Dear Friends, Fans and Family of Tony Zale,
It is with deep regret that we are announcing a theft from the International Boxing Hall of Fame Museum in Canastota, NY. This occurred on Thursday, November 5th at approximately 3 am. We were notified of the burglary later that morning and were devastated to learn that Tony Zale's two championship belts displayed there since 1998 were stolen. Carmen Basilio's four championship belts are also missing.
We have no words to express the emotional roller coaster that our family has experienced since hearing this news. Shock. Disbelief. Sadness. Anger. Faith.
WHO would do this?
... and then of course... WHY?
We have set up Zale's Corner Camp just a few hundred feet from the entrance into The IBHOF. We felt compelled to make the 11 hour drive from Lansing, Michigan, to Canastota. Our daughter Haley arrived separately from NYC within minutes of our arrival from Michigan. We had to come to the scene of the crime.
Upon entering the IBHOF Museum's front entrance, as we have so many times before during these past 17 years, we instinctively glanced over to see those old familiar belts which are part of Tony Zale's amazing legacy. That's when the reality of their disappearance hit us hard, tearing deep into our hearts.
We are pleading to all of you to PLEASE forward this email and reach out to your own friends to help pass the word and then ask those friends to pass it on and so on. The secret location of these beautiful and historical artifacts could be located here blocks from us. They could be sitting anywhere from the east to west coast, or they could have by now made their way to any other country like Canada or Mexico and beyond. Anything is possible. Please keep your eyes and ears open and continue to do so until those belts are back in our hands once again. If you know of collectors or auction sites, etc., please check those out for us. We don't know everything there is to know about those possibilities.
These two champions, Tony Zale and Carmen Basilio, deserves better than this! For you boxers out there, you know what it takes to win any championship belt, much less three. Tony earned his way into many Halls of Fame around the country and will be honored next Saturday in the first induction class of the Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame. Ted Zale will be attending this induction ceremony and represent the Tony Zale family.
Again, thank you for being a fan of Tony Zale. We appreciate each and every one of you. PLEASE forward this email. PLEASE post on Facebook or other social media sites. PLEASE share our Facebook page with others. PLEASE do something to spread the word.
Thank you very much.
As the Champ would say . . .
BEST WISHES AND SUCCESS ALWAYS,
Ted and Deb Zale and family.
Zale's Corner, LLC
P.O. Box 80834
Lansing, MI 48908
517.449-5995 (Ted)
www.tonyzale.org
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