[Rocco Del Sesto]

Career Record: W11(KO5) / L22(KO17) / D0

Unknown information has been left blank

DOB has been placed as 1942 based on account in 1977 fight he was 35 at that time.

Full name is Emmett Alfred Banks in BoxRec but two early newspaper accounts of Golden Glove fight in 1957 and pro debut fight in 1958 names him as Alandrus. Newspaper account of pro fight in May 1967 names him as Emmett. Alandrus Emmett Banks?

Original Rating by: Rocco Del Sesto

in New HWs Thread Dec 2006.

Upgraded HW Rating by John Dewey in April 2009

The fight weights listed in BoxRec and then some fight accounts found online listed below appear to indicate Banks fought as a Light Heavyweight from March 1977 beginning with his fight against Tony McMinn, on thru his July 1979 fight with Grover Robinson.

So I've broken his ratings down by:
MW 1958 W0 / L1(KO1) / D0
HW 1967-1976,Oct 1979-80 W10(KO 4) / L17(KO 12) / D0
LHW 1977-July 1979 W1(KO 1) / L4(KO 4) / D0

The new HW rating is kind of a twist between my original and John Dewey's.

Some career hilites from newspaper and Ring records:

27 Feb 1957, Alamogordo Daily News, NM - Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, Alandus Banks,New Mexico Light Heavyweight was stopped by Tony Burton of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Note this article and the Odessa article next, has Bank's nave as Alandrus.

15 Jul 1958, The Odessa American, TX - List the fight card that Banks fought in against Rip White. It's shows Bank's weight at 165 and from Albuquerque while White is listed at 162 and from Odessa.So the 1957 article on the Golden Gloves tournament in 1957 and this listing Banks from Albuquerque, give some evidence he was originally from New Mexico?

20 Jul 1958, The Odessa American,TX - Ran account of a fight card at Hobbs, Texas. In that card was a former Hobbs Golden Gloves star, Alandrus Banks, middleweight making his pro debut against "slashing" Rip White of Odessa. White knocked out Banks in 1:23 of the first round slipping in a hard right and then followed with a left that put Banks out.

24 May 1967, The Austin American, TX - ran a short account of Banks split decision win over Willis Earls and shows his name as Emmett Banks of Dallas.

Sept 1967 Ring Magazine reports Al Banks, 195, Dallas was loosing is fight against Big JOhn Phillips, 211 or a couple rounds but then in the 3rd round decked Phillips twice to score a knockout.


Sept 1967, January 1968 and April 1968 Ring Magazine accounts of Banks fights against Willis Earls, Cookie Wallace and Lee Estes all name him by Al.All later newspaper articles all name him by Al Banks. So based on the 1957 and 1958 articles listing his name as Alandrus makes sense his name was Al. Could not find any other reference to him being named Emmett. Was that in in an earlier Ring Record Book possibly?

03 Jan 1968, The Minneapolis Star - Article on upcoming fight between Al Banks and Ed Hurley mentions Banks record at 7-1 with the one loss being a decision over 10 rounds.BoxRec lists Banks record at 4-2 going into the Hurley fight. The 1968 Ring Record Book which I have lists the four fights BoxRec shows, less the 1958 bout against White as a middleweight. This Ring Records has his name as Al Emmed Banks.

10 Jan 1968 The Minneapolis Star and the Star Tribune, Minnneapolis accounts of the Al Banks vs Ed Hurley fight. The Minn. Star reports that with 1:47 remaining in the 8th round, the top strand of the ring ropes all of a sudden came tumbling down with both fighters tumbling over the ropes! Both paper's pretty much bombed Hurley's fight, "Hurley showed promise as a wristler. He retired two fights back and looked it."The Tribune reported Hurley lost the decision due to penalities from "holding wrestling, butting and hitting after the bell". Banks made and effort to make a fight of it, but Hurley's tactics kept either fighter from doing little damage. The July 1968 Ring Magazine account of the fight noted Harvey's jaw was fractured.


02 April 1968, St.Louis Post-Dispatch quotes Al Banks that a left hook had been his big punch against Walter Harvey who suffered a broken jaw in the fight.

June 1969 Ring Magazine notes the scheduled 6 rounder between Johnny Griffin, 191 and Al Banks 192,lasted only to 1:05 of the fourth with Griffin "polishing off" Banks.

October 1969 Ring Magazine notes that a cut eye proved the undoing for Banks against Forest Ward who gained the TKO at 1:31 of round 5.

20 Sept 1969, The Bangor Daily News accounts that Willie Burton, 190 of New York still managed the 10 round decision over Al Banks, 195 even though penalized several times for low blows.Banks bloodied Burton's nose with jabs but Burton used a heavy body attack to win.

04 Jun 1970, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Texas, accounts Jim Elder using two lefts and a right to Banks head in the second round and opened a "gaping" cut over Banks left eye. The fight was stopped at 1:56 in that round. So some accounting of Banks being prone to cutting.

27 Jul 1971 Fort Worth Star-Telegram,Texas, Jeff Merritt knocked out Banks at 2:53 of the 2nd round with a left hook and then followed that with a right hand to the side of the head.

BoxRec then shows no fights for Al Banks until August 1975 against Tracy Morrison. Could not find any account of that fight or his next against Ibar Arrington, but did find and account of his next fight against Ed Bytheway in April 1976.

20 Apr 1976, the News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, A prefight article on Ed Bytheway vs Al Banks fight accounts that Al Banks record was 17-7-1? "Banks had most of his action while stationed at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base". So that break from 1971-1975 Banks was Serving apparently in the Air Force? Found no other account though to confirm this.

19 Dec 1976 The Marshall News Messenger, Texas, some earlier in the week prefight account articles noted Pal Ray Storie was to have fought a Mark White, but Al Banks was a last minute substitute for White and Banks gained the 3rd round TKO win at 2:42 when Storie suffered a broken nose.The Marshall article says Banks record was 22-9-2? Is there a lot of Bank's record missing? The Sun Times of Shreveport, LA reports that a crowd of 1200 turned out.The Oakland TRibune, CA on Dec 20th reports that Storie had Banks on the canvas"four or five times" but then in the middle of the 3rd suffered a head butt from Banks that broke his nose. The article notes that under Texas rules, referee Curtis Cokes had no choise but to award Banks a TKO. It noted then under California rules, Storie would have been given a technical draw since he as ahead when the head butt happened.

25 Mar 1977 The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington reports that Dale Grant KO'd Al Banks in the fifth round of their lightheavyweight Bout. So after the first Storie fight in December 1976, Banks slimmed down to the light heavweight division. BoxRec shows his fight weight against Tony McMinn, weight 163 as 173 before the Grant fight.

21 Aug 1977, The Marshall News Messenger, Marshall, Texas - A fairly lengthly prefight article leading up to the 2nd STorie v Banks fight mentions an interesting piece of news that maybe sheds more light on that Bank's BoxRec record may be incomplete. This artcle talks about Storie spending time between the two fights not having fought, while Banks had been kept busy boxing. The article says "One of the latter opponents for Banks was Mike Quarry, brother of the former heavyweight title contender Jerry. The scheduled ten rounder went the distance before Quarry connected with the deciding knockout blow." Some kind of exhibition? Could not find any other account of this.

26 Aug 1977 The Marshall News Messenger, Texas - Storie suffers a broken nose again in his rematch with Al Banks.Storie was in control of the fight until the 3rd round when Banks landed a series of rights and lefts and earned a standing 10 count. This article places Banks record at 14-7? With 2:20 left in the 5th round, Banks land a quick jab which broke Storie's nose.Shortly after his corner threw in the towel. The Times, Shreveport, LA placed the end of the fight at 34 seconds of the 5th. The Times reported Storie's fight weight at 235 and Banks at 178,confirming Banks still fighting at LHW.

11 Dec 1977, The Wichita Eagle, Kansas - A prefight article of the upcoming Ned Hallacy v Al Banks fight places Banks record as 33-19? It mentions Banks "currently handled by former world welterweight boxing champion Curtis Cokes". The Wichita Beacon, Kansas article on 13 Dec 1977 lists Banks as a light heavyweight fighting Wichitan Ned Hallacy.

15 Dec 1977 The Wichita Eagle, Kansas - The Al Banks v Ned Hallacy fight ended in a 7th round TKO of Banks as he "succumbed to a left hook to the body with 51 seconds gone in the 7th.The article state Banks beat the count but the referee, Vern Miller stopped the fight.Judges in the fight were Claude Sullard, Don Chandler and. The Eagel report Banks "had the tools of a better fighter...but wasted energy punching away at gloves, elbows, and shoulders in the early rounds."

Both the Wichita Eagle and the Wichita Beacon, Kansas reporting on the Hallacy fight reported Banks age as 35. Birth year then around 1942?

22 Oct 1979, Sioux City Journal, Iowa - Denver heavyweight Eric Sedillo knocked out Al Banks getting him with a left hook midway in the 3rd round of the 10 round bout.Sedillo weighed in at 197, but Banks' weight was not mentioned.Banks was dropped at the end of the first round with a right and dominated the fight with persistent body punching.

17 Aug 1980, The Odessa American, Texas - The fight between Alvin Dominey and Al Banks, last recorded fight in BoxRec for Banks was reported ended at 2:42 of the fourth. Dominey delivered continous hooks to the body with Banks sending little in return.