ALBERT GAULTERI

Albert (Al) Gualtieri, a Washington native, started his boxing career at Brownson House in 1940 following two brothers Tony and Russell, who were also boxers.

He enlisted in the service in 1943 and was trained by Phil Musito, a well-known middleweight.

He won 19 bouts without a loss before going on South Pacific duty. In New Guinea. he won the championship of the 111th Airborne Division at 132 pounds and turned professional in Manila in 1944, winning 11 of his first 12 pro fights as a lightweight.

Gualtieri, after returning from the service, was managed by world lightweight champion Sammy Angott and later by John S. Dye, a Harrisburg promoter.

One of Gualtieri’s best fights was in New Orleans, where he won a 10-round unanimous decision over Southern lightweight champion Keith Hamilton. At one time, he accepted an offer to meet famed Connecticut boxer Willie Pep but arrangements fell through at the last minute.