Classic American West Coast Boxing

[bennie]

Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight is on, promoter Bob Arum says

A signed contract is in hand, ending a turbulent negotiation to get the fighters to the ring for a junior-welterweight bout in Las Vegas on May 2.

By Lance Pugmire
January 24, 2009

Manny Pacquiao's signed contract to fight England's Ricky Hatton on May 2 in Las Vegas reached his promoter Bob Arum's hands this morning.

Arriving nearly a month later than expected, the document with Pacquiao's signature allowed Arum to close a turbulent negotiation and say with finality, "The fight is on, everything's fine."

Arum revealed that Pacquiao received a bump in pay, to 52% of the purse to Hatton's 48%. The Filipino star, considered the world's top pound-for-pound boxer, is guaranteed a personal-best purse of $12 million that would escalate based on pay-per-view sales.

The pay-per-view distributor remains unsettled, but the junior-welterweight bout will be staged at MGM Grand Garden Arena, where Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 knockouts) battered Oscar De La Hoya last month and where Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs) scored a technical knockout over Paulie Malignaggi in November.

Hatton brought a larger throng of Britons to Las Vegas in December 2007, when he was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. while the city hosted a festive week of singing, cheering and drinking by the international visitors.


Another large Hatton crowd is expected for the May 2 fight, which will be boxing's most lucrative in the first half of 2009.

For lightweight champion Pacquiao, the bout will be his fourth consecutive in a different weight class after he beat WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez by decision in March, knocked out lightweight champ David Diaz during the summer and then dominated De La Hoya in a welterweight meeting.

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, recently assessed the Hatton bout in an attached video, saying, "Hatton's a guy that comes to you. . . . He's a very good style for us." Hatton has never lost at 140 pounds.

Hatton on Wednesday instructed his promoter, Richard Schaefer, to back out of the Pacquiao negotiations after tiring of waiting for the Filipino boxer to deliver his signed contract to Arum. Schaefer called Pacquiao a "spoiled young kid." Pacquiao declared talk of a cancellation a "bluff" in a prepared statement in which he urged Hatton to cut out the "middlemen" and "get it on."

Arum on Thursday announced he would board a flight to Manila to secure Pacquiao's signature. Then, hours later, Arum learned from Pacquiao's people that the contract was signed and would be in his Las Vegas office by this morning. All along, Arum and Roach had bemoaned their inability to get Pacquiao on the phone from the Philippines. He finally picked up late Thursday night.

"He started laughing," Arum said. "I told him, 'I can't believe I found a fighter I can really speak to.'

"This whole thing was very difficult because of the time difference and the cultural difference."

Asked what ultimately persuaded Pacquiao to sign the contract, Arum said, "I'm not a psychiatrist, I don't know. We did a tweak here [increasing his purse percentage, for one] and a tweak there." Urged to elaborate, Arum said, "That's none of your business."

The promoter was to meet with Schaefer early this afternoon to plan a new press tour that earlier this week was scrapped in Britain because of Pacquiao's delays.

[email protected]

Hatton's fans are all football fans (Manchester City). They are not really boxing fans but they have money in their pockets (you need big money to get into a footie game these days) and are willing to travel. Hatton, it has to be said, is a genuinely engaging guy. I chatted to him briefly in Bolton a few years ago, and he jokingly labelled himself "Ricky Fatton" and posed for photos with a smile. He has star appeal and yet the common touch.

[scartissue]

Tony in 7 or 8 rounds.

I pick Margarito, by decision. I believe Shane will stay on his feet? Regardless of the result, this one is going to hurt Mosely.

Rick, I like Margarito by decision also. If anything, Mosley still has a great jaw and I believe he even will get off to a good start, maybe copping the first three rounds before the Margarito pressure takes over. Y'know, my Pops and I have had a tradition. On the night of a big fight, we'd order ribs from the 'Patio' (a chain here in the Chicago area - outstanding ribs - anyone else heard of this restaurant?) and a couple of brewski's and sit down for the big fight. When my Dad was more mobile and more independent, I would eagerly await the headlights from his big Dodge Dakota beaming through the family room as he turned into my driveway. Always at my designated time, he was always prompt on fight night. I'd order the carryout, we'd chow down, put down a couple of bottles of the golden elixir and then get antsy awaiting the bell for round one. Nowadays, I pick him up, still order the ribs, although I watch his diet a bit more and give him a dispensation for one bottle of suds only, but we still eagerly await the bell for round one. It will be no different tonight and the tradition continues.

Scartissue

[kikibalt]

Tony in 7 or 8 rounds.

I pick Margarito, by decision. I believe Shane will stay on his feet? Regardless of the result, this one is going to hurt Mosely.

I too like Margarito by decision, wouldn'd be surprise if Mosley gets stop though.
Have a feeling that this mosley's last fight, should be anyway....

[kikibalt]

[kikibalt]

Miguel Cotto

[bennie]

Miguel Cotto

Lancashire's Michael Jennings makes one giant leap from Jason Rushton to Miguel Cotto for the vacant WBO welterweight title at New York's historic Madison Square Garden on February 21.
The belt was made vacant by Paul Williams.
Jennings outscored Doncaster's Rushton over eight brisk rounds in Glasgow in a warm-up in November. The 31-year-old Chorley challenger is a tidy boxer with a great engine but has never fought outside Britain in 10 years as a pro and this ranks as the most daunting of overseas debuts. Puerto Rican great Cotto comes off an unforgettable 11-round loss to Mexican sensation Antonio Margarito last summer in Las Vegas. He fought proudly and magnificently and simply lost to the better, stronger man on the night, his first and only loss in 33 outings. The 28-year-old Cotto, a former two-weight world champion, looks gifted enough to come again.
Jennings will say otherwise, of course, in his own pleasant, throughly likeable way. Cotto took heavy punishment in the later stages of the Margarito battle before crumbling to the canvas, bloodied and battered. How much did the fight take out of him? The wiry, superfit, fleet-footed Jennings can stick and move for 12 hard rounds and might, just might, find himself in the right place at the right time against a battle-weary, tired, demotivated, overconfident, super-rich Cotto looking ahead to a lucrative June rematch with Margarito. I also have a feeling that Cotto is tight at the weight. He looks 'big' in those above pictures.
Jennings has lost only once himself (in 35 outings), on a split decision to Midlands strongman Young Mutley in Nottingham in January 2006. It was a big upset but the beaten man enjoys big backing (F rank Warren) and was steered down another route to a No. 1 ranking with the WBO, with six wins on the spin. Mutley, meanwhile, languishes in the Black Country. Boxing is still all about who you know.
In Michael's defence, he licked some good opponents on the way back, such as Crawley's Ross Minter (talented son of Alan) in a nine-round thriller and Margate's dangerous Takaloo over 12. He holds particularly fine wins over Poland's current European welterweight champion Rafal Jackiewicz and Welsh star Bradley Pryce, despite a 12th-round wobble in the latter. While Jennings can box, he lacks great power and strength and the bull-like Mutley kept him 'honest' for much of the 12 rounds and one wonders how honest Cotto will keep him. Jennings lacks the power to trouble Cotto, I'm sure.
I can see Michael boxing well for a few rounds as Cotto picks his punches in typically smooth, classy, hurtful fashion, body and head, wearing down the visitor. Cotto has finished 26 of his 33 opponents, including the likes of Zab Judah, Gianluca Branco, Carlos Quintana, Ricardo Torres, Kelson Pinto and so many others.
In his 'home' venue of the legendary Garden, Cotto ultimately looks too complete for Jennings. He wins in six or seven rounds.

[kikibalt]

Miguel Cotto

Lancashire's Michael Jennings makes one giant leap from Jason Rushton to Miguel Cotto for the vacant WBO welterweight title at New York's historic Madison Square Garden on February 21.
The belt was made vacant by Paul Williams.
Jennings outscored Doncaster's Rushton over eight brisk rounds in Glasgow in a warm-up in November. The 31-year-old Chorley challenger is a tidy boxer with a great engine but has never fought outside Britain in 10 years as a pro and this ranks as the most daunting of overseas debuts. Puerto Rican great Cotto comes off an unforgettable 11-round loss to Mexican sensation Antonio Margarito last summer in Las Vegas. He fought proudly and magnificently and simply lost to the better, stronger man on the night, his first and only loss in 33 outings. The 28-year-old Cotto, a former two-weight world champion, looks gifted enough to come again.
Jennings will say otherwise, of course, in his own pleasant, throughly likeable way. Cotto took heavy punishment in the later stages of the Margarito battle before crumbling to the canvas, bloodied and battered. How much did the fight take out of him? The wiry, superfit, fleet-footed Jennings can stick and move for 12 hard rounds and might, just might, find himself in the right place at the right time against a battle-weary, tired, demotivated, overconfident, super-rich Cotto looking ahead to a lucrative June rematch with Margarito. I also have a feeling that Cotto is tight at the weight. He looks 'big' in those above pictures.
Jennings has lost only once himself (in 35 outings), on a split decision to Midlands strongman Young Mutley in Nottingham in January 2006. It was a big upset but the beaten man enjoys big backing (F rank Warren) and was steered down another route to a No. 1 ranking with the WBO, with six wins on the spin. Mutley, meanwhile, languishes in the Black Country. Boxing is still all about who you know.
In Michael's defence, he licked some good opponents on the way back, such as Crawley's Ross Minter (talented son of Alan) in a nine-round thriller and Margate's dangerous Takaloo over 12. He holds particularly fine wins over Poland's current European welterweight champion Rafal Jackiewicz and Welsh star Bradley Pryce, despite a 12th-round wobble in the latter. While Jennings can box, he lacks great power and strength and the bull-like Mutley kept him 'honest' for much of the 12 rounds and one wonders how honest Cotto will keep him. Jennings lacks the power to trouble Cotto, I'm sure.
I can see Michael boxing well for a few rounds as Cotto picks his punches in typically smooth, classy, hurtful fashion, body and head, wearing down the visitor. Cotto has finished 26 of his 33 opponents, including the likes of Zab Judah, Gianluca Branco, Carlos Quintana, Ricardo Torres, Kelson Pinto and so many others.
In his 'home' venue of the legendary Garden, Cotto ultimately looks too complete for Jennings. He wins in six or seven rounds.

There was a time in the distant past that when a fighter lost a fight like Cotto lost to Margarito, said fighter would have to fight other top fighters and climb up the ladder before getting another title fight, those days are long gone, nowdays you lose soup A title fight, you just go and fight for the soup B title.
I was born to soon and so were my boys, other wise they would have been champs

[dagosd2000]

Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight is on, promoter Bob Arum says

A signed contract is in hand, ending a turbulent negotiation to get the fighters to the ring for a junior-welterweight bout in Las Vegas on May 2.

By Lance Pugmire
January 24, 2009

Manny Pacquiao's signed contract to fight England's Ricky Hatton on May 2 in Las Vegas reached his promoter Bob Arum's hands this morning.

Arriving nearly a month later than expected, the document with Pacquiao's signature allowed Arum to close a turbulent negotiation and say with finality, "The fight is on, everything's fine."

Arum revealed that Pacquiao received a bump in pay, to 52% of the purse to Hatton's 48%. The Filipino star, considered the world's top pound-for-pound boxer, is guaranteed a personal-best purse of $12 million that would escalate based on pay-per-view sales.

The pay-per-view distributor remains unsettled, but the junior-welterweight bout will be staged at MGM Grand Garden Arena, where Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 knockouts) battered Oscar De La Hoya last month and where Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs) scored a technical knockout over Paulie Malignaggi in November.

Hatton brought a larger throng of Britons to Las Vegas in December 2007, when he was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. while the city hosted a festive week of singing, cheering and drinking by the international visitors.


Another large Hatton crowd is expected for the May 2 fight, which will be boxing's most lucrative in the first half of 2009.

For lightweight champion Pacquiao, the bout will be his fourth consecutive in a different weight class after he beat WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez by decision in March, knocked out lightweight champ David Diaz during the summer and then dominated De La Hoya in a welterweight meeting.

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, recently assessed the Hatton bout in an attached video, saying, "Hatton's a guy that comes to you. . . . He's a very good style for us." Hatton has never lost at 140 pounds.

Hatton on Wednesday instructed his promoter, Richard Schaefer, to back out of the Pacquiao negotiations after tiring of waiting for the Filipino boxer to deliver his signed contract to Arum. Schaefer called Pacquiao a "spoiled young kid." Pacquiao declared talk of a cancellation a "bluff" in a prepared statement in which he urged Hatton to cut out the "middlemen" and "get it on."

Arum on Thursday announced he would board a flight to Manila to secure Pacquiao's signature. Then, hours later, Arum learned from Pacquiao's people that the contract was signed and would be in his Las Vegas office by this morning. All along, Arum and Roach had bemoaned their inability to get Pacquiao on the phone from the Philippines. He finally picked up late Thursday night.

"He started laughing," Arum said. "I told him, 'I can't believe I found a fighter I can really speak to.'

"This whole thing was very difficult because of the time difference and the cultural difference."

Asked what ultimately persuaded Pacquiao to sign the contract, Arum said, "I'm not a psychiatrist, I don't know. We did a tweak here [increasing his purse percentage, for one] and a tweak there." Urged to elaborate, Arum said, "That's none of your business."

The promoter was to meet with Schaefer early this afternoon to plan a new press tour that earlier this week was scrapped in Britain because of Pacquiao's delays.

[email protected]

Hatton's fans are all football fans (Manchester City). They are not really boxing fans but they have money in their pockets (you need big money to get into a footie game these days) and are willing to travel. Hatton, it has to be said, is a genuinely engaging guy. I chatted to him briefly in Bolton a few years ago, and he jokingly labelled himself "Ricky Fatton" and posed for photos with a smile. He has star appeal and yet the common touch.

Bennie
I notice Manchester's Wayne Rooney at Hatton's fights. Rooney is a scrappy little guy. Kind of like Ricky. Glad the fight is back on.

[dagosd2000]

Half of those Mexicans will be my wife's family. Westchester County is practically all Mexicans from Michoacan.

[bennie]

Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight is on, promoter Bob Arum says

A signed contract is in hand, ending a turbulent negotiation to get the fighters to the ring for a junior-welterweight bout in Las Vegas on May 2.

By Lance Pugmire
January 24, 2009

Manny Pacquiao's signed contract to fight England's Ricky Hatton on May 2 in Las Vegas reached his promoter Bob Arum's hands this morning.

Arriving nearly a month later than expected, the document with Pacquiao's signature allowed Arum to close a turbulent negotiation and say with finality, "The fight is on, everything's fine."

Arum revealed that Pacquiao received a bump in pay, to 52% of the purse to Hatton's 48%. The Filipino star, considered the world's top pound-for-pound boxer, is guaranteed a personal-best purse of $12 million that would escalate based on pay-per-view sales.

The pay-per-view distributor remains unsettled, but the junior-welterweight bout will be staged at MGM Grand Garden Arena, where Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 knockouts) battered Oscar De La Hoya last month and where Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs) scored a technical knockout over Paulie Malignaggi in November.

Hatton brought a larger throng of Britons to Las Vegas in December 2007, when he was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. while the city hosted a festive week of singing, cheering and drinking by the international visitors.


Another large Hatton crowd is expected for the May 2 fight, which will be boxing's most lucrative in the first half of 2009.

For lightweight champion Pacquiao, the bout will be his fourth consecutive in a different weight class after he beat WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez by decision in March, knocked out lightweight champ David Diaz during the summer and then dominated De La Hoya in a welterweight meeting.

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, recently assessed the Hatton bout in an attached video, saying, "Hatton's a guy that comes to you. . . . He's a very good style for us." Hatton has never lost at 140 pounds.

Hatton on Wednesday instructed his promoter, Richard Schaefer, to back out of the Pacquiao negotiations after tiring of waiting for the Filipino boxer to deliver his signed contract to Arum. Schaefer called Pacquiao a "spoiled young kid." Pacquiao declared talk of a cancellation a "bluff" in a prepared statement in which he urged Hatton to cut out the "middlemen" and "get it on."

Arum on Thursday announced he would board a flight to Manila to secure Pacquiao's signature. Then, hours later, Arum learned from Pacquiao's people that the contract was signed and would be in his Las Vegas office by this morning. All along, Arum and Roach had bemoaned their inability to get Pacquiao on the phone from the Philippines. He finally picked up late Thursday night.

"He started laughing," Arum said. "I told him, 'I can't believe I found a fighter I can really speak to.'

"This whole thing was very difficult because of the time difference and the cultural difference."

Asked what ultimately persuaded Pacquiao to sign the contract, Arum said, "I'm not a psychiatrist, I don't know. We did a tweak here [increasing his purse percentage, for one] and a tweak there." Urged to elaborate, Arum said, "That's none of your business."

The promoter was to meet with Schaefer early this afternoon to plan a new press tour that earlier this week was scrapped in Britain because of Pacquiao's delays.

[email protected]

Hatton's fans are all football fans (Manchester City). They are not really boxing fans but they have money in their pockets (you need big money to get into a footie game these days) and are willing to travel. Hatton, it has to be said, is a genuinely engaging guy. I chatted to him briefly in Bolton a few years ago, and he jokingly labelled himself "Ricky Fatton" and posed for photos with a smile. He has star appeal and yet the common touch.

Bennie
I notice Manchester's Wayne Rooney at Hatton's fights. Rooney is a scrappy little guy. Kind of like Ricky. Glad the fight is back on.

Yeah, and Wayne plays for Manchester United, which is a bit bizarre. Rooney can definitely look after himself, Rog. He has close relatives who boxed.

[kikibalt]

The Ghosts of Wrigley Field, January 24, 1969


Photograph by Hal Moulin / Los Angeles Times
Wrigley Field, Oct. 3, 1944, as the San Francisco Seals defeat the L.A. Angels.

John Hall wrote a couple of columns bidding farewell to Los Angeles' Wrigley Field.
"It was another time, another place. It was Wrigley Field, 1925-1969, may it rest in peace. The demolition crews are at work and the creaky old place at 42nd and Avalon will soon be nothing but a vacant lot, " Hall wrote.

Wrigley Field had been home to the minor league Angels and for a year the expansion major league Angels. There were memorable brawls with their crosstown rivals, the Hollywood Stars, who also called Wrigley home for a few seasons early in the stadium's life. The ballpark also had been the site for prize fights, football games and countless other high-profile events.

A 1925 photo in The Times showed William Wrigley Jr. with his new ballpark being finished behind him. "There are several novel features ... Yes brothers, it's going to be some plant," The Times promised.

Movies such as "The Pride of the Yankees" were filmed there as was television's "Home Run Derby".

Then-Angels publicist George Goodale was the voice of Hall's Jan. 24 column, for good reason. Goodale worked for the Pacific Coast League Angels and "researched and recorded every game of note in Angel history dating back to 1903."

Among the memories: Wrigley Field was the first place all three DiMaggio brothers--Joe, Dom and Vince--played together on the same field, according to Goodale.

And there was a game the Angels lost to the Hollywood Stars. "My lowest ebb was the time the Stars had a 15-0 lead," Goodale told Hall. "[Fred] Haney was the Hollywood manager and he squeezed home the 16th run."

The Angels played there in 1961 and fittingly, a former minor league Angel star closed out the ballpark's season in the majors. Steve Bilko, who hit 56 home runs with the Angels in 1957, homered in the last home game of 1961.

"Now that thing called progress is taking it away for good," Hall wrote.

His Jan. 29 column focused on the plans for the area, which included a community health center that would "rise and breathe where the ivy on the ballpark fences once climbed and reached for the same sun."

--Keith Thursby

[dagosd2000]

Bennie
I got hooked on English soccer when I went to England. Like Manchester United. They want NFL Football in England. Don't know where they'd fit it in. The locals aren't going to give up watching their teams to watch the NFL. Agree? BTW,What's your favorite team?

[kikibalt]

Bennie
I got hooked on English soccer when I went to England. Like Manchester United. They want NFL Football in England. Don't know where they'd fit it in. The locals aren't going to give up watching their teams to watch the NFL. Agree? BTW,What's your favorite team?

The Chivas!!

[bennie]

Bennie
I got hooked on English soccer when I went to England. Like Manchester United. They want NFL Football in England. Don't know where they'd fit it in. The locals aren't going to give up watching their teams to watch the NFL. Agree? BTW,What's your favorite team?

Yeah, it's a cultural thing. We were brought up watching soccer and you, NFL. I must admit, Rog, I've gone off English football recently. The game is sickeningly commercial and loaded with foreign players just looking to cash in for a few years before they sod off back to Spain and Italy and Argentina....
Some English teams field a team lacking a single English player. The game is barmy.

[dagosd2000]

The Ghosts of Wrigley Field, January 24, 1969


Photograph by Hal Moulin / Los Angeles Times
Wrigley Field, Oct. 3, 1944, as the San Francisco Seals defeat the L.A. Angels.

John Hall wrote a couple of columns bidding farewell to Los Angeles' Wrigley Field.
"It was another time, another place. It was Wrigley Field, 1925-1969, may it rest in peace. The demolition crews are at work and the creaky old place at 42nd and Avalon will soon be nothing but a vacant lot, " Hall wrote.

Wrigley Field had been home to the minor league Angels and for a year the expansion major league Angels. There were memorable brawls with their crosstown rivals, the Hollywood Stars, who also called Wrigley home for a few seasons early in the stadium's life. The ballpark also had been the site for prize fights, football games and countless other high-profile events.

A 1925 photo in The Times showed William Wrigley Jr. with his new ballpark being finished behind him. "There are several novel features ... Yes brothers, it's going to be some plant," The Times promised.

Movies such as "The Pride of the Yankees" were filmed there as was television's "Home Run Derby".

Then-Angels publicist George Goodale was the voice of Hall's Jan. 24 column, for good reason. Goodale worked for the Pacific Coast League Angels and "researched and recorded every game of note in Angel history dating back to 1903."

Among the memories: Wrigley Field was the first place all three DiMaggio brothers--Joe, Dom and Vince--played together on the same field, according to Goodale.

And there was a game the Angels lost to the Hollywood Stars. "My lowest ebb was the time the Stars had a 15-0 lead," Goodale told Hall. "[Fred] Haney was the Hollywood manager and he squeezed home the 16th run."

The Angels played there in 1961 and fittingly, a former minor league Angel star closed out the ballpark's season in the majors. Steve Bilko, who hit 56 home runs with the Angels in 1957, homered in the last home game of 1961.

"Now that thing called progress is taking it away for good," Hall wrote.

His Jan. 29 column focused on the plans for the area, which included a community health center that would "rise and breathe where the ivy on the ballpark fences once climbed and reached for the same sun."

--Keith Thursby

I remember they taped that program "Home Run Derby" at Wrigley Field in LA. One guy would bat,while the emcee would talk to the other guy. The manners and respect those players had for each other was just great. i have some of those old tapes. Frank,did you say born too early? Born too late? If Frankie and Tony had been around in the fifties sooner or later with their ability they would have had a crack at a title.

[dagosd2000]

Bennie
I got hooked on English soccer when I went to England. Like Manchester United. They want NFL Football in England. Don't know where they'd fit it in. The locals aren't going to give up watching their teams to watch the NFL. Agree? BTW,What's your favorite team?

Yeah, it's a cultural thing. We were brought up watching soccer and you, NFL. I must admit, Rog, I've gone off English football recently. The game is sickeningly commercial and loaded with foreign players just looking to cash in for a few years before they sod off back to Spain and Italy and Argentina....
Some English teams field a team lacking a single English player. The game is barmy.

Thanks for sharing that. I notice that the teams in England are full of international players. It's funny to see Ronaldo playing for Portugal in the World Cup.

[dagosd2000]

Bennie
I got hooked on English soccer when I went to England. Like Manchester United. They want NFL Football in England. Don't know where they'd fit it in. The locals aren't going to give up watching their teams to watch the NFL. Agree? BTW,What's your favorite team?

The Chivas!!

Frank
Even in Michoacan,the Chivas seem like the most popular team. Only in Mexico City is America(the team) the greatest thing since sliced bread.

[kikibalt]

The Ghosts of Wrigley Field, January 24, 1969


Photograph by Hal Moulin / Los Angeles Times
Wrigley Field, Oct. 3, 1944, as the San Francisco Seals defeat the L.A. Angels.

John Hall wrote a couple of columns bidding farewell to Los Angeles' Wrigley Field.
"It was another time, another place. It was Wrigley Field, 1925-1969, may it rest in peace. The demolition crews are at work and the creaky old place at 42nd and Avalon will soon be nothing but a vacant lot, " Hall wrote.

Wrigley Field had been home to the minor league Angels and for a year the expansion major league Angels. There were memorable brawls with their crosstown rivals, the Hollywood Stars, who also called Wrigley home for a few seasons early in the stadium's life. The ballpark also had been the site for prize fights, football games and countless other high-profile events.

A 1925 photo in The Times showed William Wrigley Jr. with his new ballpark being finished behind him. "There are several novel features ... Yes brothers, it's going to be some plant," The Times promised.

Movies such as "The Pride of the Yankees" were filmed there as was television's "Home Run Derby".

Then-Angels publicist George Goodale was the voice of Hall's Jan. 24 column, for good reason. Goodale worked for the Pacific Coast League Angels and "researched and recorded every game of note in Angel history dating back to 1903."

Among the memories: Wrigley Field was the first place all three DiMaggio brothers--Joe, Dom and Vince--played together on the same field, according to Goodale.

And there was a game the Angels lost to the Hollywood Stars. "My lowest ebb was the time the Stars had a 15-0 lead," Goodale told Hall. "[Fred] Haney was the Hollywood manager and he squeezed home the 16th run."

The Angels played there in 1961 and fittingly, a former minor league Angel star closed out the ballpark's season in the majors. Steve Bilko, who hit 56 home runs with the Angels in 1957, homered in the last home game of 1961.

"Now that thing called progress is taking it away for good," Hall wrote.

His Jan. 29 column focused on the plans for the area, which included a community health center that would "rise and breathe where the ivy on the ballpark fences once climbed and reached for the same sun."

--Keith Thursby

I remember they taped that program "Home Run Derby" at Wrigley Field in LA. One guy would bat,while the emcee would talk to the other guy. The manners and respect those players had for each other was just great. i have some of those old tapes. Frank,did you say born too early? Born too late? If Frankie and Tony had been around in the fifties sooner or later with their ability they would have had a crack at a title.

Yes, agree, but if they were fighting today they would have many cracks at many titles...

[kikibalt]

Bennie
I got hooked on English soccer when I went to England. Like Manchester United. They want NFL Football in England. Don't know where they'd fit it in. The locals aren't going to give up watching their teams to watch the NFL. Agree? BTW,What's your favorite team?

The Chivas!!

Frank
Even in Michoacan,the Chivas seem like the most popular team. Only in Mexico City is America(the team) the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I am not into soccer, but one neigbor of mine is a big Chivas's fan, when the Chivas are playing he dresses up in Chivas red, he fly the Chivas flag, I think I know where he is from...

[bennie]

A Brazilian footballer, Kaka, recently turned down an offer to go to Manchester City. He was offered weekly wages of £250,000. That's how barmy footie is here.

[dagosd2000]

The Ghosts of Wrigley Field, January 24, 1969


Photograph by Hal Moulin / Los Angeles Times
Wrigley Field, Oct. 3, 1944, as the San Francisco Seals defeat the L.A. Angels.

John Hall wrote a couple of columns bidding farewell to Los Angeles' Wrigley Field.
"It was another time, another place. It was Wrigley Field, 1925-1969, may it rest in peace. The demolition crews are at work and the creaky old place at 42nd and Avalon will soon be nothing but a vacant lot, " Hall wrote.

Wrigley Field had been home to the minor league Angels and for a year the expansion major league Angels. There were memorable brawls with their crosstown rivals, the Hollywood Stars, who also called Wrigley home for a few seasons early in the stadium's life. The ballpark also had been the site for prize fights, football games and countless other high-profile events.

A 1925 photo in The Times showed William Wrigley Jr. with his new ballpark being finished behind him. "There are several novel features ... Yes brothers, it's going to be some plant," The Times promised.

Movies such as "The Pride of the Yankees" were filmed there as was television's "Home Run Derby".

Then-Angels publicist George Goodale was the voice of Hall's Jan. 24 column, for good reason. Goodale worked for the Pacific Coast League Angels and "researched and recorded every game of note in Angel history dating back to 1903."

Among the memories: Wrigley Field was the first place all three DiMaggio brothers--Joe, Dom and Vince--played together on the same field, according to Goodale.

And there was a game the Angels lost to the Hollywood Stars. "My lowest ebb was the time the Stars had a 15-0 lead," Goodale told Hall. "[Fred] Haney was the Hollywood manager and he squeezed home the 16th run."

The Angels played there in 1961 and fittingly, a former minor league Angel star closed out the ballpark's season in the majors. Steve Bilko, who hit 56 home runs with the Angels in 1957, homered in the last home game of 1961.

"Now that thing called progress is taking it away for good," Hall wrote.

His Jan. 29 column focused on the plans for the area, which included a community health center that would "rise and breathe where the ivy on the ballpark fences once climbed and reached for the same sun."

--Keith Thursby

I remember they taped that program "Home Run Derby" at Wrigley Field in LA. One guy would bat,while the emcee would talk to the other guy. The manners and respect those players had for each other was just great. i have some of those old tapes. Frank,did you say born too early? Born too late? If Frankie and Tony had been around in the fifties sooner or later with their ability they would have had a crack at a title.

Yes, agree, but if they were fighting today they would have many cracks at many titles...

You're right. I remember at Mando's ceremony Frankie putting Mando's belt up to his waist. It caught me off guard,but it made sense.

[dagosd2000]

I am not into soccer, but one neigbor of mine is a big Chivas's fan, when the Chivas are playing he dresses up in Chivas red, he fly the Chivas flag, I think I know where he is from... [/quote]

Frank
I even have a Chivas jersey and I'm from San Diego

[dagosd2000]

A Brazilian footballer, Kaka, recently turned down an offer to go to Manchester City. He was offered weekly wages of £250,000. That's how barmy footie is here.

Bennie
Kaka in Spanish means s--t. It's kind of a running joke here whan he steps out on the "pitch".

[kikibalt]

Margarito-Mosley weigh-in has some drama


At the weigh-in for Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley world welterweight title fight was a bit more dramatic than expected.

Mosley bounced off the scale when it hit the limit 147 pounds and was ordered back on by a California State Athletic Commission board member, then weighed in at 147.2 pounds.

He had two hours to trim the scant ounces, while champion Margarito weighed in at 145.8 pounds.

Mosley needed less than 10 minutes, weighing at a perfect 147.0. Knowing our readers demand complete information, I asked him how he shed the weight and he glanced at me impatiently.

"Used the restroom," he said.

-- Lance Pugmire

[kikibalt]

Ezzard Charles & Jake Mintz
Chicago, February 21 1949

Ezzard Charles and his manager, Jake Mintz await news of the
condition of Sam Baroudi. Baroudi knocked out in the tenth round
died a few hours later.