If there was any doubt who the father of Harvard boxing is, all one has to do is look at the label on the equipment room door in the Malkin Athletic Center. Written in big bold letters is the insignia "Coach Tommy Rawson."

At the age of 90, Rawson is still as active as most Harvard students, promptly coming to the MAC from Monday to Friday for his two-and-a -half hours of training and mentoring. Although the Harvard Boxing Club has about 25 members who regularly show up for practice, and many others who stop by on an inconsistent basis, one can always rely on seeing "Coach" and his big smile on the second floor of the athletic facility.

He provides invaluable advice and assistance to aspiring Crimson pugilists, and adds more than a lifetime's worth of boxing experiences that date back to his amateur days in the 1920s.

As a young boy in East Boston, he needed to look no further than his dad to gain an interest in the sport he has participated in for almost 80 years. His father taught boxing classes at the Boys Club in Charlestown, Mass. after an illustrious career.

"When I was 12 or 13 years old I'd go there after school and box with different young fellows," Rawson said in a previous interview with Harvard Magazine. "I learned the ropes that way."

After endless hours of preparation and training, which included daily ten mile runs and plenty of sparring, Rawson finally found his moment to shine at the age of 20.

He captured the New England Lightweight Amateur Championship in 1929 just two years into his competitive boxing career. Rawson then traveled to the newly built Chicago Stadium, affectionately known as the Madhouse on Madison, with his New England club to compete in the national amateur tournament.

With his liquid-quick left jab working to perfection, he breezed through the competition to win the junior national lightweight title with such distinguished individuals such as Al Capone and Gene Autry looking on from the stands.