The local boxing community has lost one of its all-time greatest champions.
Boyd Bayne, who served two decades as a coach of the Spruce Capital Boxing Club from 1980-99, died peacefully at his home on Wednesday surrounded by his family. He was 72.
During his tenure as trainer, coach, boxing card promoter and mentor for dozens of young fighters, Bayne helped lead several athletes, including his son Allan, to national boxing titles, continuing the Spruce Capital club tradition of producing more Canadian champions than any other sporting club in the city.
Bayne's father Reg was one of the founders of the Spruce Capital club when it began as a Lions Club project. He joined his dad in the work party to help dig out the basement of the old Civic Centre in downtown Prince George to build the club's first gym in 1958.
Having never coached or boxed before, Bayne was asked to coach by his good friend, Harold Mann, a three-time Canadian champion who won gold at the 1962 Commonwealth Games. Bayne took on the job of coaching his then-eight-year-old son Allan, who went on to win nine Canadian titles and represent Canada in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria.
"I fooled around with the gloves a bit but I never became a fighter," said Bayne, in a 1999 Citizen story to announce his retirement from coaching. "One day Harold said 'C'mon Boyd I need a coach,' so I went down and got the bug and away I went.
"I spent 20 years helping to build the club. We were doing it for the kids. I was pretty tough, eh. I disciplined, and when they came down to the club there was no goofing around. You trained."
During that time, Bayne brought 10 fight cards to the city as a card promoter, including the highly-successful Champions for Children events in 1989 and 1990, which raised thousands of dollars for youth-oriented organizations like the Child Development Centre.
For 32 years, Bayne supported his wife Jean and their three kids working for CN Rail in the express delivery and maintenance departments. The native of Trail served as provincial team coach in the 1980s and early-'90s and retired from coaching in 1999. He continued to stay involved in the sport and earned his Level 3 certification as a boxing judge.
In 2007 he was presented Boxing B.C's Harold Mann Achievement Award for his contributions to the sport. The following year he was inducted as a coach/builder into the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame, three years after Allan was inducted in the athlete's category. In January of this year, Bayne was inducted into the B.C. Amateur Boxing Association Hall of Fame.
As satisfying as it was for Bayne to bring Allan up to international standards and prepare other fighters for provincial and national tournaments, he said it brought him even more joy to see the effect he had on young boxers, how he convinced some to avoid the trappings of street lifestyles and get better marks in school and how his influence helped steer them away from making bad decisions.
He told the Citizen: "When somebody comes to you and says, 'Boyd, I want to join boxing but I have a problem with drugs and alcohol and I don't know if it's going to help but let's see if it will.'
"Then having the parents come to you and say, 'Thanks for spending so much time with my son because now he doesn't drink and he doesn't smoke and his whole attitude toward life has completely changed.' That's the highlight of my coaching career – helping the youth of Prince George."
Bayne is survived by his wife of 51 years, Jean, sister Joy (John) Warner, children Cheryl (Rod) Auld, Nadine (Rob) Maharaj, Allan (Marney), and five grandchildren. A funeral and celebration of Bayne's life will be held on Thursday at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church.
