Emil Lence

Emil Lence (November 23, 1916 – June 16, 1993) was an American businessman and boxing promoter active in New York, where he operated the Eastern Parkway Arena.

Early life and education Emil Lence was born on November 23, 1916, in Brooklyn, New York, United States. His upbringing took place in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, and he attended junior high school in the neighborhood.

His last name, Lence, was Italian and pronounced "Len-chay." The Lence family, long involved in dressmaking in Brooklyn, diversified into the roller skating industry. During World War II, he and his father purchased the Eastern Parkway Arena, initially running it as a roller skating rink from 1945 until 1947.

Boxer Jack Dempsey and Dave Soden, a Brooklyn public official, convinced them to convert the rink into a boxing venue. He began promoting boxing in December 1947, at the end of World War II, during the post-war boxing boom in the New York metropolitan area. He spent several seasons promoting the arena's televised programs. Patterson, the new titleholder, had 11 of his initial professional fights at Lence's Eastern Parkway Arena under Lence's promotional banner.

Lence was licensed to conduct regular Tuesday night boxing shows at Eastern Parkway Arena in Brooklyn on May 17, 1957.

He became the first promoter outside the International Boxing Club to stage a heavyweight title bout since 1949, breaking James D. Norris's hold on heavyweight championships. On July 29, 1957, he staged Floyd Patterson's first heavyweight title defense against Tommy Hurricane Jackson at New York's Polo Grounds.

While the Patterson-Jackson bout was a financial success, Lence soon departed from boxing and established a chain of bowling alleys.

He went on to become a Wall Street mergers and acquisitions specialist.

Personal life He married Anne Vulpis, who was a speed skater when they met at Eastern Parkway Roller Rink, and the couple had a daughter and a son, Jeanne and George.

Death Emil Lence died on June 16, 1993, in Delray Beach, Florida, United States, at 76 years old.