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Earl “Gibby” Pruess was one of the earliest champions of the Chicago boxing tournament that became known as the Golden Gloves. Born in Chicago in 1895, he competed in the 1923 tournament, when 424 young men entered the contest. Pruess won the championship in the 160-pound weight class. His victory made him part of the first generation of Chicago fighters celebrated by the tournament, which grew into one of America’s best-known amateur boxing traditions. Boxing wasn’t Pruess’s only sport: after his time in the ring, he also played professional baseball and football. His story is a reminder that early Golden Gloves fighters often pursued athletic careers beyond boxing