He was “A Mann among Men.”
I knew Harold Mann from nearly the first day I arrived in Prince George in 1979.
How could one be a sports reporter in the city and not be aware of who he was, what values he stood for and what he accomplished?
Harold was a highly successful fighter in the ring and no pun intended, the most pleasant man outside of the ring.
“Harold not only was a great contributor of building boxers but he was a contributor of building excellent young men. I remember Harold as a very polite diplomat who never ever wanted to hurt anybody’s feelings. In his dealings with people, he always wanted to leave them feeling good about themselves,” said his long-time friend and fellow P.G. Sports Hall of Fame member, Wayne Sponagle.
When his boxing days as a participant were over, Harold gave back to the sport in many capacities as a coach, trainer and educator.
He was a fixture and a positive influence on the many fighters he guided at the Spruce Capital Boxing Club.
“Laurie (his son) and I and Harold traveled all over Canada together. He was an excellent teacher of the skills of boxing. He loved the sport. I am very deeply saddened at Harold’s passing,” stated Sponagle.
Because of his accommodating demeanor, Harold was the last person one would think of selling cars at the Chevrolet Dealership for nearly two-thirds of his life, but he succeeded in that line of work because of an even keel straight talk type of approach.
Gimmicks or fast pitches were not a consideration because Harold believed in the truth and just the straight facts.
Call it old fashion, his winning successful sales formula was to please the customer.
In the ring, it’s difficult to comprehend how such a genuine Mann would want to exchange punches with another boxer, but he never lost respect for any of his many opponents.
Harold, a southpaw, had over 100 fights.
He never lost in 12 bouts as a pro from 1963 to 67.
This followed a superb amateur career where he won 82 of 90 bouts.
The list of accomplishments is lengthy.
He was very proud of earning gold while competing for Canada at the 1962 British Empire Games (now referred to as Commonwealth Games) in Perth, Australia.
Harold was a four time B.C. Champion and captured three national 156 pound championships in the late 1950’s and early 60’s.
He was an easy choice as one of the first inductees into the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
In addition, Harold was enshrined into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame (1980), the Canadian Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame (2002) and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame (2006).
Boxing and business played a large part of his life but nothing could compare to the joy and comfort of his family.
Harold and wife Betty (58 years) was the perfect match and as a couple they could not have been more proud of their three sons, Laurie, Curtis and Cory.
With Dad providing invaluable guidance, Laurie became a 6-time national boxing champion.
It was very difficult for the Mann family in Harold’s last few years while he battled Alzheimer’s.
Harold succumbed to the disease at age 78.
“It’s a great loss. There will never be another Harold Mann in this town,” said Sponagle emphatically.
An icon, a pioneer, a legend that enthusiastically made Prince George a better place, Harold was undoubtedly “The Mann.”
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Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for 94.3 the Goat. He also is the 94.3 radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars home games.
His column appears Fridays on myprincegeorgenow.com.
Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller