Paul Winthrop Conley (November 18, 1917 – November 9, 1978) was an amateur boxing champion, a member of the "famed South Boston fighting family"[1] International Longshoremen’s Association District Council official and a beloved local figure in South Boston, Massachusetts.
Paul Winthrop Conley was born on November 18, 1917. He was the third son of Lawrence J. (“Larry”) Conley and Helen F. (McCarthy) Conley and brother of William G., Robert A. (“Bobby), Kenneth L. (“Kenney”), Leonard F., Donald F., Lorraine A., and Helen M. Conley. In his youth the family lived in a house at 668 East Sixth Street South Boston, Massachusetts. Conley’s father Larry Conley was a 1905 welterweight champion.[2] After his boxing career ended, Larry Conley became a boxing manager, trainer, and referee. Later in life Larry Conley became a boxing instructor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After leaving Cornell University Larry Conley became a boxing instructor at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Larry Conley also served as a boxing instructor in the state of Massachusetts at Browne & Nichols, Fessenden, and Middlesex, preparatory schools. When he died suddenly in 1931 at the age of forty-four, Larry Conley was the boxing coach for the Harvard University Boxing Club. On November 20, 1931, a testimonial concert was held in Larry Conley’s honor at the Municipal Building in South Boston, Massachusetts.[3] Larry Conley is often remembered as “one of Boston’s best beloved boxing figures”[4] by many boxing fans. Throughout his lifetime Larry Conley encouraged his sons’ interest in boxing. Paul W. Conley’s older brother Bobby Conley also boxed in amateur tournaments. On December 6, 1934, Bobby Conley won the amateur title in the Irish American Athletic Association’s boxing show by defeating Walter Gardiner of Providence, Rhode Island.[5] Kenney Conley boxed as an amateur boxer during his period of service in the United States Navy during World War II.[4]
Paul W. Conley’s boxing career began in 1935. On December 5, 1938, a broken thumb he had suffered while defeating Renee Chausse of Taunton, Massachusetts, in an earlier bout forced him to default his middleweight title in the New England sectional finals of the “All America” boxing tournament.[6] On December 11, 1939, Paul W. Conley kayoed Joe O’Donnell of Everett, Massachusetts in the middleweight final of the New England “All America” tournament in front of 14,000 spectators in the Boston Garden. The O’Donnell bout “was the greatest triumph”[7] of his early career. On the night of Paul W. Conley’s “upset triumph” over Joe O’Donnell, fans in the Boston Garden also witnessed “[t]he lanky 160-pounder from Southie” win the “District Attorney William J. Foley trophy for outstanding performances in the show.[7] On December 18, 1939 “the pride of South Boston” Paul W. Conley, who had “the opportunity of becoming a big local favorite”[8] secured the Eastern Championship title in the 160 Pound Class of the eastern “All America” middleweight bouts by taking the decision over Joe Conley of Albany, New York before 12,459 spectators in the Boston Garden.[9]
In 1940 Paul W. Conley and the four other members of the eastern “All America” amateur boxing team, Johnny Leonard, Bill Daley, Georges Beckles and Al Priest participated in the “All America” national finals held in San Francisco, California that year. Before leaving for the national finals Paul W. Conley was honored at a dinner held at “Knocko McCormack’s” restaurant in South Boston, Massachusetts.[10] On December 8, 1941, Paul W. Conley “of the famous South Boston cauliflower clan” surprised 10,000 spectators in the Boston Garden when he bested National A. A. U. middleweight champion, Jimmy Mulligan of Lowell, Massachusetts in the 175 Pound Class final of the New England “’All-America’” amateur tournament. Conley defeated Mulligan by withstanding “a blistering last round rally” which Conley finished with a “staggering right” into Mulligan.[11] On December 15, 1941, Paul W. Conley then “one of the best bets on the local squad dropped a decision to Jim Rouse of Albany [New York]” to forfeit the semi-final bout in the 175 Pound Class in the eastern finals of the Irish- American’s annual “All-America” tournament before 9,000 spectators in the Boston Garden that night.[12] On November 23, 1942 John Pretzie of Boston, Massachusetts “gained” the heavyweight title at the New England “All America” tournament by defeating Paul W. Conley in front of 3,000 boxing fans in the Boston Arena.[13] By the time his amateur boxing career concluded Paul W. Conley had boxed in some two hundred seventy-five bouts and had been seven times a New England Champion.
Outside of his amateur boxing career Paul W. Conley worked as a shipyard worker at the Fore River Shipyard. In Quincy, Massachusetts. Conley went on from the Fore River Shipyard to become a longshoreman working at various piers and warehouses in the Port of Boston.[14] In 1942 Conley became a member of the International Longshoremen’s Association.
According to one account in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s Boston’s waterfront was “...like South Boston itself, a closed society with its own hierarchy, customs, rules, and means of enforcement. Outsiders, whether journalists or cops, were met with a code of silence as impenetrable as La Cosa Nostra’s omerta.... Encouraged by the code of silence and a hiring system that made cronyism and kickbacks easy... organized-crime factions would target union locals [(emphasis in original)]”[15] to takeover.
As one lifetime member of the International Longshoremen’s Association, former Mayor of the City of Boston, and Southie native Raymond L. Flynn recalled in a speech that he once gave at a national convention of the International Longshoremen’s Association AFL-CIO: “Growing up in a ‘dockworkers family’ I witnessed firsthand the struggles and challenges that union longshoremen in our country had to endure. They had to fight powerful shipping executives for dignity and respect, and the mob bosses who wanted to control the union in the Port of Boston. I personally witnessed this as a youth. I saw the courage of my father, uncles and so many other longshoremen who stood up to the ruthless enemies of decent, hardworking men and women.”[16]
Working as a longshoreman at the South Boston Army Base in Southie on March 22, 1945, Paul W. Conley found himself in the middle of a fracas fighting firsthand the very same “... powerful shipping executives... and the mob bosses who wanted to control the union in the Port of Boston” that former Boston Mayor Raymond L. Flynn had mentioned in his speech to the International Longshoremen’s Association AFL-CIO convention delegates in 2011. The fracas erupted between Conley, several of his fellow longshoremen and a shipping company’s work gang leader when the shipping company’s employee refused Conley and his colleagues work after they had just returned to the South Boston Army Base after a three-day strike.
Three men including Paul W. Conley who had suffered “lacerations to his left leg”[17] were injured during the fracas. The injured men were taken to area hospitals for treatment of their wounds by the Boston Police. The shipping company’s employee was arrested by the Boston Police at the South Boston Army Base and booked on an assault charge. None of the injured longshoremen, including Paul W. Conley were ever arrested or charged with any crime as a result of the fracas.
In 1948 Paul W. Conley married Constance M. Simmons. The couple had three children, Paul W. Conley, Bruce L. Conley and Susan J. (Simmons.) Conley.[18] The family resided at 756 East Fourth Street in Southie. Throughout his career as a longshoreman Paul Conley was very active in efforts to improve the Port of Boston’s working conditions. Conley also served as a member of the International Longshoremen’s Association district council. Conley also had a life-long interest in promoting the careers of the youth of the community. Conley also worked with the South Boston Social and Athletic Club, and the New England AAU as well as other youth- oriented organizations.
On January 28, 1978 “Former N. E. light heavyweight and Golden Gloves heavyweight Paul Conley...” was” honored by his many friends at a testimonial ... at the Boston Teachers Union Hall at Bayside Mall in South Boston.”[19] Paul W. Conley died at his home in Southie on November 9, 1978. On April 24, 1979, the Massachusetts General Court designated the Castle Island Terminal at City Point in Southie as the Paul W. Conley terminal.[20] On October 15, 1981, a banner front page headline in the South Boston Tribune announced that “[t]he Port of Boston’s newest maritime facility [(the Paul W. Conley Terminal)] was dedicated in an event highlighting Massport’s Port Week activities”[21] that had been held the previous Sunday. At the time that the new facility was dedicated, the Paul W. Conley Terminal was expected to handle twenty thousand containers per year that would expand the Port of Boston’s capacity by fifty percent.
Since Paul W. Conley Terminal opened in 1981 its owner "Massport added three new ship-to-shore cranes with lift height of 160 feet above the rail and an outreach of 22 containers wide. They were commissioned in October 2021. In addition to the new ship-to-shore cranes, Conley Terminal improvements include the construction of two 50-foot berths, expanded reefer storage, and new in-and-out gate facilities. The Port of Boston also now operates a fleet of 16 RTG’s. A $75 million Freight Haul Road was opened in 2018 for the trucking community to conveniently access the interstate highways. Conley Terminal is able to support continued growth by handling the larger ships now transiting through the Panama and Suez Canals.[22]