kevin and Kyzir White of Emmaus have had notable NFL careers, with Kyzir playing for the Eagles 2022 Super Bowl team. Tyrese Martin of Allen is on the Brooklyn Nets right now. Damn, this list got long.

One would be really hard pressed to make a Mount Rushmore of Lehigh Valley sports without Larry Holmes, Mario Andretti, Chuck Badnarik, and Bobby Weaver. You could certainly argue for Matt Millen, Andre Reed, Dan Koppen, Saquon Barkley, Marty Nothstein, and Jim Ringo, and I won’t say you’re wrong. Either way, the Easton Assassin has to be on any list, and I hope he had a great birthday.