Dongee wrote:It's hard to think back of olden days in California boxing without conjuring up the image of the many Filipino fighters who were a huge part of the local fistic scene. But as in everything else, there were a few who stood out head and shoulders above the rest.
Among the lighter boys Pablo Dano, Young Tommy and Speedy Dado were the class of their ilk for a dozen years. Three extreme professionals who fought each other with incredible abandon, as though their very existence depended on their performance.
I only got to know and really appreciate one of them, Speedy Dado, who became a regular at our Hollywood Legion Stadium shows and a drinking buddy afterwards. The Blue Palm Bar and Grill, adjacent to the stadium was our favorite hangout before and after the bouts. And Speedy was always there, waiting, in fact, for the fight night crowd to drop in.
Rick got a kick out of hearing of how Speedy used to greet me as I walked into the place. He would yell out, disturbingly, "Hap Navarro....I can stop you in 42 rounds!" In our secret code, that was my cue to buy him a drink. I never failed him and I wish I could do that to this day.
I never really stopped seeing Speedy as he once was----a smooth as silk "Brown Doll of Manila", the scourge of the world's bantams in the ring, and a dapper, model dresser in mufti when "off duty." That flashy little pinwheel took practically every round from the reigning World's Bantam Champ Al Brown at the Olympic in January, 1932, weighing just 1/2 pound over the limit to save the Panamanian's title. Mainly because of that. Dado ws forever shunned later as a challenger in a title match.
The last time that friend Lou Magana visited me in San Diego I asked him about Speedy Dado. In a hushed voice, he told me our little dynamo had died alone, his body discovered several days after he passed away.
hap navarro
hap navarro
Thanks, Hap. This is one of the greatest stories I've ever heard. Your account of Dado's 1932 Olympic Auditorium match with Panama Al Brown is appreciated. Tragic ending for such a great fighter. Believe it or not, since you first told me about Speedy Dado, several years back, I still picture you walking into the Blue Palm and Speedy Dado bating you for a drink. I was so taken by that story that I had to see the Blue Palm, and yes, it's still there. Across the alley, the old Legion is now a Balley's Fitness Center. The Blue Palm is right next door to the Henry Fonda Theatre. It's a trendy place and I convinced a producer I was working for to hold the production's wrap party at the Blue Palm. At the party, I tried to visualize Speedy Dado at the bar, Hap walking in thru the back door, slender, thin mustache, latin good looks. "Hap Navarro . . . I can knock you out in 42 rounds!" At the end of the bar sat Jackie McCoy, drinking Boilermakers.
-Rick Farris
