[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hank Kaplan passes away[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Friday, December 14 2007[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hank Kaplan, beloved Hall of Fame boxing historian and archivist, passed away peacefully in his sleep 3:30 this morning at his home in Kendall, Florida. He was 88. The funeral is tentatively scheduled for Monday, December 17th at Mount Nebo Memorial Gardens in Kendall. Further details will follow.[/FONT]
RIP Everybody I know in the memorabilia and historical research world of boxing absolutely loved this guy. It seemed like everybody had a story of the time they went to Florida and was welcomed into Hank's house and given free reign of his boxing files. Then Hank would bring them around town to all the gyms and introduce them to the boxers and trainers in the area. I was able to congratulate him about getting into the HOF when he came by my table at the collectibles show last year. He still seemed like his mind was pretty sharp and he was almost embarrassed about the honor. He's a guy who absolutely respected the boxers and probably didn't think of himself in HOF terms. He was the ultimate superfan.
He was more than a fan. People remember Hank the historian and collector, but Hank also managed and promoted back in the day. He was instrumental in making the IBHOF a reality, edited various boxing publications and was a restless ambassador to the sport. Las time I saw him wasn't too long ago at a local show here in South Florida. Hank was a gentleman as usual, we talked boxing for a while, he seemed to be doing fine and his mind was as sharp as I ever remember it to be. I kick myself now for never taking him on his many offers to visit his place. R.I.P. Mr. Kaplan
