Ground Breaking Boxers

Peter Banasko

Peter Banasko, “some said he was the best of the best,” was born in Liverpool in 1915 to his father, Isaac Immanuel Banasko from the Gold Coast, Ghana and his mother Lillian Banasko, nee Doyle, from Liverpool. By aged 14 he had contested over 100 fights. To his credit, by age 13 his claim to fame included the achievement of being the first black Liverpool fighter to win a British Title by winning the schoolboy championship of Great Britain in 1929 and again in 1930. In 1932, at the age of 17, he turned professional under the guidance of well-known Liverpool boxing promoter Johnny Best Senior (father of the celebrated ‘fifth’ Beatle, Pete Best.) Unfortunately, for him his boxing career was blighted by the disgraceful ‘Colour Bar,’ that prohibited any none white fighter from challenging for a British Boxing title, from 1911 to 1947. At bantamweight, he contested 54 professional fights: won 39 lost 13 and drew 2 from 1933 till his retirement in 1945. As the first black manager in Liverpool and the UK, under the tutelage of Peter Banasko, Hogan ‘Kid’ Bassey became one of Liverpool and the world’s greatest boxers. By the 1950’s Banasko’s celebrity status had made both himself and Liverpool a household name in Lagos and the Gold Coast, West Africa. On his passing in November 1993, Ian Hargraves, famous sports journalist at the Liverpool Echo declared, ‘Peter Banasko, a rare talent…..one of the true greats’