R.I.P. Prolific Boxing Writer Ted Sares

It is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of TSS mainstay Ted Sares. The author of several books about boxing and hundreds of articles about the sweet science, Ted, a longtime resident of North Conroe, New Hampshire, passed away yesterday, Aug. 31, at age 85, a mere four days after he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

A professional powerlifter who competed in regional tournaments as recently as last year, giving Ted the distinction of being the oldest active Strongman competitor in the United States, Ted’s lifelong love affair with boxing began in his childhood when he attended fights with his father in his native Chicago. The sport often let him down, but he stayed loyal to it in the way that a father stays loyal to a wayward son.

Boxing historian and all-around good guy Henry Hascup, the president of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, shared the news of Ted’s passing in a widely circulated e-mail to members of the International Boxing Research Organization. “As we looked over his literally thousands of Facebook friends around the globe, we are humbled at the number of lives Ted touched in his lifetime,” wrote Hascup.

News of Ted’s passing hit Hall of Fame boxing writer Bernard Fernandez particularly hard. Fernandez was roused to write this eulogy:

“Ted was known as `The Bull’ with good reason; he certainly was as strong as one, winning age-group powerlifting and strongman competitions well into his 70s. Asked once why he did what he did when so many of his fellow senior citizens became spectators, not participants, he said, “I want to inspire people. I want someone to look at me and say, `Because of you, I got off the couch. Because of you, I didn’t give up.’ When I hear that, it makes everything worthwhile.'”

 I never was in Ted’s physical presence. I never had the good fortune to be with him at the same time and at the same place, but we had a friendship borne of many phone calls and mutual respect given our shared love of boxing. And I can say now that, in so many ways, he inspired the hell out of me. He called me from his hospital bed a few days ago to give me the sad news of his being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He said he was told he had only three to five months to live. It turned out to be just four days. The cause of his passing hits me especially hard as my wife is also dealing with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and I can only hope and pray that her doctor’s estimate of her remaining life span (one year, but she was told that several months ago) is far longer than the one given to Ted.

Ted Sares was a good man, a loyal friend, someone who excelled at nearly everything he attempted to do in a life that, despite its chronological longevity, ended far too soon. I will miss him. So will many others who knew him personally or simply through his gift of writing about a sport he held near and dear to his heart.”

A lifetime member of Ring 4, the Boston branch of the Veteran Boxers Association, Ted Sares was the recipient of numerous awards during his lifetime. He was particularly proud of being named the recipient of the inaugural Harold Lederman Historian Award given at the Boxing Banquet of Ring 10 on Sept 29, 2019, in New York City. Sares greatly admired his friend Lederman, the longtime boxing judge and HBO boxing personality who passed away earlier that year.

In lieu of a memorial service, writes Henry Hascup, Sares asks that everyone take time to show someone kindness, generosity, and care in the coming days to commemorate his passing. If you wish to make a donation in his name, you can make one to Handsome Dan’s Rescue for Pitbull Type Dogs handsomedansrescue.org/

Ted always took great joy in the dogs in his own life and those that his son fostered for Handsome Dan’s.

Of all the stories that Ted Sares authored for publication in these pages, one surmises that he was particularly proud of this one. It’s a bittersweet true-life tale with a heartwarming caboose that the reader doesn’t see coming. Check it out.

This is a developing story. We will have new details as they become available.

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