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A true survivor: Mitch Chuvalo

George Chuvalo is the greatest Canadian Heavyweight champion of all-time. Noted for his toughness, he fought all the greats and nobody – not Joe Frazier, George Foreman or even Muhammad Ali – ever knocked him out. Outside the ring, however, life dealt Chuvalo several crushing body blows: he lost three sons to drug addiction and his wife to suicide. Yet, just like in the ring, Chuvalo has refused to go down by using his story of personal pain to help others fight drug addiction. Remarkably George Chuvalo, the People's Champion, is still standing.

Mitch Chuvalo has lived in the shadow of his famous father his entire life. Not only that but he deals with the loss of his three brothers and his mother every day. Yet despite bearing so dark a burden and a seemingly haunted name, Mitch Chuvalo is a survivor. In this CBC Television clip, The National spends a day with Chuvalo, to find out how he's making a difference as a teacher and a coach at Toronto's Western Tech high school.

As Chuvalo walks the halls of Western Tech, he reminisces about his childhood; a childhood playing sports and games with his younger siblings. He misses his brothers dearly, but says working with kids fills the void. "Being around young people.I think is someway compensation for not having my three brothers," explains Mitch. "I wish everybody could feel the joy that I feel everyday in working with young people and watching them grow and succeed." 
• Mitch Chuvalo's mother attended Western Tech as a teenager, dropping out in grade nine when she became pregnant with Mitch.
• In 2000, Mitch Chuvalo was presented the prestigious CFL/NFL High school Coach of the Year Award.

• In a 1968 interview with CBC Radio's Matinee, George Chuvalo told Joan Barberis he didn't want any of his four sons to follow in his footsteps: "It's a pretty hard life and I think there's too many disappointments for a young boy. There are a lot of other sports I would rather see them do."
Medium: Television
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: Nov. 2, 2001
Guest(s): Mitch Chuvalo, John McMurtry, George Chuvalo
Host: Peter Mansbridge
Reporter: Brian Stewart
Duration: 16:34

Last updated: March 26, 2013

Page consulted on March 26, 2013

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