Compiled by Joseph Svinth. Newspaper research by Patrick Baptiste, Rod Masuoka, and Curtis Narimatsu. Photographic research by Paul Lou and Curtis Narimatsu; all images copyright Paul Lou and Curtis Narimatsu, and used by permission. The assistance of Thelma Gora, the Japanese American National Museum, and Michael Machado of the Hawaii State Boxing Commission is also gratefully acknowledged.

The youngest of ten children (six boys and four girls), Antone Matsugoro was born at Waialua, Oahu on July 2, 1909. His father, Segiwara Matsugoro, was from Yamaguchi, Japan while his mother, Mary Silveira Figueira, was from Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. Matsugoro had come to Hawai’i at the age of 37 while Figueira came at the age of 14, and the couple had met while working together in the cane fields.

In February 1923 the Matsugoro family home was mentioned in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin as being destroyed by a tsunami. Other than that, little is known of Gora's childhood. Apparently, though, he visited Japan as a youth, as years later he told his wife that while in Japan, he had gone running in a park called Gora Park, and upon returning to Honolulu had decided to change his name to Gora. All his siblings except his oldest brother also eventually took the last name of Gora.

Gora grew up big, strong, and fast, and after Congress legalized professional boxing in Hawai’i, a Honolulu sport named Henry Johnson talked him into turning pro.

Hawai’i's first fight under commission rules took place at the Honolulu Stadium on August 13, 1929. The matchmaker was Chang Kau, who worked at the Navy Yard and was the elder brother of boxer Dick Chang, and the referee was Dr. Francisco D'Eliscu, who later wrote a book on hand-to-hand fighting for the Army. Most of the early fights pitted the Army versus the Navy, but Japanese versus Filipino was another popular match-up. And, as boxing is a gambler's sport, a popular cry heard from the crowd during these fights was always "Go for Broke!"

Gora's first professional fight took place on September 21, 1929. The opponent was Charlie Rosa, and Gora lost a 4-round decision. But he won his next seven fights, six by knockout, and as a result soon moved into the semi-finals and main events. Financially, this was an important move, for as a preliminary fighter he sometimes received as little as $18.40 per fight, but as a victorious main event fighter, he earned between $200 and $400 per fight, which was good money for a working man during the Depression.

Depending on how hard he had been training, Gora fought at various weights between 160 and 175 pounds. His best fighting weight, however, was around 168. He had a good right hand, and in January 1931 the Honolulu sportswriter Don Watson said that Gora was the Territory's best middleweight. And, believing this, Gora went to San Francisco that very month.

In California, Gora's manager and trainer was Billy Newman, a man who handled many Hawaiian fighters. Of Gora's seven known fights on this tour -- he probably had more -- he won five, drew one, and lost one. But middleweights with good rights were not uncommon in California and as a result his pay averaged just $100 per fight, which was half what he was used to in Hawai’i. As a result, said Gora's friend Togo Nakamura, the money was usually gone within a few days.

Broke, Gora returned to Hawai’i during the spring of 1931. Billy Newman later told sportswriter Red McQueen he could have killed Gora for that, as it seems that Gora had caught the first ship out of town without bothering to tell his trainer that he was leaving.

Immediately upon returning to Hawai’i, Gora began dating the boss's daughter. In 1929 the Honolulu building contractor Joseph F. Neves had built the 5,000-seat Houston Arena in Palama. (The name honored Territorial Delegate to Congress Victor Houston, who introduced the bill into Congress that got boxing legalized in the first place.) [EN1] Neves' daughter Thelma worked in the office at the Civic Auditorium, where Neves also promoted boxing. "Tony would not leave me alone, so we dated," recalled Thelma Gora in August 2000.

Gora had two fights in Honolulu during August and September 1931. After that he went to Manila, where his most important match was with Ceferino Garcia, a future world's middleweight champion, on November 14, 1931. While Gora lost in ten, the call was not popular, as even the Filipino fans thought Gora had been robbed of victory by bad officiating. "I knocked him all over the ring," Gora told Hardy Hutchinson of the Star-Bulletin in April 1952, and for the rest of his life he liked telling of the near riot that ensued following the announcement of the decision.

After winning two fights in Manila, Gora returned to Hawai’i for Christmas. He resumed fighting in February, and had three victories in Honolulu between February and April 1932.

During April 1932, promoter Sam Feldman sent Gora a ticket to Australia and a promise of either $2,000 or 25 percent of the gates of three fights. Liking the sound of that, on May 12 Gora caught the SS Mariposa for Australia. Before he left, Gora also secretly married Thelma Neves.

Gora's first Australian fight took place in Sydney on June 30. The opponent was the Australian middle, light-heavy, and heavyweight champion Ambrose ("Kid") Palmer. Gora later recalled the match, which he lost, as being especially tough because it was the first time he had ever fought fifteen rounds. However, his most famous Australian fight took place in Adelaide on November 3, 1932. The opponent was the well-regarded US heavyweight William L. "Young" Stribling, who outweighed Gora by twenty pounds and boasted a career record of around 100 knockouts.

"Stribling was one of the dirtiest fighters I ever met," Gora later told Sacramento sportswriter Bill Conlin:

Unfortunately the Australian trip was not a financial success, and after deducting expenses Gora returned to Hawai’i about as broke as he left. Which isn't surprising when it is remembered that after beating Billy Richards on September 17, Gora's winning percentage amounted to exactly $12.50. It was not a domestic success, either, for upon returning to Honolulu, Gora found one angry spouse. "The agreement was he would have three fights over there and then we would make the announcement," Thelma Gora later recalled. "But he remained there for about eight months and all the news I received from the fighters who got back to Honolulu was what a great time Tony was having over there. So when he got back I did not want any part of him. So he lived with his mother and I lived with my Dad and that was that for four and a half years."

Between March and June 1933 Gora won three fights and lost one. Thirty-seven years later, Red McQueen recalled his match with Art Costa as one of the bloodiest that he had ever seen. Said McQueen: "Tony stopped Art in the eighth round but not before nearly bleeding him to death -- from the mouth, nose, and about the eyes." Then, after losing a fight to Tiger Payne on June 2, Gora traveled with Sam Feldman, Henry Kudo, and Johnny Gabuco to Manila, where on August 12 he lost a fight to the Filipino heavyweight champion Luis Logan.

After that Gora went by himself to California. This time he trained haphazardly, and while he still earned about $100 a fight, he liked partying so much that he was always broke. In fact, he was so broke that one time after winning a fight in Sacramento he had to hop a freight to get to Reno for his next match. His last known professional fight was in San Francisco on April 30, 1934, and the result was a 4-round loss to Ray Actis.

Gora's incomplete career record -- several fights from his Mainland tour of 1933-1934 remain to be identified -- consists of 26 wins (13 by knockout, two by foul), 2 draws, and 13 losses. The loss to Young Stribling represents his only known defeat by knockout.

After retiring from the ring, Gora operated a taxi, and soon had several men working for him. But his heart wasn't in running a taxi company and so he bought a bar called "The College Inn."

During late 1936 or early 1937 Gora moved in with the Joseph Neves family. This was through his friendship with Neves, actually; his daughter hadn't mentioned the marriage to her father yet, and was still living at home, taking care of her younger brothers. (Neves' wife had passed away several years earlier.) After a bit of this Gora decided to rent an apartment on Waikiki and make a go of the marriage. "I said I would tell my Dad," Thelma Gora recalled.

Thelma and Tony Gora, San Francisco, 1946

The couple had one son, Tony Jr., who was born on January 15, 1939. From 1994-1996 and 1998-2000, Tony Jr., a veteran of the US Army Airborne, served as mayor of Galt, California.

During World War II Gora Sr. operated a cocktail lounge called "Tony Gora's" and afterwards he ran "The Gold Room" on Bethel Street. Owning a bar was lucrative in Hawai’i during World War II and the Korean War, and in 1954 Gora ran for the Honolulu board of supervisors on the Democratic ticket. It was a close race, but he lost and never ran for political office again. At home, "Tony was an excellent husband and later a father," Thelma Gora said. "I was very happy with him as he was so good to me."

Unfortunately Gora's health was failing, so in early 1961 he sold his Hawaiian property and moved with his wife to Galt, California, where he hoped the change of climate would improve his health. It didn't, and on April 1, 1970 he died of cancer, aged 61 years.

41 fights, with 26 wins (13 by knockout, two by foul), 2 draws, and 13 losses
 

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
1929 Sep 21	Charley Rosa	Honolulu	L4
1929 Oct 11	Johnny Flores	Honolulu	TKO2
1930 Jan 18	V. "Big Boy" Fernandez	Honolulu	TKO1
1930 Feb 1	Bert Quinn	Honolulu	KO1
1930 Feb 11	Eddie Schmidt	Honolulu	TKO2
1930 Apr 18	Andy Blahut	Honolulu	TKO2
1930 Apr 26	W.J. "Spike" Worrall	Honolulu	WF4
1930 Sep 12	Santos Troche	Honolulu	KO2
1930 Oct 3	W.J. "Spike" Worrall	Honolulu	W6
1930 Dec 29	Harry Gret	Honolulu	W8
1931 Feb 18	Ralph Pancoast	San Francisco	TKO1
1931 Mar 6	Jack Connell	San Francisco	D4
1931 Mar 27	Jack Gilmore	San Francisco	W4
1931 Apr 27	Jack Connell	San Francisco	L4
1931 May 13	Larry Hoke	San Francisco	TKO2
1931 May 22	Bill Lawrence	San Francisco	KO3
1931 May 28	Dynamite Jefferies	Sacramento	TKO1
1931 Aug 9	Dick Miller	Honolulu	KO1
1931 Sep 19	Frank "Marine" Johnson	Honolulu	W6
1931 Nov 14	Ceferino Garcia	Manila	L10
1931 Nov 28	Young Schmeling	Manila	W10
1931 Dec 12	Young Uzcudun	Manila	W4
1932 Feb 5	Frank "Marine" Johnson	Honolulu	W6
1932 Feb 20	A.P. "Young Aguilar" Manlapig	Honolulu	W8
1932 Apr 2	Alfred "Gimlet" Watson	Schofield Bks, HI	D6
1932 Jun 30	Ambrose "Kid" Palmer	Sydney, Australia	L15
1932 Jul 18	Clyde Chestine	Sydney, Australia	L15
1932 Aug 27	Adolf "Pickles" Heinz	Sydney, Australia	L10
1932 Sep 17	Billy Richards	Queensland, Aust.	W15
1932 Sep 24	Ron Richards	Queensland, Aust.	L15
1932 Nov 3	William "Young"Stribling	Adelaide, Australia	TKO by 6
1932 Nov 18	Bob Thornton	Sydney, Australia	W15
1932 Nov 29	Yank Henneberry	Sydney, Australia	WF7
1933 Mar 31	Art Costa	Honolulu	TKO8
1933 Apr 15	A.P. "Young Aguilar" Manlapig	Wailuku, Maui	W8
1933 Apr 28	Manuel Limas	Honolulu	KO4
1933 Jun 2	Jack Payne	Honolulu	L6
1933 Aug 12	Luis Logan	Manila	L10
1933 Nov 24	Max Maxwell	San Francisco	L4
1934 Apr 4	Nash Garrison	Oakland	L6
1934 Apr 30	Ray Actis	San Francisco	L4

EN1. The Houston Arena closed after the weatherproof Civic Arena opened in 1933. Neves then disassembled the structure and used its material in his construction business.

Update: May 2002

Mayor Tony Gora Jr. died January 7, 2002. For an obituary, see http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/obituaries/story/1435428p-1512033c.html.

Also, in April 2002, Wendell Marumoto provided the following information, which updates and corrects some of the Gora family’s early history given above: