George P. Mericka

Year Inducted: 1986

In a career that encompassed several sports, George first excelled in boxing, winning the Times Herald Golden Gloves 147 lb. Championship in 1937-’38-’39-’40 and the Ontario Amateur Championship in 1938.  In 1941, he won the Detroit C.Y.O. title and was a finalist in the Detroit Diamond Belt fights as a middleweight.  He won seventy-three amateur fights, losing only seven times.  In 1943, he also won the Michigan YMCA 180 lb. weightlifting crown.

While in the navy during WWII, he won the Great Lakes Navy 175 lb. Championship and the Air Training Station Championship.  He also played center on the Corpus Christie, Texas, Navy football team.

After the war, he fought professionally and trained local fighters for many years.   As a golfer, he and his son, Joe, have won many Father and Son Tournaments at both Port Huron and Black River Country Clubs.

George and son, Joe, are the first father and son inductees into the Port Huron Sports Hall of Fame.