If any Omaha inner city boxing legend had most of the prized fighting attributes, it was Harley Cooper, a two-time national Golden Gloves champion and 1964 Olympic qualifier. A tough Savannah, Ga. native, Cooper grew up fighting in 'the hood,' but learned to box in the military. After he won the second of his Gloves titles while based at Offutt Air Force Base, he then became the U.S. Olympic light heavyweight entry. In peak form and riding an unbeaten streak, he was primed to bust heads in Tokyo. But on the eve of leaving for Japan, he was medically disqualified. After transferring to Omaha, his new training ground became Hawk's Gym, where his sparring partners included future pro heavyweight Lou Bailey. He shot up the amateur ranks by sweeping his first Golden Gloves. But he was no rookie, having compiled hundreds of hours in the ring and dozens of military bouts, winning service titles wherever he was assigned, including Japan and Europe. "Everybody wanted him to fight for them," said Omaha boxing historian Tom Lovgren, a former prize fight matchmaker and longtime local observer. "The first time anybody saw him in the gym they knew this guy was going to be a national champion. He could punch. He could box. He could do it all. He was the most complete fighter I ever saw from around here. I never saw Harley Cooper lose a round in amateur fights in Omaha. He was that dominant." Cooper twice won the Gloves Trinity when he took the Omaha, Midwest and National tournaments in both '63 and '64. His first title run came, unexpectedly, as aheavyweight and culminated at the '64 Chicago finals. Cooper was a natural light-heavyweight, but after an overseas transfer to Nebraska he didn't meet the weight requirements before the local Gloves tourney. Over the light-heavyweight limit, his handlers convinced him, against his better judgment, to compete as a heavyweight. He was an undersized 183 pounds. Even after he won the local-regional heavyweight titles, he wanted to move back to light-heavy, where he was more comfortable. "They wouldn't let me move down," he said of his trainers. "They kept saying, 'Well, let's see how far you can go.'" He went all the way. The underdog used superior quickness to offset his opponents' size and power advantages to win just the second national Gloves title by a Nebraskan since the 1930s. In '64, Cooper fought at his accustomed light-heavy spot and plowed through to the Nationals in Nashville. Cooper's win in Nashville put him into the Olympic Trials box-off in New York, which he won. Despite attractive offers, he never turned pro. First, there was his Air Force career. Second, he had a big family to feed, and a sure thing was better than a dream. Since retiring in '73, his life has centered on kids at the North Omaha Boys Club, Glenwood State School and the Cornhusker Striders track program. But the pull of boxing never left, and so for 30 years he's volunteered with the Great Plains Amateur Boxing Association. That body organizes and sanctions local-regional boxing cards like the Golden Gloves. He recently announced Omaha will host the 2006 national Gloves tournament. "I love boxing. I'm lucky I have a wife that understands it's such a big part of me." Occasional what-might-have-beens creep into his conversation. "There's still some times when I kind of wish I had of (turned pro)," he said. "I was better than I realized I was at the time. I see these guys now and they just don't look that good to me, man."

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