Born on March 19, 1913, José Luis Villanueva was one of the three Filipino sports greats who captured a bronze medal finish at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles – a year where the Philippines bagged multiple medals in the Games for the second time.

Villanueva was immortalized through his contributions to the development of boxing in the country. A notable achievement of his was when he qualified for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The elite boxer fought his way into the Round of 16 and defeated Akira Nakao of Japan in the quarterfinal round. In the semifinal, the Filipino bet lost to Canadian Horace Gwynne, setting him up for a bronze medal bout against American boxer Joseph Lang, to which José succeeded.

His medal win in Los Angeles, together with the bronze finishes of swimming legend Teofilo Yldefonso and high jump star Simon Toribio marked history for Team Philippines having multiple medalists at the quadrennial meet.

With this achievement under his belt, opportunities opened up for Binondo-raised Villanueva. He transitioned to one of the most respected trainers on the ring, having trained his very own son Anthony Villanueva who delivered the country’s first silver medal in the Olympics, as well as the country’s early boxing superstar Gabriel “Flash” Elorde.

The father and son duo were inducted into the first batch of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.