FOR FRANKkikibalt wrote:Guys, I have some bad news, Art Aragon had a stoke and is on the life support and his family is ready to pull the plug, also Luis Magan from the Olympic passed last week at 95-96 years old.
Back in Chicago major league sports was a way of life. There were two pro football teams(Bears and Cardinals) and two pro baseball teams(Cubs and White Sox). Pro basketball was not what it is today. The Celtic dynasty hadn't begun yet. To show you how small pro basketball was ,there were franchises in Rochester and Ft. Wayne. The Lakers were in Minneapolis. The Chicago Blackhawks were big time ice hockey. The Chicago Stadium and Soldiers Field were venues for many of the great fights in boxing history: Dempsey/Tunney,Robinson/LaMotta ,Basilio/Robinson,to name a few.
When my family moved out to the West Coast in 1955,it seemed like we were in a village. San Diego was beautifull. Beaches,warm weather,palm trees,Mexico to the south. Downtown was for sailors . The department stores paled in comparision to Marshall Fields. No train station,stockyards. However the zoo was nice. A pretty place,San Diego,but wasn't big time like Chicago. Even the gangsters out here were lightweights.
My dad was a sports nut and so was I. Major league football and baseball hadn't arrived out here yet. If you liked the horses,there was Del Mar, and Calente in Tijuana. But hell I was a kid. Horse racing didn't interest me.
I liked boxing. You could get it on TV from New York and Chicago,or if there was an important fight from somewhere else they would televise it.
The first big name fighter I remember hearing about in California was Art Aragon. Archie Moore didn't fight in San Diego anymore,so the name that would pop up on the sports reports was Art Aragon. There was minor league baseball(Padres and Hollywood Stars),the Rams were going to jump to the NFL,but the guy who got the attention was someone they called"The Golden Boy". I remember watching Dragnet with Jack Webb and Ben Alexander(Joe Friday and Frank Smith), and in one episode they were anticipating going to the "Aragon fight." The Los Angeles TV stations broadcasted and reported what was happening in Southland sports ,and the talk was often about who Art Aragon was fighting next. No doubt about it,Chicago may have had the Bears,but LA. had their "Golden Boy'and they wouldn't have traded him for all the silk in China.
I remember the talk of Carmen Basilio coming out to California to fight Aragon. This was Art's shot. It was a big fight for Carmen too. He'd just lost the title to Sugar Ray,and now was coming out to the West Coast to get "well" against Aragon. Aragon ,in 51 had beaten Jimmy Carter in a non title in LA.,but lost to Carter in the rematch for the lightweight title in Los Angeles a few months later.
Carmen was too big and strong for Art. After seven rounds it eas over. Basilio went on to fight more title fights against Fullmer,although not winning,and Art Aragon"The Golden Boy" retired within two years. By that time LA. had all the big time pro team sports as the New Yorks and Chicagos.
About 20 years ago I was flipping the dial when I caught a sport's interview show from LA. Tom Harmon,the Heisman Trophy winner from Michigan,was interviewing Art Aragon. Harmon was trying to get across how popular "The Golden Boy"was in the Southland. Art Aragon might have been a lightweight,but he was a giant amongst his fans. Harmon went on to talk about how LA. would follow his career hoping that he would eventully win a title. Of course this didn't happen. Harmon asked "The Golden Boy" what he was doing these days. Art smiled with that fighter's pan. The broken nose,the scar tissue. He still had that full head of black wavy hair,the tanned skin. A great smile.He was still impressive. He was still "The Golden Boy".
"I'm trying to start a foundation for former fighters,"said Aragon. His speech seemed a little slow.
"People need to understand that a lot of these guys need some help now. After fighting they couldn't do much anymore. The promoters forgot about them."
Harmon was looking at him. Harmon remembered "The Golden Boy". Harmon had gone to his fights many times. The interview went on for about ten minutes.
""Before we say good night,"said Harmon," I want all of you out there ,that don't remember Art"Golden Boy" Aragon, to understand that he was all we had out here."
Aragon wasn't looking at Harmon nor the camera. His head was a little down and to the side.
"You've got to realize,"said "The Golden Boy","that these fighters gave everything they had for their fans. We need to help some of them now."
As the camera faded away ,the studio was quiet. "The Golden Boy" was still staring at nothing as he spoke his last words.
