The Jim O'Hara Story

Boxing is guts and inspiration, training and planning, footwork and execution.  … [Read More...]

“The biggest steps you’ll ever climb,” Jim cautioned many times, “are the steps into … [Read More...]

Joe Louis was as complete a boxer as the world has ever known. Consider the following … [Read More...]

Here's a story Jim wrote.  The story was published in the Saint Paul Area Downtowner … [Read More...]

Born a southpaw in 1925, Jim resided during some of the Great Depression years in a … [Read More...]

It was 100 degrees f. ringside in Duluth the night of August 27, 1953.  Approaching … [Read More...]

Minnesota’s rich boxing history includes heavyweight contenders Billy Miske and Tommy … [Read More...]

Jazz great Lionel Hampton said: "Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in … [Read More...]

  James John Ehrich, known as Jim O'Hara, entered the world … [Read More...]

A past Vice President of the U.S. Boxing Association (USBA), Jim was honored … [Read More...]

With a gift for numbers, Jim counted to five continuously and effortlessly, like breathing. … [Read More...]

From the day Jim learned he had a deadly bladder cancer until his death, he never … [Read More...]

"The truest competition in all of sports still is two guys in a boxing ring," … [Read More...]

The second youngest of seven brothers, Jim enjoyed being part of a boxing family. He … [Read More...]

With his father’s blessing Jim changed his name legally from Ehrich to O’Hara in 1948 … [Read More...]

Minnesota's Scott LeDoux battled world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes for the title in … [Read More...]

Chapter 1 – The Boxing Board

"The truest competition in all of sports still is two guys in a boxing ring," observed the famed football coach and analyst John Madden in 2012. (Dave Newhouse, Before Boxing Lost Its Punch, Foreword … [Read More...]

Chapter 2 – Dignity & Sportsmanship

Boxing is guts and inspiration, training and planning, footwork and execution.  Practitioners are artists. "Boxing is sort of like jazz," said heavyweight champion George Foreman. "The better it is, … [Read More...]

Chapter 3 – The Unspeakable

Born a southpaw in 1925, Jim resided during some of the Great Depression years in a Minneapolis orphanage with his brothers Mike and Dick and their sister Joanie. They were there because their … [Read More...]

Chapter 4 – The O’Hara Name

  James John Ehrich, known as Jim O'Hara, entered the world on December 23, 1925. His birth place was St. Paul, Minnesota. Destined to earn a Ph.D. in Street Smarts from the St. Paul … [Read More...]

Chapter 5 – Ronald Reagan

The second youngest of seven brothers, Jim enjoyed being part of a boxing family. He particularly looked up to his brother John who boxed professionally from August 1929 through February 1934 and who … [Read More...]

Chapter 6 – The Boxer

“The biggest steps you’ll ever climb,” Jim cautioned many times, “are the steps into the ring.” Every opponent is dangerous. You could literally get killed. Boxing takes guts but more … [Read More...]

Chapter 7 – Boxing Record

It was 100 degrees f. ringside in Duluth the night of August 27, 1953.  Approaching his 28th birthday, Jim was putting on a boxing clinic against a hometown favorite four years his junior. His … [Read More...]

Chapter 8 – Honors & Awards

A past Vice President of the U.S. Boxing Association (USBA), Jim was honored in 1998 by the International Boxing Federation/U.S. Boxing Association (IBF/USBA) for his work in boxing. His biggest … [Read More...]

Chapter 9 – Husband & Father

With his father’s blessing Jim changed his name legally from Ehrich to O’Hara in 1948 when he married the love of his life, Kathleen M. (“Kitty”) Weimer. He asked Kitty which surname she … [Read More...]

Chapter 10 – Joe Louis

Joe Louis was as complete a boxer as the world has ever known. Consider the following observations: Joe was a master of distance and deception. Louis used his footwork to put subtle pressure on his … [Read More...]

Chapter 11 – Muhammad Ali

Minnesota’s rich boxing history includes heavyweight contenders Billy Miske and Tommy Gibbons, who both had title fights with Jack Dempsey in the 1920s, Lee Savold, who fought Rocky Marciano in … [Read More...]

Chapter 12 – Education

With a gift for numbers, Jim counted to five continuously and effortlessly, like breathing. This habit allowed him to tell time without looking at a clock. Not quite but he could watch a freight … [Read More...]

Chapter 13 – The Businessman

Minnesota's Scott LeDoux battled world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes for the title in July 1980 in Bloomington, Minnesota. LeDoux didn't win except the continued gratitude of his many fans for … [Read More...]

Chapter 14 – The Storyteller

Here's a story Jim wrote.  The story was published in the Saint Paul Area Downtowner April 17, 1980: It has been my privilege, since boyhood, to have met many of boxing's greats. But for the … [Read More...]

Chapter 15 – Unselfish Purpose

Jazz great Lionel Hampton said: "Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind." Jim was always grateful for the years he was given. In his teens he was riding in the back of … [Read More...]

Chapter 16 – Irish Cross & Boxing Gloves

From the day Jim learned he had a deadly bladder cancer until his death, he never complained. He bravely fought the cancer while accepting the hand he had been dealt. He loved life. He loved people. … [Read More...]