Greg Page: October
27th Marks the Six-Month Anniversary of his passing
October 27, 2009
Photo courtesy of Pam Windsor, taken November 2005.
(OCT 27) On October 25, 2009 was a
milestone. Today, Oct. 27th will be another milestone. Yet, no bells
will toll at noon. No flags will fly half staff. The world won't stop
turning. Nothing spectacular will really happen, except that in the
hearts of many there will be a tremendous ache. In the minds of many
others, a gentle giant will appear and some will remember, share a story
of a personal or professional moment or maybe some will just smile. Late
great, Louisville KY native Greg Page would have been 51 on Sunday
October 25th and Tuesday October 27th will mark the six month
anniversary of his passing.
Greg Page was USBA heavyweight boxing champ from 1980 thru 1984 and
captured the WBA heavyweight crown by knocking out Gerrie Coetzee in
South Africa in December 1984. In a fight in March 2001 in Erlanger, KY
Greg went down at the end of a KY Athletic Commission (KAC) sanctioned
fight for the KY State Heavyweight championship. He lapsed into a coma
and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Due to a tremendous
lack of oversight by the KAC (no oxygen at ringside, no ambulance
present, the "ringside MD" was not licensed to practice in the State of
KY among other things) Greg went without proper medical attention for
30-45 minutes. By the time the ambulance had arrived, and reached him,
he was in complete cardiac and respiratory arrest and in the fight for
his life. Due to those conditions he suffered a massive stroke that left
him paralyzed on his left side with multiple severe medical issues.
Despite those many impairments that would have been impossible for any
other individual, that "gentle giant" fought with dignity, spirit, class
and the heart of a true champion. While he lost his battle with those
debilitating injuries in April he never complained and he never gave up!
"The Devil Thought He Had Me But I Got Away!"
Greg never stopped believing that this life altering, career ending
injury all happened by God's design and that he went thru it for a
higher purpose and that he was simply a part of a bigger picture. Anyone
who came in contact with him during those last 8 years of his life would
almost certainly agree that everything about Greg believed that. About 3
months into his recovery, once he found his voice again, he placed the
mantle on me, "make sure this doesn't happen to anybody else." I have
taken that mantle quite seriously. I went to battle against the corrupt
KAC. In early January 2005, the KAC was disbanded and the Kentucky
Boxing and Wrestling Authority was created. The KBWA's focus was athlete
safety and they went about that task with vigor. The KWBA included a
board member that took the task very seriously in the shape of Mr. Bud
Schardein. Bud having been a former boxer in his own rite took on the
task with the intention of helping to change Ky's regulations with
keeping the boxer safe first and foremost. With that in mind, Bud went
to NY to visit with the American Association for the Improvement of
Boxing (AAIB) and to see how NY did things, he came back, the KBWA
rolled up its sleeves and got to work.
In mid 2006, the new regulations went into law. Among those regulations,
ringside doctors had to be licensed in the State of KY and had to stay
in the building with the boxers until they had left; Oxygen and an
ambulance had to be ringside prior to the fights starting and promoters
have to notify the closest hospital with a trauma center that fights
were taking place so that a neurologist can be on call in the event of
injury. None of these changes would have taken place without Greg Page
in mind, the diligence of Bud and the enforcement strength and
perseverance of Angela Robertson and Todd Neal.
In May 2007, while admitting no wrongdoing, the State of Ky entered into
a settlement agreement with Greg Page. The most important part of that
agreement named those new regulations that were enacted in 2006 after
the CHAMP (The Greg Page Boxer Safety Initiatives) and the settlement
established an Medical Advisory Board to advise the KBWA.
There were many things that were important to Greg. He wanted people
with disabilities to be able to have access to services that they needed
to help provide them with a better quality of life. That was
accomplished when his oldest brother, Dennis Page founded the Greg Page
Foundation (www.gregpagefoundation.com). He wanted to start a boxing gym
where kids of all ages from all backgrounds could have a place to come
and learn to participate in the sport that brought him so much joy. He
wanted to train them in the non-traditional style that his trainer "Baby
Leroy" Edmerson taught to him and so many others. To bring this about,
the Baxter Memorial Gym 100 N. 34th St, Louisville, KY (www.baxtermemorial.com)
was founded. At Baxter kids can learn about boxing, building confidence
and learning discipline. Members are encouraged to be ambassadors for
the sport and the community and must maintain a "B" average in school
and participate in volunteer projects in the area. Safety of children
was of premier importance to Greg as well. He was horrified by the
critical injury of Erica Hughes who was shot in her head and left for
dead at the age of two and the awful abduction and murder of Cesar
"Ivan" Cano near Churchill Downs not far from our residence. Greg had a
chance encounter with Erica and became enchanted with her. Thus his
involvement with Christopher 2X and his Fight Crimes Against Children's
Partnership.
Yes, Greg was right, his injury was all a part of a bigger picture. So
to Greg from all of us who care for him, we know you are in heaven
dancing in the golden streets, perhaps fishing, visiting with family and
friends that passed on before you and probably running in your boots
with "Baby Leroy". RIP and know that those you left behind think of you
every day and try to fill that void that you left behind by keeping the
Greg Page Legacy Alive. "Believe in the Knockout Power of the
Lord, Greg Page 2001"
