Lucille Fletcher, 88, of Philadelphia, a retired boxing trainer, certified amateur judge, former hairdresser and longtime block captain of 46th Street and Woodland Avenue, died of congestive heart failure on Thursday, May 9, at her home.
Mrs. Fletcher, known for decades in boxing rings around the region and in her West Philadelphia neighborhoods as Mother Lucille, Mother Fletcher and Miss Lucille, began boxing as a girl growing up on Peach Street and taught the finer points of the sport to her seven siblings, six sons and two daughters. Two of her brothers and three of her sons became professional boxers, and Mrs. Fletcher was so good at boxing that she was hired to referee amateur bouts for what was then the Middle Atlantic Boxing Federation.
She raised eight children as a single mother, telling Daily News columnist Kitty Capparella in 1980, “I raised all my children in a home. [boxing] I would put gloves on my kids when they were little and take them into the basement and tell them, 'Whoever plays best wins.'”
She served as block captain for the 1300 block of 46th Avenue for 25 years and was also active for many years at the nearby 46th Street Baptist Church and Alexander Wilson Elementary School. Her front porch was a kind of town hall for the neighborhood, and she was such an activist that artist John Raydacker created a mural of her in 2007. The Door to Achievementwhich once adorned the facade of the now-closed Wilson Elementary School.
“I live in this neighborhood,” Mrs. Fletcher told the Inquirer in 2019. “I don't let anyone harass me. Everybody comes to me for anything, and everybody knows that if someone is having trouble and I come near them, I will call the police.”
“Neighborhoods have looked to her for leadership to voice what they want collectively, and she has worked tirelessly on their behalf,” David L. Ford Jr., then vice president for community and government relations for the College of Science, said in 2019.
” read more: Lucille Fletcher immortalized in mural. Again.
Mrs. Fletcher told Sports Illustrated in 1983 that she learned martial arts in grade school after being bullied by other girls, and became known as Little Joe Louis. Her brothers would hide in the bathroom when she got angry, and she honed her boxing knowledge as they went professional. Her brother, Richard Turner, told Sports Illustrated: “I punched her once, and she hit me so hard I got a nosebleed and my suspenders came off.”
She knew almost instinctively how fighters placed their hands and moved their feet. She could absorb strategies and effectively communicate them to boxers and other judges. As a girl, she cheered on world champions Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson, and in the 1980s informally mentored many fighters, including former light heavyweight champion Matthew Saad Muhammad.
“She would tell me to jab and attack with my right,” Turner told Sports Illustrated magazine. “She taught me how to fight, but she never taught me how to duck,” Mrs. Fletcher replied to author Franz Liz: “I always felt that if you land your best shot and hurt your guy, you don't have to duck.”
She refereed amateur matches in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the 1970s and '80s and remained an avid fan of her sons, dressing up to games in elegant suits, heckling opponents, taunting umpires and sometimes using a megaphone to make herself heard over the noise.
“Step in and hit him. Stand back and get out of his way.”
In 1983, Mrs. Fletcher spoke to Sports Illustrated about her philosophy on boxing.
“She was a driven person,” her son Cantrell said. “She didn't hide anything and she helped everybody.”
Lucille Turner was born in Philadelphia on September 18, 1935. One of 12 children, she attended West Philadelphia High School and worked as a hairdresser for a time. In 1953, she married William Fletcher and had four children: sons Frank, Cantrell, Benjamin, Troy, Anthony, and William, and daughters Yvonne and Robin. Her husband and daughters predeceased her.
Mrs. Fletcher loved to cook and crochet, she sang in several choirs and loved to decorate the house for Christmas, and later, after her boxing days were over, she would chat on the front porch with her mother, Ethel, and neighbors.
“She was a great person who showed tough love,” her brother, David Turner, said. “She was resolute and took her responsibilities as block captain very seriously.” Her brother, Nate Turner, said, “She was a good example to follow. She was always a pillar of the neighborhood.”
” read more: Mrs. Fletcher says goodbye to Alexander Wilson School
Mrs. Fletcher is survived by her sons and two brothers, four sisters, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren and other relatives. Five of her brothers have previously died.
The service was held on May 18th.
