Classic American West Coast Boxing

[Expug]

Rick
You know Gwen Adair. She seems like a gal that can hang with the fellas' and still keep her femininity. Those gals are rare to find. Female jazz singers were like that. A complete woman.Fun to be with.

Agreed.
I gotta put a shout out to my Grandmother who died a couple years ago at 94.
She was a Chicago Cop for 35 years back when there werent any.
She even worked in homicide.
She was always a Lady.
Im sure Gwens the same way.

[kikibalt]

Ken Norton


"Kenny"

By Diego

[kikibalt]

[bennie]

Photos by Scarface

Sorry Dan, but Bennie said that was your name from now on.....


The bout that made history. Yori Boy Campas defending his IBF Jr.
Middleweight title against Pedro Ortega and the first world title fight
being officiated by a female referee. Gwen Adair.



Carlos Ortiz and Rick Farris


Rick Farris and Gwen Adair


Marvin Johnson and Yaqui Lopez

Amazingly, I don't think Marvin and Yaqui ever actually fought. Man, those two were tough!

[kikibalt]

Tony Zale


The man of steel

By Diego

[Expug]

Great picture of Tony.
That guy put the T in tough.
From the Steel Mill town of Gary Indiana.
That place aint for the squeamish.
I just drove by it coming back from Michigan a few days ago.
Right off the Chicago Skyway , you drive literally over it.
Even though it is a very rough place , and always has been, it has a certain gritty appeal to it.
Its a great town for a boxer to come out of.

[kikibalt]

[bennie]

Great picture of Tony.
That guy put the T in tough.
From the Steel Mill town of Gary Indiana.
That place aint for the squeamish.
I just drove by it coming back from Michigan a few days ago.
Right off the Chicago Skyway , you drive literally over it.
Even though it is a very rough place , and always has been, it has a certain gritty appeal to it.
Its a great town for a boxer to come out of.

Interesting, Pug. Angel Manfredy is from Gary. A right lunatic.

[dagosd2000]

You know, you can still buy milk in glass bottles at this dairy in Montebello, Ca.

A cold bottle of chocalate milk off the truck. Me and my uncle in Chicago used to follow the milk truck to stop the guy to buy a bottle of cold chocolate milk on a sweltering hot Chicago summer day.

[dagosd2000]

Great picture of Tony.
That guy put the T in tough.
From the Steel Mill town of Gary Indiana.
That place aint for the squeamish.
I just drove by it coming back from Michigan a few days ago.
Right off the Chicago Skyway , you drive literally over it.
Even though it is a very rough place , and always has been, it has a certain gritty appeal to it.
Its a great town for a boxer to come out of.

Yeah,Gary Indiana ain't for the faint of heart. But I don't think there was ever a nicest guy than Tony Zale. Had one of the friendliest smiles I ever saw. Once was doing a piece in Ring Magazine. The topic was shortening the length of title bouts. Tony was argiung against it. His answer to the guy who wanted to trim it down was,"I wonder what kind of nylons he wears?"

[dagosd2000]

Photos by Scarface

Sorry Dan, but Bennie said that was your name from now on.....


The bout that made history. Yori Boy Campas defending his IBF Jr.
Middleweight title against Pedro Ortega and the first world title fight
being officiated by a female referee. Gwen Adair.



Carlos Ortiz and Rick Farris


Rick Farris and Gwen Adair


Marvin Johnson and Yaqui Lopez

Amazingly, I don't think Marvin and Yaqui ever actually fought. Man, those two were tough!

Bennie
Sometimes when it comes right down to it,I think maybe the mettle of the sport is how well these guys took it and kept fighting back. Those two exemplified that for sure.

[kikibalt]

You know, you can still buy milk in glass bottles at this dairy in Montebello, Ca.

A cold bottle of chocalate milk off the truck. Me and my uncle in Chicago used to follow the milk truck to stop the guy to buy a bottle of cold chocolate milk on a sweltering hot Chicago summer day.

You can fine cold chocolate milk in a bottle at this dairy, btw, I used to walk by this dairy everyday when I was attending Montebello Jr. High, in the late 1940's.

[dagosd2000]

You know, you can still buy milk in glass bottles at this dairy in Montebello, Ca.

A cold bottle of chocalate milk off the truck. Me and my uncle in Chicago used to follow the milk truck to stop the guy to buy a bottle of cold chocolate milk on a sweltering hot Chicago summer day.

You can fine cold chocolate milk in a bottle at this dairy, btw, I used to walk by this dairy everyday when I was attending Montebello Jr. High, in the late 1940's.

just never let me know if they tear the place down to put in a Jiffy Lube. Promise me.

[bennie]

Photos by Scarface

Sorry Dan, but Bennie said that was your name from now on.....


The bout that made history. Yori Boy Campas defending his IBF Jr.
Middleweight title against Pedro Ortega and the first world title fight
being officiated by a female referee. Gwen Adair.



Carlos Ortiz and Rick Farris


Rick Farris and Gwen Adair


Marvin Johnson and Yaqui Lopez

Amazingly, I don't think Marvin and Yaqui ever actually fought. Man, those two were tough!

Bennie
Sometimes when it comes right down to it,I think maybe the mettle of the sport is how well these guys took it and kept fighting back. Those two exemplified that for sure.

That's so true. And as much as Marvin and Yaqui took their lumps, they dished out a helluva lot more overall.
Johnson was just amazing. When he beat Leslie Stewart for the world light-heavyweight title in 1986 - a boxing lifetime from the great 1970s light-heavy era - I couldn't believe it.
It was like he was immortal.

[bennie]

In fact, he still looks exactly as he did as a fighter.

[kikibalt]

diego,

Google "Broguiere's Dairy" and get some info on the dairy.

[kikibalt]

Here you go, diego

[Expug]

Great picture of Tony.
That guy put the T in tough.
From the Steel Mill town of Gary Indiana.
That place aint for the squeamish.
I just drove by it coming back from Michigan a few days ago.
Right off the Chicago Skyway , you drive literally over it.
Even though it is a very rough place , and always has been, it has a certain gritty appeal to it.
Its a great town for a boxer to come out of.

Interesting, Pug. Angel Manfredy is from Gary. A right lunatic.

Angel was something else.
You always know when you are getting close to Gary.
The aroma in the air from the old steel mills.
Many are closed now but the air lingers.
Former pro football player Alex Karras is also from Gary.
In its heyday, everyone there worked in the mills.
Tony did to for awhile until deciding that boxing would be a better life.
Zale, just like Marvin Johnson and Yaqui pictured here were fighters, fighters.
No better compliment than that.
Who needs the pretty boys? these guys are what makes boxing.

[kikibalt]

[Rick Farris]

Rick
You know Gwen Adair. She seems like a gal that can hang with the fellas' and still keep her femininity. Those gals are rare to find. Female jazz singers were like that. A complete woman.Fun to be with.

Roger, you are so right about Gwen. Gwen is one of my best friends and is very close with my wife, Monica. We get together often and she will be visiting our table at the WBHOF event. She is aware of this thread (but does not own a computor) and looks forward to meeting the group. She is a big fan of the Baltazar boys and looks forward to seeing Frank Sr. on this night. By the way, Gwen's mom, Lovey Yancey was a brilliant woman, and the founder of the FAT BURGER chain. Gwen was raised in South L.A. but as a little girl relocated to Beverly Hills after her mother made fortune. Gwen recently buried her mom who passed in her late 90's. I truly love Gwen, as does anybody who gets to know her. She is the only woman in history to ref a world title bout, and did so in Mexico of all places. She's strong, but sweet. A true Hall of Famer, and a true friend! She is also a fellow director of the WBHOF. I know that you and Gwen will hit it off big time, Rog. She's our kinda woman!


-Rick

[kikibalt]

February 2, 2008
Fatburger Founder Lovie Yancey Has Died

Inside a Fatburger location in Van Nuys

Lovie Yancey, who launched what eventually became the popular Fatburger chain of burger-and-fries joints, died January 26th of pneumonia here in Los Angeles.

Initially called Mr. Fatburger, the fast-food restaurant first opened in 1947. Hoping to capitalize on the burger trend that was becoming increasingly popular, Yancey dropped the "Mr." in 1952 and by 1981 was offering franchises of what was now known as "The Last Great Hamburger Stand." Fatburger was a favorite of local celebs, and was, as described in Yancey's LA Times obit, "immortalized in a string of songs, movies and TV shows, including the sitcom 'Sanford and Son,' the film 'The Fast and the Furious' and the Ice Cube single 'It Was a Good Day.'"

Although Yancey long ago sold off the bulk of her burger empire, she remained for many the cornerstone of the successful chain of eateries known for their big burgers and "fat" fries ordered up in an atmosphere of low-key decor and a perpetually-churning jukebox. Yancey was also much respected as a trailblazer for black women entrepreneurs, and was admired in and beyond her community. Lovie Yancey was 96.

[Rick Farris]

Lawn Mowers, Sweaters and the Olympic Auditorium . . .

When Aileen Eaton was promoting at the Olympic Auditorium in the late 60's, she had a brilliant idea, one that would save her hundreds and make her thousands. She pitted amateur boxers in two bouts that would open the show for her televised thursday night pro cards. She called it her "Youth Development Program" and from this came a number of world class pros, most who'd start their careers with a a built-in following at the Olympic. There were a few perks to fighting in those Olympic amateur bouts and I know this having been somebody who fought on those cards. For one thing, you got to fight on TV, you also were given five bucks "gas money" (which would fill the tank of my old '55 Ford Pick-up, and also buy me quart of oil.) But the best part was a gift from the sponsor, MacLain Lawn Mowers, who would give the winners of the bout a lawn mower or an edger. Another Sponsor was Richard's Clothes for men on Spring St. who would also give the fighters Alpaca sweaters. I ended up with a closet full of sweaters, but never got my lawn mower, although I won three of my four bouts fought in the YDP part of the show. I remember being a bit disappointed not getting a lawn mower (although I hated cutting grass). My manager Johnny Flores said, "Just take the sweater and be happy for the win", which I did. Johnny always had a couple new lawn mowers and edgers in his garage.

-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

Lovie Yancey

[dagosd2000]

Randy De La O has been nice enough to offer to put some of my paintings on his Web Page. I sent him Napoles,Aragon,and Quarry. He emailed me back asking me if that was Jerry for sure. I think when Frank first posted that painting,Bennie wondered also. Frank replied,"Well that's what Dago said."

Funny how everyone sees things their own way. I swear that's how Quarry looked to me that day. I work next to a gal who married this guy and she's telling me all her girlfriends thought her husband was ugly. She couldn't understand it. She thought he was drop dead for looks.

Which reminds me of this joke. Three nuns die and are ready to enter heaven. St. Peter is there and asks each nun if they have one last wish before going through the Pearly Gates.

Well the first nun says,"I'd like to have sex with Brad Pitt."
St. Peter says,"Yes,I can understand why. He's very good looking."

The second nun says,"I want to have sex with Leonardo De Caprio."
St. Peter says,"Yes,I can understand that. He's very popular with the ladies."

Well the third nun says,"I want to have sex with Frank Baltazar."
St. Peter scratches his head and says to her,"Frank Baltazar. Never heard of him. I can understand the other requests,but who is Frank Baltazar?"
The nun replied,"I don't know who he is either,but all I heard down on Earth was 'F#ck Frank Baltazar."

[Seamus]

About 2 yrs ago, a buddy and I did a historical photo shoot around Gary. The cops pulled us over because they thought we were lost, but they were polite and we just told them what we were doing. He was from around 17th-Pennsylvania.

Alex Karras was from the East Side of Gary as well. Emerson High School.