Willie Pep
Willie Pep was born Guglielmo Papaleo in Middletown, CT. He began his boxing career as an amateur in 1938, fighting locally in Connecticut. Before the year was over, he had won the Amateur Flyweight Championship of Connecticut. In 1939, he won the Amateur Bantamweight Championship of Connecticut. Willie began fighting professionally in 1940, and on Nov. 20, 1942, at New York's Madison Square Garden, he became the Featherweight Champion of the World by defeating Albert 'Chalky' Wright. He won 63 fights before losing for the first time in March of 1943, when Sammy Angott won the title from him in 10 rounds. Following that loss, Willie then won all of his bouts for the next five years including winning back the Featherweight title in June 1943. The only exception was a single draw in December 1945.
On July 25, 1946, Willie Pep became a boxing urban legend in a fight with Jackie Graves. Before the fight, Willie had said that he would win a round without landing a single punch, and in the third round, he did exactly that, by using his ballet-like footwork and lightning-fast defensive moves.
Even after being severely injured in a plane crash in January 1947, Willie went undefeated that year. He lost the world featherweight crown to Sandy Saddler in 1948, won it back in 1949, but lost it to Saddler once again in 1950. He retired from the ring in 1960, came out of retirement in 1964 to win 43 fights and lose only 5 in the next two years, and retired once again in 1966.
Willie remained active in boxing after hanging up the gloves, serving as an inspector and referee. He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Boxing Hall of Fame in 1963 and was elected to the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1977. In 1990, he was honored by being named one of the inaugural inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. His later years were spent with his family in Wethersfield, CT. He also enjoyed meeting his many fans and signing autographs for them.
Willie Pep passed away at age 84, in Wethersfield, CT. He is survived by his son William "Billy" Papaleo and his daughter Mary Papaleo, both of Wethersfield.
Willie's career record of 242 fights includes 230 wins (65 by knockouts), only 11 losses and one draw. In 2002, Ring Magazine ranked Willie Pep 6th on their list of the 80 top fighters of the past 80 years. He is considered to be one of the best boxers of the 20th century. Willie Pep is truly ‘The Champ’.
This cache is an easy 2-stager. The coordinates given in this description are for Willie Pep’s gravesite. (The cache is NOT located at the grave.) To find the final, you’ll have to do a bit of grade-school math. The north coordinate of the final is 41° 39.A-B-C. To find ABC, take the LAST 3 numbers of the year of Willie Pep’s birth as shown on his grave marker and subtract 462. The west coordinate is 72° 39.D-E-F. To find DEF, take the FIRST 3 numbers of the year of his death and add 385.
The final is just a short walk away from Willie's grave site. While the cache container is well hidden, you will be in plain sight, so be careful of passing traffic, watch for muggles and have your stealth moves ready.
The cache has only enough room for a log sheet, so please BYOP. NOTE: you do not have to move or disturb anything on or near any grave site to remove the cache! Because all the graves have flat markers, the grave site may be difficult to see after more than a few inches of snow.
Congratulations to Trix606 for FTF!
He wins the title by a TKO in the 1st round!
9 March 2010
Rose Hill Memorial Park is open from 8 AM to 8 PM in the summer, and from 8 AM to 5 PM in the winter, so please plan your visit accordingly. You can park on the roadside to within 30’ of the cache site. Stealth may be required, as this is an active cemetery with many visitors every day. There are also frequent funeral processions, so please respect your surroundings and watch for traffic.
Enjoy your visit and happy caching!
