Inducted on November 12, 2009
HONOREE PAULIE WALKER – POSTHUMOUSLY
Paul Salvatore was born in 1910. The Salvatore family consisted of an older sister, Mary, older brothers, Tony and Joe and a younger brother, Michael. Paulie was born to fight. There was never a time when he didn’t want to be a boxer. He never wanted to learn a trade. He had the book, “How to Box” by old British heavyweight Tom Gibbons. He carried it around with him and read it over and over. He hung around the local gyms and began fighting at local fairs and carnivals. His first fight was as a substitute in the “Trenton Arena,” where he earned $40. His first two years as a pro were mostly in clubs and arenas in New York City, New York State and New Jersey.
One day a newspaper article appeared entitled “Another Day, Another Walker.” It stated that if the clock could be turned back to 1925, Paulie would fit into champ, Mickey Walker’s suit without a tailor. Their statistics were amazingly similar, so Paulie Salvatore became Paul Salvatore Walker and attained fame in his career as “Paulie Walker.” In February, 1930, he had a bout with Joe Dundee, former welterweight champ. His chances were thought to be nil. A big following of fans from Trenton were on hand to see Paulie’s easy win.
Bill Duffy of New York took his contract. He had several local fights and traveled to California and back many times. He also went to Mexico to fight Kid Azteca. His fight in California with YOUNG CORBETT III brought him national attention. Returning to New York he fought Bud Lawless. After that victory, he fought and beat Freddie “Red” Cochran in five. Cochran went on to a title. Paulie broke his right hand in one of his California fights. After that he fought sporadically where fights were available in Newark, Plainfield, Boston Gardens, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and, of course, Trenton. He fought champ Ken Overlin in a non-title bout in 1941 in Trenton Arena. The bout was called a draw, however, everyone thought Paulie was the easy winner. Even columnist, Dan Morgan, of the New York Mirror said he would explain to anyone in a million words how Paulie was robbed. A promise return fight never took place. Paulie turned in his gloves for a desk on Wall Street.
A former fight manager says, “Walker was that special class. The difference between him and other fighters was that Walker could have held his own with anyone in his weight class. You can’t say that about most fighters.”
Paulie was inducted into the Trenton Hall of Fame as one of the three greatest fighters to come out of Trenton.
Joe Perisco, Paulie’s second for many years said, “Paulie had the whole three combination. He could box, punch, and take a punch. He was a counter puncher and he was a stand-up fighter. He’d move, come in underneath, and he could come in on top. He had all the tools.”
He compiled an amazing record of having fought 200 fights and was never knocked out nor had a broken nose. He never lost a fight in Trenton.
Paulie retired from Wall Street and lived in Sheepshead Bay with his second wife, Gloria, for 40 years. He passed in 1987.
Boxing Record: Paulie Walker