| Jerry Shears | |
| Nationality: |  Canadian |
| Birth Date: | 18 October 1925 |
| Birth Place: | Montreal, Quebec |
| Death Place: | Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec |
Jerry Shears (born October 18, 1925 - March 21, 2010), also known as Gerald Schulman,[1] was the founder and president of the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association (CABA). He was instrumental in organizing international competitions and promoting the use of protective headgear by amateur boxers.[2]
Jerry Shears was born on October 18, 1925, in Montreal, Quebec. He was the oldest of five children and the son of former Allied Forces bantamweight boxing champion Joe Shears.[3]
At 13, and 95 pounds, he discovered boxing with gloves at neighbourhood clubs.[4] He started boxing competitively in 1938. By the 1940s, he fought in matches and tournaments in Montreal, winning multiple Montreal Golden Gloves championships.[5] After joining the Canadian Armed Forces at 15, he took the Army's lightweight title in 1942 at 17 years old. Shears won the Canadian lightweight championship in 1947.[6] After a five-round fight at the Oxford YMCA in London, England, in 1950, he announced his retirement from competitive ring combat.[7]
He only lost 15 of his 150 fights over a 12-year period.[8] He fought at the Montreal Forum, Maple Leaf Gardens, and throughout the United States.
After the army, Shears began a career in insurance as a broker.[9]
In 1969, Shears established the Canadian Amateur Boxing Association and served as the organization's president.[10] Throughout the 1970s, he acquired an international reputation when he spearheaded the drive to produce a safer sport and his efforts on AIBA's safety commission were rewarded in 1988 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) mandated headgear at the Olympics for the first time.[11]
He was the executive vice president of the organizing committee for the 1981 World Cup Boxing Championships at Montreal's Maurice Richard Arena.[12]
Jerry Shears died in Ste. Anne's Hospital on Sunday, March 21, 2010, in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada.[13]