Everett “Ev” Conley
Boxing

A 1947 graduate of Everett High, Everett “Ev” Conley was a remarkably talented amateur boxer who became a NCAA Champion and civic leader.

At 17 years old, Ev Conley won his second Washington State Golden Gloves Championship in 1946. In 1949, he took his boxing skills to Washington State College, now Washington State University (WSU), where he became a two-time NCAA National Champion (1950 & 1951). In 1951, Conley was also awarded the distinguished “John S. LaRowe” trophy, which recognized him for being “The Most Outstanding College Boxer in the Nation.”

A southpaw craftsman with speed and slick footwork, Conley won 63 of 66 collegiate boxing matches. Along with that record, he won multiple Pacific Coast titles and had an amazing overall amateur record of 256-6. Much of Ev Conley’s college boxing career is chronicled in a book titled THE SIX-MINUTE FRATERNITY- The Rise and Fall of NCAA Tournament Boxing, 1932-60. In that book, as a 2-time NCAA National Champion, Conley was recognized as an “important historical figure” of NCAA boxing as a tournament sport.

Conley was also the recipient of the 1951 Everett Herald Man of the Year in Sports Award. In 1984, he was inducted into Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Legendary WSU Boxing Coach Ike Dieter stated, “Conley was the finest boxer I ever coached.” In 2005, Conley was ranked #26 by the Everett Herald’s Top-50 All-Time Athletes from Snohomish County.

Ev Conley was the Physical Director of Everett YMCA and was instrumental in the expansion of all the Snohomish County YMCAs. He served the YMCAs for more than three decades until his sudden passing in 1985 (at age 56). Ev was also a past President of both the Kiwanis and Lions clubs.