Thread: Referee Ratings
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Old 01-23-2021, 12:08 PM   #21
Rocco Del Sesto
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Watkinsville, Georgia
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Billy Burke California

Sepia included California Burke in his collection he shared in this form way back when. I adjusted the Judgement factor based on what I read in some articles on line. Think Sepia had it at 20

From BoxRec:

After his professional boxing career ended, Billy Burke relocated to California. While there he was the head trainer for the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League of minor league baseball, as well as at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He was a referee, based primarily out of the Bay Area while in California.

BoxRec's ledgend for his boxing career shows him fighting from 1899 thru 1913 as a middleweight with a 16-29-15 record.

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Judgement: 20, Articles found, and comments below on a couple issues, Burke's judgement on fights was contested at times and tended to show a flippy floppy judgement even during a fight.

Fouls and Stoppages just put Normal as I seen nothing out of the norm in what I skimmed through.

Found and article in the 02/16/45 edition of The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, CA where Burke was suspended by John Rustigan of the California State Athletic Commission when Billy Burke was unable to produce his scorecard from a fight between Henry Armstrong and Chester Slider. Burke said the scorecard had been snatched from him by a spectator after the bout! It was noted that Burke had awarded the 10 round decision to Slider even though practically every ringsider scored the fight in Armstrong's favor according to the article.

An April 11, 1945 Oakland Tribune article notes that Billy Burke is still suspended and no decision having been made yet to reinstating him. A short note in the March 5, 1945 Oakland Tribune said that Burke had been suspended for 60 days.

A later article found in the 11/24/45 edition of the Spokane Chronicle, Washington, noted that the California State Athletic Commission did suspend Billy Burke for the "incompetent work" in the Billy Smith-Buddy Millard state light-heavyweight championship fight the previous Wednesday.Burke had counted out Millard in the fight, but fans voiced extreme displeasure as in thier opinion Smith was guilty of hitting Millard with a number of low blows.

Photos are from the 03/27/45 Oakland Tribune, 01/14/26 Oakland Tribune, 08/11/38 Oakland Tribune and the last one, I'd found a while back and didn't make note what paper.
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