Former star athletes, military heroes enshrined in Dutchess Sports Museum Hall of Fame

Posted by Admin October 4, 2024 Sports

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It was in a boxing gym that Steve Badgley found a second home and an extended family. It was there the Poughkeepsie native developed discipline and structure and where, he said, he met the first group of people beyond his relatives who truly embraced him.

Five Star Boxing in Beacon became a centerpiece of his youth and eventually a springboard, propelling him to a career in the military. Still, Badgley never strayed from his passion.

After enlisting in 2002, he soon joined the US Army World Class Athlete Program boxing team and continued to hone his skills. Even during his 2008 deployment in Iraq, Badgley found time outside his duties to develop a boxing program and offer instruction to more than 100 soldiers.

He also went 81-16 as an amateur and even fought once in 2010 as a professional light heavyweight in a Madison Square Garden bout.

He remained immersed in the sport even as he eventually rose to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4. And, back in New York, he volunteered as a youth instructor at a boxing club in upstate Watertown.

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“I guess I’m trying to return the favor and be there to support the next generation as I was supported,” said Badgley, who retired from the Army in June.

As he pays it forward, the local community is paying him back.

Badgley, along with former Poughkeepsie football great Gus Siko, will be inducted on Sunday into the Sports Museum of Dutchess County’s Hall of Fame. The 1 p.m. ceremony will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Wappingers Falls.

Admission tickets can be purchased at the door and will include a buffet lunch, Museum board member Mary Sagar said. After the ceremony, attendees will be offered a tour of the museum, which is hosting this event for the first time since before the pandemic.

“Steven Badgley has achieved great things in his life and beat the odds to reach hall-of-fame notoriety in the sweet science,” State Senator Rob Rolison told the Sports Museum in a statement. The former Poughkeepsie mayor is expected to attend the event.

“I first met Steve when he was a teenager and I was a Town of Poughkeepsie police officer,” Rolison continued. “Despite a few tough breaks, he never gave up, turned his life around, became a successful boxer and boxing instructor, and served his country bravely and honorably.”

Augustus “Gus” Siko will be enshrined posthumously, represented there by his son.

Siko excelled athletically in the 1930s, lettering in four sports at Poughkeepsie High School and was named a captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams. He dominated as a halfback and kicker, grabbing local newspaper headlines while leading the Pioneers to an undefeated season in 1939.

As World War II escalated, he enlisted in the Army after graduating high school and was promoted to Second Lieutenant within a year. Siko, though, was among the casualties when an aircraft crashed during a training mission on Oct. 14, 1943 – a day before he would ship out to the South Pacific theatre. He was 21.

While his hometown mourned, Siko’s wife gave birth to his son, whom she named in his honor.

“After the death of my father weeks before my birth, I was limited to ‘knowing’ him through relatives, friends and newspaper articles,” Gus Siko, Jr. told the Sports Museum. “Everyone I’ve spoken to has nothing but high praise for him in every way possible. I am so honored for my father to be inducted, and I thank all who helped make this happen.”

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4