[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1608-S1609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              SONNY O'DAY

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, on February 7, 2001, the State of 
Montana bid farewell to a favored son from Laurel, Montana. ``Sonny 
O'Day,'' the Kid from Meaderville, was a local hero and businessman who 
held his family, friends and fans close to his heart.

               Sonny O'Day (Charles A. George), 1913-2001

       Sonny O'Day, the Kid From Meaderville, boxed his final 
     round, hung up his gloves, snuffed his famous stogie, and 
     exited the ring quietly in his sleep on Wednesday, January 
     31.
       Sonny, whose legal name was Charles Augustus George, was 
     born Carlo Giorgi on March 8, 1913, to David and Rosa, 
     Ragghianti, Giorgi in Lucca, Italy. His father was killed 
     during World War I. Rosa emigrated to America with her three 
     children to marry her brother-in-law, Angelo Giorgi, in 1920. 
     They passed through Ellis Island, where the family name was 
     Americanized to ``George,'' and took the train through the 
     vast expanses of their new country to the Montana mining 
     community of Meaderville, in Butte.
       Sonny loved all sports and was a natural athlete. Starting 
     to box as a 10-year-old, Sonny was a protege of Butte's Pat 
     Sullivan Boxing Club. He represented the club in amateur 
     fights throughout the State. He also was an avid football 
     player, swimmer and diver. The City Championship football 
     photograph of his Franklin School team was proudly displayed 
     in his Wall of Fame.
       Sonny was privately religious and moral, and proudly 
     remembered his years as an altar boy at St. Joseph's Parish.
       His life-long commitment to family began early when he held 
     his dying mother in his arms at age 14. After her death, 
     Sonny gathered his younger sister and invalid stepfather, 
     Angelo, escorting them back to the family villa in Italy. 
     After Angelo's death, Sonny immediately returned to the U.S. 
     to avoid being conscripted into Mussolini's army.
       Upon returning from Italy in the early 1930's, the 16-year-
     old orphan arrived in New York City, where he was told his 
     pugilism could earn him money. He paid his dues sleeping in 
     an Eastside gym and in Central Park in order to get his big 
     break. Lying about his age, he fought amateur bouts until an 
     agent spotted him and said, ``You've got talent, kid, but the 
     Irish control the game. Nobody is gonna come see an Italian 
     boxer!'' Sonny's reddish hair and freckles were the perfect 
     fit to a new identity--Sonny O'Day--and new birthdate--St. 
     Patrick's Day.
       Spanning the next 17 years, welterweight Sonny fought 529 
     fights, lost 32 and had, as Sonny used to say, ``some draws 
     and the rest wins,'' in Madison Square Garden, Sunset Garden, 
     and other major venues throughout the United States. He first 
     met World Heavy Weight Champion Jack Dempsey when he refereed 
     one of Sonny's early fights.
       Living by the adage: ``Smile and the world smiles with you, 
     cry and you cry alone,'' Sonny was known to greet strangers 
     with his famous smile, booming voice, crunching handshake, 
     and the introductory greeting, ``Shake the hand that shook 
     the world!''
       His love of Butte was as strong as his handshake. He rarely 
     called the city by name. To him, it was ``The Sacred City,'' 
     and Butte cherished him in return, calling him ``The Mayor of 
     Meaderville,'' ``The Meaderville Phantom,'' and ``Butte's 
     Boxing Star.''
       Sonny took his professional boxing earnings and opened two 
     famous Butte nightclubs in the late 1930's: The Savoy and 
     Melody Lane. There, he entertained sports and Hollywood 
     greats including Gene Tunney, Cary Grant and Barbara Hutton.
       He proudly served the U.S. Army during World War II, and 
     married Carra Burton on September 20, 1944, while stationed 
     in Gadsden, Alabama. The couple returned to Montana after the 
     war where he established his bar and tavern in Laurel.
       Sonny O'Day's ``Boxing Hall of Champions,'' complete with a 
     boxing ring, was his passion. He entertained beneath his 
     pictures and memorabilia with stories that rhapsodized his 
     listeners. He loved every minute of it, and bragged that he 
     would never retire. Children came in for free candy, and 
     parents came in for Sonny to give the kids their first 
     lessons in self-defense. Sonny's bar was a local tourist 
     attraction for years, and is listed as one of Montana's 
     favorites in a number of publications.
       Sonny's St. Patrick's Day celebrations were legendary for 
     thousands of fans who descended on the community. It was 
     customary for the Governor--Republican or Democrat--to call 
     Sonny on St. Patrick's Day to wish him happy birthday. In 
     1986, Governor Ted Schwinden decided a phone call wasn't good 
     enough, and came to Laurel to host Sonny's St. Patrick's Day 
     party. The Laurel Chamber of Commerce surprised Sonny on St. 
     Patrick's Day 1995 by honoring him for 50 years of business. 
     The highlight was a celebrated bout between Sonny and special 
     guest Todd Foster, fellow Montana boxing welterweight and 
     1988 Olympian. Foster allowed Sonny his final knockout punch 
     for the ``Downtown Laurel Businessmen's Crown.''
       In 1952, Golden Gloves Boxing came to Montana, and Sonny 
     helped train these young fighters. At the Shrine Temple in 
     Billings, Golden Gloves championships of an eight-State 
     region took place, and Sonny refereed the very first bout and 
     many more over the years.
       When boxing turned professional in Montana, Sonny served on 
     the State Athletic Commission for 26 years under seven 
     different governors. This led him to bring 77

[[Page S1609]]

     professional bouts to Montana, including three world 
     championship fights. As chairman of the Commission, he 
     promoted the Gene Fullmer-Joey Giardello Middleweight 
     Championship of the World title match on April 29, 1960, in 
     Bozeman.
       Basements and gyms all over Billings and Laurel were the 
     sites for years to come as Sonny trained young fighters. He 
     estimated that he helped develop 2,500-3,000 fighters during 
     those years.
       The Student Council of Eastern Montana College, now Montana 
     State University-Billings, originated the annual Sonny O'Day 
     Smoker, a fund raiser that entertained the greater Billings 
     area from 1975-81.
       Sonny's civic community service included 30 years as a 
     Kiwanian, including service as a State Lieutenant Governor; a 
     lifetime member of the Elks; and a founding member of the 
     Montana Gambling Commission. Although he was a 
     professional boxer, he did not believe in corporal 
     punishment, and his daughters fondly remember they never 
     received anything but love from ``those registered 
     hands!'' Whenever the mines in Butte went on strike, he 
     would spearhead caravans of trucks to take food and 
     presents to the miners. He never forgot to feed the alley 
     cats--even on holidays. For a man who had earned his 
     living by the ``manly act of self-defense,'' as Sonny 
     called it, those who knew him saw a gentle soul who 
     lavished kisses and never hesitated to cry tears of 
     sadness or joy.
       His love of cooking was legendary, and no one could enter 
     his home without being invited to dinner. His family never 
     knew who Sonny would bring home to dinner. Jack Dempsey, 
     Sugar Ray Seale, numerous governors and senators, including 
     Mike Mansfield, sat at the family table in Laurel.
       Sonny never forgot his Italian roots, and continued to 
     visit and support his sister and her family in Lucca until 
     her death. Visits to the family villa in Lucca rejuvenated 
     him. He was especially proud of the family legacy: The 
     Ragghianti Art Museum, renowned in the province of Tuscany.
       Sonny is survived by his wife of 56 years, Carra Burton 
     George; his three daughters: Mary-Glynn, Terry, Cromwell of 
     Missoula and grandchildren Charlie, Lauren and David; Nancy, 
     Sam, Talboom of Green River, Wyo. and grandchildren Justin, 
     Carlee, and Jake; and Shelley, Larry, Van Atta of Billings 
     and grandchildren John, Nick, and Marissa; sister-in-law Lois 
     George and her children Michael and Mary Grace, of San Diego, 
     Calif.; and nieces Elisa Mussi and Lalla Volpi, and nephew 
     Carlo Volpi, of Lucca, Italy. He was preceded in death by his 
     parents; brother Gus George; sister Mary Volpi; and son-in-
     law John Pingree.
       God surely must be dancing in Heaven, knowing you're 
     joining Him, Sonny; just as you surely will tell Him, ``It's 
     all in the footwork.'' 

                          ____________________