Chicago had run a Golden Gloves match for one year in 1922 before it was legislated out of existence in Illinois due to the illegal activities surrounding boxing. Daily News sports editor Paul Gallico had a passion for amateur boxing, and believed a boxing tournament would be as successful a promotion for the paper. Within days, Gallico's desk was buried under more than 1,000 entries. Applications came in so fast and in such numbers he was forced to cut short the planned entry period.

Part of the genius of the Golden Gloves was to eliminate amateur mismatches of the past–when beginners faced injury and disillusionment. The Gloves created the “sub-novice” class, whereby beginner met beginner.

The first Golden Gloves bouts were held on Friday, March 11th, at two facilities, a Knights of Columbus Hall and a Knights of St. Anthony Hall, both in Brooklyn and after a series of eliminations across the city, the championships would be determined in the then-new Madison Square Garden. It had been rented by Gallico for the night of Monday, March 28th, 1927.

By the time the turnstiles stopped spinning, a record crowd of 21,594 had passed through the gates. An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 others were turned away.

Since 1927, local boxers have competed for the chance to win a Daily News Golden Gloves championship. The Daily News Golden Gloves was the launching pad for world champions Emile Griffith, Jose Torres, Floyd Patterson, Riddick Bowe, Mark Breland, Zab Judah, three time world women’s lightweight champ Alicia Ashley, and Melissa Salamone.

The Daily News Golden Gloves consist of 10 weeks of elimination bouts held throughout the New York metropolitan area. A field of hundreds of fighters will be narrowed down through these bouts to compete in the finals at The Barclays Center

To compete nationally, a contender must pass through the following levels: Local Golden Gloves -State Golden Gloves - Regional Golden Gloves - National Golden Gloves.