Born in Perm, Russia, Shelaeff lived most of his life in Harbin, Manchuria, He is survived by his father and mother, three sisters and a brother.
His father is a Russian priest at Harbin. His brother, who is a few years older, is also a boxer, but is not a first class fighter. Two of Andre's sisters are in Harbin, while the other is in the Soviet Union.
Shelaeff was taken in hand by Seelig in Harbin when the Russian was a mere slip of a boy. Seelig coached him after seeing him box at the Harbin Y.M.C.A. and soon discovered that he had a natural fighter on his hands. After cleaning up all opposition in Harbin, Shelaeff was taken by Seelig to Tientsin where he also did well.
His fine displays in Tientsin resulted in his receiving much publicity in Shanghai and the Auditorium in Shanghai imported the Russian battier. He bowled over all foes with the exception of Young Alde, veteran Filipino boxer.
When the Sino-Japanese hostilities broke out in Shanghai in the summer of 1937, Shelaeff went to Manila where he eventually won the welterweight championship of the Orient. After his successful campaign in Manila he returned to Shanghai and then proceeded to the United States.
He was just getting into his stride in San Francisco when death suddenly halted what many predicted would have been a brilliant career in the ring—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.