{"id":42280,"date":"2013-02-14T16:30:31","date_gmt":"2013-02-14T21:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=42280"},"modified":"2013-02-14T09:08:51","modified_gmt":"2013-02-14T14:08:51","slug":"hundreds-bid-farewell-to-basilio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=42280","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds Bid Farewell to Basilio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carmen Basilio, right, and Dickie DiVeronica are pictured together during the International Boxing Hall of Fame\u2019s Induction Weekend in June 2007. (Photo by Margo Frink)<\/em><\/p>\n

(Canastota, NY – Feb. 2013\"Basilio<\/a>) A memorial mass was held at St. Agatha\u2019s Church Feb. 9 to say goodbye to Canastota\u2019s world boxing champion\u00a0Carmen Basilio. Despite frigid temperatures in the mid-teens and fresh snow compliments of the nor\u2019easter that blanketed the Northeast, the sun was shining brightly as hundreds braved the elements to say goodbye.<\/p>\n

Basilio, who was born on Main Street in Canastota on April 2, 1927, passed away on Nov. 7, 2012 in Rochester at age 85.<\/p>\n

Basilio twice won the world welterweight title, first from Tony DeMarco in 1955 and then from Johnny Saxton in 1956 before defeating Sugar Ray Robinson for the world middleweight championship in 1957. With an aggressive, charging style and a powerful left hook, Basilio scored wins over Lew Jenkins, Ike Williams, Billy Graham, Gil Turner, Art Aragon, Gasper Ortega and Don Jordan among others during his career. He incredibly engaged in five consecutive fights of the year: 1955 (vs. DeMarco), 1956 (vs. Saxton), 1957 (vs. Robinson), 1958 (vs. Robinson) and 1959 (vs. Fullmer). His pro record reads 56-16-7 (27 KOs). In 1990, Basilio was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

With Carmen\u2019s wife Josie and several generations of family and friends filling church pews, Rev. Kevin Maloney began the mass and recalled the life and times of Canastota\u2019s most famous native son. Many members of Carmen\u2019s family read religious passages in honor of their beloved relative and presented gifts, including a pair of boxing gloves to the church altar.<\/p>\n

Canastota resident Ross Stagnitti and Hall of Fame Executive Director Ed Brophy delivered the eulogy.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarmen was not ashamed to show his emotions,\u201d Stagnitti said. \u201cHe shed tears of joy during each and every one of the Hall of Fame parades. He cried upon receiving his Canastota High School diploma in 2009 and as his banner was raised to the rafters of the Syracuse War Memorial in 2008.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCarmen was never one to boast, but we did it for him,\u201d Brophy said. \u201cWhen someone asked, where are you from, you\u2019d always respond by saying a small town next to Syracuse, called Canastota. Immediately they would look at you and say \u2018Carmen Basilio.\u2019\u00a0 And the conversation would get started about the great Carmen Basilio of the 1950s. They would say \u2018He was one of my favorites\u2019 or \u2018I remember watching him on TV with my father.\u2019 It seemed that everywhere you went; everyone had a Carmen Basilio story to tell. Think of all those wonderful times.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the mass concluded, family and friends convened at the Rusty Rail Party House in Canastota for a reception in Basilio\u2019s honor. Remembrances about the man known as the \u201cUpstate Onion Farmer\u201d filled the banquet room. Stories ranged from humorous to serious. They told of Basilio, unchanged by fame, playing practical jokes, treating locals to breakfast at the diner, taking a youngster under his wing, or his unwavering friendship. He had the unique ability to inspire others through his actions and words.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carmen Basilio, right, and Dickie DiVeronica are pictured together during the International Boxing Hall of Fame\u2019s Induction Weekend in June 2007. (Photo by Margo Frink) (Canastota, NY – Feb. 2013) A memorial mass was held at St. Agatha\u2019s Church Feb. 9 to say goodbye to Canastota\u2019s world boxing champion\u00a0Carmen Basilio. Despite frigid temperatures in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,94],"tags":[2830,2873,3069,6870,9328,18143],"class_list":["post-42280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-obituaries","category-sports","tag-canastota-high-school","tag-canastota-ny-news","tag-carmen-basilio","tag-edward-brophy","tag-international-boxing-hall-of-fame-and-museum","tag-ross-stagnitti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}