Boxer Nathan Heaney and Olympic swimmers join Sporting Hall of Fame in Stoke-on-Trent
Champion boxer Nathan Heaney has joined Olympic swimmers Norman Wainwright and Bob Leivers as new members of Stoke-on-Trent’s Sporting Hall of Fame.
The Stoke-on-Trent born and bred Middleweight champion was added to the ranks of local sporting legends at a ceremony at Stoke Town Hall on January 23, 2025.
Nathan has been ranked as high as fifth in the world by the World Boxing Association. He is currently undertaking final preparations ahead of his next fight on 8 February, 2025.
Norman, who was born in Hanley, competed in swimming at three Olympic games (1932, 1936 and 1948) and won medals at two European and Empire Championships in 1934 and 1938. He was also called to become captain of the British Olympic team at Wembley in 1948.
Bob trained as a swimmer at Longton Baths and became a leading British middle-distance freestyle swimmer. He competed for Great Britain at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics and won gold and silver medals at the 1934 and 1938 Empire Games.
Sporting Hall of Fame image – from left to right, Nathan Heaney, Pat McLaughlin (Bob Leivers’ daughter), the Lord Mayor Cllr Lyn Sharpe and Elizabeth Yates (niece of Bob Leivers)
Nathan Heaney said: “I would like to say thank you to everybody who considered me to be put into the Sporting Hall of Fame in my home city of Stoke-on-Trent. I’ve got an amazing following and I try my best at every occasion to tell people that Stoke-on-Trent is the best place ever. I love where I’m from. It’s the people that make this city special.”
Paul Newman, son-in-law of Norman Wainwright, said: “How Norman, who was born in Hanley in June 1914 and was the son of the Superintendent of Hanley Swimming Baths and Bob Leivers from Longton came to be major figures in the swimming world is an amazing story, which starts with two 17-year-olds from the Potteries being selected to swim at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932. Both built on this opportunity to win several national championships.
“They both worked for a living in Stoke-on-Trent and were an inspiration to other sporting amateurs both locally and nationally, with their exploits being recorded in local and national papers and on newsreels all over Britain. Their collection of national and international medals and trophies definitely qualifies them to be included in the City’s Sporting Hall of Fame.”
Councillor Lyn Sharpe, Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, said: “Norman, Bob and Nathan have all represented our country with skill, dedication and commitment and we are proud to celebrate their accomplishments by honouring them with a place in the hall of fame. They epitomise what dedication and incredible sporting talent means and they have all individually left their mark not just on sport in Stoke-on-Trent, but internationally.
“Their achievements are inspiring and they have made every Stokie, including me, proud of them. It is an honour to celebrate their legacy with a place in the Sporting Hall of Fame.”
The three athletes join sporting icons including Sir Stanley Matthews, Phil Taylor and Gordon Banks.
