Elbert Jay Lambert (November 21, 1925 – February 6, 2012) was an American amateur and professional boxer, medical doctor and general surgeon in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, Utah. He was the 1948 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion and represented the United States as a heavy weight in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

in London, England. He fought professionally from 1948 to 1950 before leaving the sport to pursue a career in medicine.

Early life

Lambert was born on November 21, 1925, to Aleta Elvera (Vera) Rasmussen and Joseph Hovey Lambert in the small town of Helper, Utah. He had five siblings: brothers Joseph (1919), Tony (1921), and Clyde (1924), and sisters Marian (1917) and Martha (1931). In 1932 the family moved from Helper to the

Point of the Mountain The Traverse Mountains, or sometimes Traverse Range, are an anomalous, geologically complex, east-trending range that separates Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley in Salt Lake and Utah counties in the U.S. State of Utah. Point of the Mountain ...

near

Lehi, Utah Lehi ( ) is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is named after Lehi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon. The population was 75,907 at the 2020 census, up from 47,407 in 2010. The rapid growth in Lehi is due, in part, to the rapid develo ...

where they opened and operated a filling station/diner and pig farm. His older brothers were involved in boxing at a local boxing club and Jay and his oldest brother Joe became part of a boxing training camp operated by Marv Jensen, legendary trainer of Utah boxing legend Gene Fullmer, in West Jordan, Utah. He graduated from Lehi High school in the spring of 1944.

Amateur Boxing career

Prior to joining Marv Jensen's camp, Lambert won the Intermountain

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) tournament middle weight division in 1941 and heavy weight division in 1942. He went on to win the Intermountain AAU Championship in 1943; and he was a two time Intermountain Intercollegiate champ and Intermountain AAU title holder. In 1947, he won the Intermountain Golden Glove Heavy Weight championship and the Intermountain Intercollegiate Heavy Weight championship and was given the Outstanding Boxer award. In 1948, he won the Intermountain AAU title.

Olympics

In 1948, at the age of 22, Lambert won the U.S. Boxing Olympic Trials in the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (late ...

, Boston, Massachusetts securing a spot on the 1948 U.S. Olympic Team. Through three Olympic Trial tournaments, he notched notable victories over

Rex Layne Rex Gessel Layne (June 7, 1928 in Lewiston, Utah – June 7, 2000) was a former heavyweight professional boxer. Sometimes termed the "Lewiston Larruper," the top rated Layne never fought for the heavyweight title, but notched victories over su ...

, who would later go on to fight Rocky Marciano, Ezzard Charles, and Jersey Joe Walcott, as a top professional heavyweight contender in the 1950s, and Norvel Lee in the tournament's final; Lee would go on to win a gold medal as a light heavyweight in the

1952 Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. In London, he fought his way to the quarterfinals before losing a split decision to Johnny Arthur of South Africa.

Professional Boxing career

Lambert turned professional in the wake of the Olympics and compiled an 8-3-1 professional record as well as an exhibition match with

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

in 1949. Still considered a contender in the spring of 1950, he left the sport to attend medical school, using his professional boxing earnings to support his medical education.

Military service

Lambert served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as an

aviation cadet A flight cadet is a military or civilian occupational title that is held by someone who is in training to perform aircrew duties in an airplane. The trainee does not need to become a pilot, as flight cadets may also learn to serve as a bombardie ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was stationed in the United States."Our Men and Women in Uniform"
''The Helper Journal'', Helper, Utah, volume 39, number 10, page 6.

Medical career after boxing

Lambert graduated from the

University of Utah Medical School The University of Utah School of Medicine is located on the upper campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1905 and is currently the only MD-granting medical school in the state of Utah. History The school began ...

in 1954, beginning his general surgery residency at Sloan-Kettering Memorial Center in New York and finishing at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. He joined the staff of LDS Hospital in 1959 as a general surgeon. He continued to practice medicine in Salt Lake City until retiring in 1997. Dr. Lambert remained active in the local boxing community throughout his life donating his services for over 40 years as the ringside physician for the

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

Amateur Boxing in Utah and as the team physician for Granite High School football in the 70's and 80's.

Later years

Dr. Lambert was inducted into the Utah Sport Hall of Fame in 1977. Dr. E. Jay Lambert, M.D. passed away February 6, 2012.

Personal life

Lambert was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

References

Sources

bio on Lamber's boxing"Utah boxing community mourns death of boxer, physician Jay Lambert". ''The Salt Lake Tribune''
*''2009 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2008), p. 326.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Jay 1925 births 2012 deaths American Latter Day Saints American male boxers Boxers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Boxers from Utah Heavyweight boxers Latter Day Saints from Utah Military personnel from Utah Olympic boxers for the United States People from Helper, Utah United States Army Air Forces officer trainees University of Utah alumni University of Utah School of Medicine alumni