Aris Pina remembers Hank
When I think of Hank, I remember a man that was unselfish, respected by all and always, and I mean always there to sit down and talk with you if you had a question about the sweet science. Hank was a person who had a deep passion for the sport of boxing and dedicated his life to preserving it's rich history and always keeping the memories alive for boxing's "forgotten members". Each year when the International Boxing Hall of Fame's induction weekend would come up, Hank would mention such forgotten greats such as Holman Williams, Lloyd Marshall, Cocoa Kid, Gaspar Ortega, and Eddie Booker just to name a few because he knew they deserved the admiration from the boxing world and was determined that they be treated with the same reverence as names such as Robinson, Ali, Marciano, his hero Jack Dempsey and so on.

One thing I will always remember about Hank was how he took to me, I was a wet between the ears 18 year old kid when I first met Hank back in 2003 at the Hall of Fame weekend, and after being introduced to him at a fight show, I made i a point to at least ask a question to him later that day, not only was I able to ask him a question, he invited me to sit with him and we chatted for a few hours! He didn't have to do that, but it was just his nature, he saw a young person that had a passion for the sport, and for that he would always make time. Over the years Hank would always remember who I was and each year he would bring me to his hotel room where he would give me a package of various items that he brought from his collection of which I will always cherish. In 2006 I had the honor of having a article about me featured on maxboxing.com, and Hank was interviewed about it, he mentioned that he thought I was curious with a thirst for knowledge and that he would follow my work in the years to come. The fact that the man who was known as the foremost boxing historian in the world would be following my work was an honor and something that I will forever hold dear to me.

Hank was my mentor, an inspiration for the sport, a friend and legend to the sport of boxing, and something that I will always cherish and proud to say, he was a friend of mine. We are lucky to have his collection preserved at Brooklyn College to keep his legacy alive and to educate future generations of boxing fans on it's storied past, which is exactly what Hank wanted.