Classic American West Coast Boxing

[Rick Farris]

A George Parnassus Valentine . . .


February 14, 1970:

Jose Napoles vs. Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez (Undisputed welter title)
Antonio Gomez vs. Gil Noriega
Lobito Montoya vs. Delfino Rosales
Rodrigo Valdez vs. Davey Oropeza

Lopez took a brutal beating for fifteen rounds. He was down three times, stopped in the final round.
Gomez continued winning in L.A. by KO. Just months from taking featherweight title.
Montoya really looked great in stopping this Mexican legend.
I saw Rodrigo Valdez for the first time, but not for long. Valdez used his looping uppercuts and hooks to blow Oropeza out in the first. Impressive!


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

George Parnassus promotion- August 22, 1969

One of my favorites. Olivares wins title. Dwight Hawkins' last fight.
This was a month after we landed on the moon.
Marciano had just died in a plane crash in Iowa.
The very next night, the Charles Manson gang would murder Sharon Tate & company about a dozen miles north of the Forum.
My cousin Mike, a 22-year-old Army Capt. was killed when his helicopter was shot down in Viet Nam.
I remember hearing, Santana . . . "You've got to stop your evil ways . . . BABY!"
I was about to start my senior year in high school. In six months I'd get my pro boxing license.
And in a month I'd meet my first love, first wife, first everything. Today we buried her mother.
But this is what happened on that Friday night at the FORUM, 8/22/69 . . .

Ruben Olivares vs. Lionel Rose - 15rds. (Undisputed World Bantamweight Championship)
Dwight Hawkins vs. Antonio Gomez
Artueo Lomeli vs. Ian MacDonald
Raul Cruz vs. Rudy Villagonza
Gil King vs. Ismael Rivera

Olivares became the man at 118lbs. by destroying Lionel Rose, who was never the same.
Hardened L.A. fight personalities had tears in their eyes watching Hawkins career end in the ninth round.
Lomeli made MacDonald wish he'd never left Ireland.
Cruz breezed over the tough Fillipino.
Gil King won an early four rounder in his brand new career as a pro boxer.


-Rick Farris






L

[Bobbin & Weavin]

A GOLF STORY

My buddy Pat Vetere was rooming with Ronnie Wilson back in the day when Denny Moyer had just blown into town. Moyer was supposed to steady Wilson and help bring him along. All Denny did was bring Wilson along to all the bars in town.

Once my buddy Pat told of the time Wilson,Moyer,and himself got a snootfull one afternoon and decided to try their hand at golf. I doubt whether any of them ever played the game,but their objective was to see how far they could hit the golf balls.

There's a public course out here called Torrey Pines. Real pretty spot. Over looks the ocean. They played the Masters here I think. It was a big one. That's all I know. Well the three drunk divoters roll into Torrey Pines and I guess the guys runnin' the course were too afraid to say "Can't play if you're drunk."

The way my buddy Pat ran it by me was that the three crazies didn.t care about making the balls into the hole,just how many balls they could smack into the Pacific Ocean.

I guess the threesome ran out of balls so they wrapped their clubs around the nearest tree and when that wasn't enough they threw the rest of the clubs into the Pacific Ocean.

Pretty funny until they had to return the golf clubs. They were rented. I'd would have loved to see that one on Wide World Of Sports.

Mel Epstein on Golf for Boxers . . .

The Quarry's and Mike Nixon began playing golf while at training camp up at Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet. The training camp was a golf resort known as Massacre Canyon Inn, and today is a Scientology retreat. This drove Nixon's old school trainer, Mel Epstein, crazy. I remember in the mid 70's Boxing Illustrated did a story about the Quarry's and Nixon enjoying a few holes after working out. The story emphasized how a game of golf was good to relax a boxer during the training grind.

While writing the story, the reporter interviewed Epstein, thinking the old timer would be happy about the improvement in conditions as compared to the older training facilities. Epstein replied:

"You think this is good for fighters? Dempsey didn't need golf, or broads or alcohol served to all the pain-in-the-ass free-loading press agents that pack this place looking for a handout. And what are the golf carts for? A fighter should be walking, not riding and why does he need a caddy? What's the caddy going to do, throw water in his face when he gets knocked out? Golf ruined Joe Louis, and it brings in an unsavory group that should be forbidden from associating with boxers. This ain't a training camp, all the bastids wanna do is pose for pictures with my fighter while he's trying to workout. I tell them, if you want a cute picture go to the god damn zoo. This ain't a training camp, it's where bouzzards go to lay their eggs. I'll tell you about a training camp up in Butte, Montana, no golf there, no phonies, no reporters, no golf carts, no broads, no buzzards . . . Hell, the place didn't even have electricity."

The reporter was shocked by what Epstein told him, and most of it went into the article. Hey Randy, did you ever get a call from Mel on a Sunday morning, inviting you to join him at his country club?


-Rick Farris

Another great Mel Epstein story Rick, you have a book full...

Hey Rick I just ran in to Ray Lunny III at the mall of all places, he and I spoke about you and he said to say hi, and that he knew you guys were planning to talk boxing. He was very complimentry about your writing. We also discussed your mutural friend who made the documentry about Ray when he was boxing.
The only downfall about running into Ray was he still looks like he could fight in the super-featherweight division and I look like I could fight in the super-heavyweight division, he probably wondered why his father would put in in the ring against a heavyweight!
Bruce

[Rick Farris]

George Parnassus' First Forum Boxing promotion . . .

June, 1968 . . .

Jesus Pimentel vs. ChuCho Castillo
Jose Napoles vs. LeRoy Roberts
Arturo Lomeli vs. Marcus Anderson
Miguel Aguilar vs. Johnny Morrison


Castillo made Pimentel look old.
Napoles made Roberts feel old.
I recall Lomeli won but forget the fight.
The other I don't remember

This was Parnassus' first at the Forum, but the best was yet to come. And it just kept getting better.


-Rick Farris

[bennie]

The bantams of the great contenders series. Hope I covered everyone here at 118. Anyone see a glaring ommission?

Scartissue

BANTAM
Aurel Toma (Rom) (0)
Chamrern Songkitrat (Thai) (3)
Leo Espinosa (Phil) (1)
Jose Medal (Mex) (2)
Bernardo Carraballo (Col) (2)
Alan Rudkin (Eng) (3)
Jesus Pimental (Mex) (1)
Famoso Gomez (Mex) (0)
Valentin Galeano (Par) (0)
Rogelio Lara (Mex) (1)
Venice Borkorsor (Thai) (2)
Alberto Sandoval (USA) (1)
Jiro Watanabe (Jap) (0)
Gilberto Roman (Mex) (0)
Khaosoi Galaxy (Thai) (0)

Awright, gang, 118 is rocking with talent and I can't hold 'em back, so let's begin with Aurel Toma, a two time Euro champ from '36-'39 and a fighter who beat 6 world champs in his stellar career yet, no opportunity for the little Romanian. Chamrern Songkitrat, on the other hand, had talent plus political and financial backing to his career, and gave Carruthers, Cohen and Macias a go of it in all of his efforts for the crown. Leo Espinosa, after a highly productive run of it at 112, was a fixture in the 118 ratings from '56-'62 and went head to head with Jofre and Macias, the latter for the crown. Jose (Joe) Medal, despite never winning the title, this fighter is still immersed in Mexican boxing lore to this day. Medal fought twice for the crown, was rated amongst the big boys from '60-'67, fought 8 world champs, and beat Fighting Harada, Walter McGowan and Jesus Pimental. Bernardo Carraballo, this rangy Columbian had the misfortune of, like Medal, going up against Jofre and Harada for the title. The throne and division was solid in the mid-sixties, but Carraballo, who fought 7 world champs, still managed to beat Pascual Perez, Chartchai Chionoi and Piero Rollo. Alan Rudkin, the British, Commonwealth and Euro champ was a solid fixture at Bantam from '65-'72 and fought Harada, Rose and Olivares for the crown, retiring with a solid 42-8 record. Beat McGowan, Johnny Caldwell, Johnny Clark and Franco Zurlo. Jesus Pimental. Try to imagine being rated every year in the top ten from 1963 until the early ‘70s, seeing two title opportunities go belly up, and finally, at the ripe old age of 31 you get your shot at the crown. Unfortunately, Ruben Olivares is standing in the other corner. Just plain bad luck. Octavio (Famoso) Gomez, a veritable speed demon in the ring who took the measure of fighters of three divisions. Although no title opportunity came his way, he did beat Rafael Herrera, Danny Lopez, Fernando Cabanela, Valentin Galeano, Cesar Deciga and Fernando Atzori. Valentin Galeano, a thick built tank of a Bantamweight who almost changed history when he laid out Ruben Olivares in '71. Unfortunately for the hard punching Paraguayan, Olivares got up. Rogelio Lara, another awesome Banty from south of the border who toed the mark with Clemente Sanchez, Chucho Castillo, Rodolfo Martinez and Romeo Anaya. The latter for the title, in which he lost a disputed split 15 rounder. Venice Borkorsor, the former Flyweight champ invaded the Bantams in '73, beginning with a demolition job on former #1 contender Julio Guererro. Borkorsor fought Herrera and Martinez both to split 15 round decisions. Alberto (Superfly) Sandoval, was so gifted, if only he could have kept his head together. DQ'd against Elisio Cosme for nailing him while he graced the canvas and KO'd by Alfonso Zamora after having him out on his feet, courtesy of his awesome jab, only to pull another Billy Conn. Lupe Pintor finally ended his run in the 12th round of their title bout. Jiro Watanabe was an outstanding Super Flyweight (Jr. Bantam) champ from Japan who never opted to cross the three pound threshold into the Bantam division. This, despite impressive wins over Shoji Oguma, Gustavo Ballas and Payao Poontarat. Gilberto Roman, who likewise was content to stay at the bastardized 115 lb. limit, was an outstanding boxer, in a Miguel Canto mold, who beat Watanabe, Santos Laciar and Sugar Baby Rojas. And of course there is Khaosoi Galaxy, of this hesitant trio that would never cross the line. He retired with a record of 49-1, 19 defenses at 115, with wins over Rafael Orono, Elly Pical and Israel Contreras.

Honorable mention: Johnny King, Freddie Gilroy, Raul Cruz, Cesar Deciga, Johnny Clark, Eijiro Murata, Harold Petty, Danny Romero.

Galaxy was awesome. He is one of twins and even his twin brother won a world title, which must be a first.

[bennie]

Another George Parnassus Promotion . . .


No title fights on this card. But the action was the best of world class professional boxing.
In fact, it really doesn't get too much better than this:

Dwight Hawkins vs. Frankie Crawford (Cal featherwt title)
Ruben Navarro vs. Arturo Lomeli (No. Amer. Jr. Lightwt title)
Jose Napoles vs. Des Rea
Richie Sue vs. Gil Noriega

Hawkins guilded Crawford.
Lomeli kicked Ruben's ass.
Napoles made Des Rea wish he'd never left Ireland.
And Richie Sue looked great in handing Noriega his first boxing lesson.

I remember these fights like they were yesterday. Frank recalls fights at the Legion. He was pretty young, but he'll never forget those days. Hap will never forget what he saw. And I will never forget the excitement of great boxing I saw in L.A.


-Rick Farris

When British promoter Harry Levene paired Terry Downes with a 42-year-old Sugar Ray Robinson in London in 1962, journalist Peter Wilson ("The man they cannot gag") slated the event in the days of real press power. Wilson had more power than any other Fleet Street sports writer. Levene panicked, even though tickets were selling fast, and was about to cancel the show. Parnassus, however, happened to be in London and Levene had real respect for the great American promoter and asked him to his office in Soho. In his thick Greek accent Parnassus said, "When was the last time Peter Wilson bought a ticket?"
Downes won on points after 10 competitive rounds. Robinson still had enough moves to impress the crowd.

[kikibalt]

Frank do you know if Dolph Thomas' Gym and Royal Gym were one and the same? Both were gone before I came along, I only knew Newman's and Hermans on Leavinworth St. which is gone now too. I'll try to drive by 541 Turk St. in the next few days to see what is there now.
Bruce

Bruce....Sorry I don't know if they were or not.

[dagosd2000]

A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD

Tony Margarito is training boys to be fighters in Tijuana. I saw the news blurb on the local Tijuana channel. Yeah,it was a blurb. Like a little side light.Almost missed it. I'm going to Tijuana today to get some dental work done. I'll bring my camera and see if I can locate the gym. It's somewhere around Revolution Street.If you read my piece on asking for directions down ther,I'll probably feel like Marco Polo when the day is over.

Also Margarito has changed his residency. He lives in Colonia Francisco Villa. Wasn't explained why. He used to live in the Zona Norte which I thought was kind of ridiculous. Who would want to live there if you didn't have to? Villa is better. Not the exclusive area,but nicer and cleaner.

This leads me to something that was posted by Ted Sares about Mexico City's barrio called Tepito. Sure a lot of good fighters have emerged from there. Tepito is a metaphor for the poor man's out. But if one lives there,I don't think there's much pride of ownership going around. The neighborhood is dangerous,dirty,and poor. Why would anyone live there if they didn't have to?

Maybe Tony Margarito felt the same way. He made some dough. Move up. Why have his wife and kids be subjected to this? El Gato told me a similar story about his mother's place of residence. You see she lived where Tony Margarito used to live. The Zona Norte. Rodolfo told me when he won the title from Carmona he moved his mom to Chapultepec. Now that's a nice area. Get her away from all the danger and sin.

Sure,fighters like Duran,Margarito,Saldivar,and El Gato came from the toughest neighborhoods. But being tough is a dog eat dog existence.Poor people don't help out each other very much. Only their families,and sometimes that even doesn't happen. The people who can't get out of Tepito don't feel any better because one of their own is a professional fighter. Unless he wants to pay the rent.

[dagosd2000]

This is for all of the group that will be meeting at Tom's Farms on June 7th---

Something extremely important has come up for June 7th. I feel very badly that I will not be able to be with all of you on this date. On that Sunday I will be attending a charity event at Paramont Studios where they will have a WBC booth with a few invited champions for the 18th Annual Event honoring Children's Hospital Los Angeles childhood cancer survivors and their families. It is a very worthy cause and I feel very close to this as Barbara and I are working with a few children from the "Make a Wish" foundation in San Diego who are cancer patients.

Here is the website about this event http://www.celebratelifewithhope.org/celebrate.html

Maybe we can have a second get together on another day. We will be thinking about you having a great time.

El Gato

Sure,what you're going to be doing is a lot more important than hanging out with us that day. Put a smile on those kids' faces. I know you can. Rog

[iskigoe]

dagosd2000 wrote:
A GOLF STORY

My buddy Pat Vetere was rooming with Ronnie Wilson back in the day when Denny Moyer had just blown into town. Moyer was supposed to steady Wilson and help bring him along. All Denny did was bring Wilson along to all the bars in town.

Once my buddy Pat told of the time Wilson,Moyer,and himself got a snootfull one afternoon and decided to try their hand at golf. I doubt whether any of them ever played the game,but their objective was to see how far they could hit the golf balls.

There's a public course out here called Torrey Pines. Real pretty spot. Over looks the ocean. They played the Masters here I think. It was a big one. That's all I know. Well the three drunk divoters roll into Torrey Pines and I guess the guys runnin' the course were too afraid to say "Can't play if you're drunk."

The way my buddy Pat ran it by me was that the three crazies didn.t care about making the balls into the hole,just how many balls they could smack into the Pacific Ocean.

I guess the threesome ran out of balls so they wrapped their clubs around the nearest tree and when that wasn't enough they threw the rest of the clubs into the Pacific Ocean.

Pretty funny until they had to return the golf clubs. They were rented. I'd would have loved to see that one on Wide World Of Sports.

The one time Joe didn’t listen to his trainer resulted in the only time the real Louis was ever beaten. That was the first Max Schmeling fight. Louis was overconfident going into this fight and began to cut back on his training. He later said, “I thought I was going to win no matter what I did. So I took my golf clubs to training camp with me. I had the idea that I was doing a lot of hard work for nothing, so I started cutting my training short. I’d box two rounds and drive to the golf course. I was out golfing with sportswriters Hype Igoe and Walter Stewart. Chappie told me, “Those muscles you use golfing ain’t the same ones you use boxing.” Louis said, “I was dehydrating under the hot sun playing golf.

[bennie]

I wish I could play golf because I like the great outdoors but for some reason I cannot even hit the bloody ball.

[Rick Farris]

George Parnassus Forum Boxing- December 14, 1972


Jose Napoles vs. Hedgeman Lewis - 15 rds. (undisputed World Welterweight Championship)
Ruben Olivares vs. Jesus Pimentel - 15 rds. (undisputed World Bantamweight Championship)
Arturo Zuniga vs. Antonio Roldan
Rick Farris vs. Jose Mendoza


Napoles had trouble with Lewis in their first match, but won a close decision. Three years later he'd KO Hedge.
Olivares retired the ancient Pimentel in the 12th.
I was in the dressing room during the Zuniga-Roldan bout and don't remember it.
I won a six-round decision over Mendoza.


-Rick Farris

[dagosd2000]

Man From Seville

[Randyman]

I was cleaning out my garage today and ran across this article from December 15, 1992 from The Los Angeles Times, written by Pete Ehrmann. The article is about both Jerry Quarry and Joey Orbillo. Rick has been on a roll with his interesting memories of the Olympic. Maybe he will share some memories of this fight.

I had trouble with the second page, getting both edges to fit in the scanner. I tried every which way to get the whole page but just couldn't quit make it. The left hand margin is slightly cut off. Still you should be able to get the gist of the article. My apologies.

[kikibalt]

Vail Elementary School, Simon, Ca. (Montebello, Ca.)

I went to the Simons Reunion today and I bought a book that had lots of old photos, found the picture above in the book.
Middle row, third from right, thats me, don't know what grade that was or what year, other then to say it was in the mid-late 1940's

[Randyman]

Sparring With Mike Quarry

In an earlier post by Rick, he mentions that Jerry Quarry was hard on his younger brother Mike, bulling him and roughing him up when they sparred and more or less taking advantage of the size and weight difference.

In the above article about Jerry Quarry and Joey Orbillo by Pete Ehrmann, Ehrmann says this "In the last round, with the fight in hand, Quarry dropped his hands and did an imitation of ali dancing around the ring. the crowd loved it, but Quarry says he wasn't showing off."

Both the bulling and Ali shuffling clear up something, more or less, from 1976 when I sparred with Mike Quarry. I don't remember the date but it was sometime in the middle of the year. I had yet to have a fight.

Mike Quarry showed up at the Main Street Gym one day. This was the first time I had seen him at the gym since I had been training there and I had been there for at least a year and a half. Mike carried himself like a pro. His mannerisms, the way he walked and the way he dressed. He was wearing a light blue three piece suit that day. I was skipping rope when he came through the doors. From where I was standing, Mike cut a pretty imposing figure. I immediately recognized him.

No sooner did he come through the door then he and my trainer, Mel Epstein, had eye contact. They talked for a few minutes, then Mel walked over to me in that slightly bent and rapid pace way that he did whenever he felt rushed. "You're gonna spar with Mike Quarry today" he said to me. "He wants to work with someone smaller and faster than him-you okay with that?" Yeah, I'm okay with it" I said. "Okay, Keep warming up" and he walked away.

A few minutes later I was getting geared up for sparring, putting on the cup, head gear and wraps and gloves. Mel was putting Vaseline on my face and says to me "Don't try to slug with him, it's just a workout, and don't get nervous just because it's Quarry". I'm not nervous Mel" I said, and I wasn't.

As soon as I stepped in the ring, Mike started teeing off on me. He came at me as if I was someone that he hated. It took me a minute to realize that Mike was not playing around. I immediately had a bloody nose. I was doing my best to keep him off me and I never took a backward step. When the bell went off and I went to the corner, Mel was livid. "That f*cking bastid is cutting you with his laces". I hadn't noticed but I remember saying "Mel. He wouldn't do that". "F*ck it, I'm pulling you out-he can find someone else." "Mel. don't do it" I was serious. Normally I went along with whatever Mel wanted but I was firm on this. It was a matter of pride.

We sparred about four or five rounds that day and Mike was really laying it on thick. I was being pummeled. I got in a few licks though but for the most part I was just a punching bag.

When we were done sparring, Mike was back to his old self, smiling and joking. The picture of affability. I don't think I have ever seen Mel so angry. He used every curse word he could think of and probably created a few just for the occasion. After I was done getting dressed I walked back to the floor to wait for Mel. Mike walks up to me and says "tomorrow?" Yeah sure, no problem"

The next day my friend Ken Robledo came with me. I think he wanted to see Mike kick my ass. If so, he wasn't disappointed. It was a repeat of the first day only more so. Again Mel was pissed off. I know that Mel never really cared for the Quarrys. He always thought that they had a negative influence on middleweight Mike Nixon, at least that's what he told me. So for Mel, it was just one more thing to be angry about. When I was cleaned up and ready to go, my friend Ken walks up to me and said "Man, Quarry really kicked your ass" Yeah, well..." was all could muster. "You never took a backward step though, I'll give you that".

The third and last day was more of the same. Still I was looking for some payback, just a little bit. My chance came when Mike finished teeing off on my head. The funny thing is no matter how many times Mike landed, and he did land, he never really hurt me. He overwhelmed me at times but never hurt me. He dropped his hands to his sides and did the Ali shuffle and stuck out his chin. The guy was mocking me and was probably expecting me to be awed or intimidated, instead I threw the best right hand I have ever thrown or ever will. It landed flush on his chin. His eyes rolled up and flickered and he fell against the ropes. I know I hurt him. As I rushed him trying my best to at least end this sparring session with some dignity, the guy that was working his corner called an end to the sparring. Then Mike started acting funny. He started shaking his ass and laughing the way a fighter does when he wants to show the other guy he wasn't hurt. I hate to say it but he was acting like a jerk. I think he was embarrassed.

Mel walks up to me and said "You knocked that f*cking bastid out on his feet". "I don't think so Mel, I think he was kidding" "Bullshit, he was hurt.

Later after we showered Mike came up to me and said "Randy, thanks for the workout-I had a harder workout with you than most light heavyweights". "Thanks Mike, I had a harder workout with you than most welterweights!" Maybe Mike was just being polite, I don't know, but coming from him it was quite a compliment.

Evey word was true. It took me three f*cking days but I caught him and I know I hurt him, just a little. More importantly, at least to me, I never took a backward step.

[Randyman]

Vail Elementary School, Simon, Ca. (Montebello, Ca.)

I went to the Simons Reunion today and I bought a book that had lots of old photos, found the picture above in the book.
Middle row, third from right, thats me, don't know what grade that was or what year, other then to say it was in the mid-late 1940's

Geez Frank, You still look the same!! I'm glad you had a good time. Ed Hernandez and I were talking recently and he mentioned that there was a special a while back on Simons brickyard. Did you see it? He said it was pretty good.

Randy

[Rick Farris]

I was cleaning out my garage today and ran across this article from December 15, 1992 from The Los Angeles Times, written by Pete Ehrmann. The article is about both Jerry Quarry and Joey Orbillo. Rick has been on a roll with his interesting memories of the Olympic. Maybe he will share some memories of this fight.

I had trouble with the second page, getting both edges to fit in the scanner. I tried every which way to get the whole page but just couldn't quit make it. The left hand margin is slightly cut off. Still you should be able to get the gist of the article. My apologies.

I remember this fight very well. It had been brewing for more than year, from the time both were unbeaten heavyweights.
Both would ironically suffer their first losses to the same man, Eddie Machen.
Jerry was the better of two very good, young heavyweights.
Orbillo had a disadvantage when they fought, he was in the Army, and could not train full time. However, he would have lost anyway.
I remember being so keyed up for this bout, when Jerry floored Orbillo, I jumped out of my seat at the Olympic.


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

Vail Elementary School, Simon, Ca. (Montebello, Ca.)

I went to the Simons Reunion today and I bought a book that had lots of old photos, found the picture above in the book.
Middle row, third from right, thats me, don't know what grade that was or what year, other then to say it was in the mid-late 1940's

Geez Frank, You still look the same!! I'm glad you had a good time. Ed Hernandez and I were talking recently and he mentioned that there was a special a while back on Simons brickyard. Did you see it? He said it was pretty good.

Randy

No I didn't Randy. Hey Randy, look at that hair...

[Randyman]

This is for all of the group that will be meeting at Tom's Farms on June 7th---

Something extremely important has come up for June 7th. I feel very badly that I will not be able to be with all of you on this date. On that Sunday I will be attending a charity event at Paramont Studios where they will have a WBC booth with a few invited champions for the 18th Annual Event honoring Children's Hospital Los Angeles childhood cancer survivors and their families. It is a very worthy cause and I feel very close to this as Barbara and I are working with a few children from the "Make a Wish" foundation in San Diego who are cancer patients.

Here is the website about this event http://www.celebratelifewithhope.org/celebrate.html

Maybe we can have a second get together on another day. We will be thinking about you having a great time.

El Gato

Sure,what you're going to be doing is a lot more important than hanging out with us that day. Put a smile on those kids' faces. I know you can. Rog

Gato, don't worry about it. It's a great thing that you and Barbara are doing. You'll be with us in spirit as will the rest of the guys. There will be another time.

Randy

[Randyman]

Vail Elementary School, Simon, Ca. (Montebello, Ca.)

I went to the Simons Reunion today and I bought a book that had lots of old photos, found the picture above in the book.
Middle row, third from right, thats me, don't know what grade that was or what year, other then to say it was in the mid-late 1940's

Geez Frank, You still look the same!! I'm glad you had a good time. Ed Hernandez and I were talking recently and he mentioned that there was a special a while back on Simons brickyard. Did you see it? He said it was pretty good.

Randy

No I didn't Randy. Hey Randy, look at that hair...

Hair? I thought it was St. Augustine grass!

[Rick Farris]

[quote="Randyman"]Sparring With Mike Quarry

In an earlier post by Rick, he mentions that Jerry Quarry was hard on his younger brother Mike, bulling him and roughing him up when they sparred and more or less taking advantage of the size and weight difference.

In the above article about Jerry Quarry and Joey Orbillo by Pete Ehrmann, Ehrmann says this "In the last round, with the fight in hand, Quarry dropped his hands and did an imitation of ali dancing around the ring. the crowd loved it, but Quarry says he wasn't showing off."

Both the bulling and Ali shuffling clear up something, more or less, from 1976 when I sparred with Mike Quarry. I don't remember the date but it was sometime in the middle of the year. I had yet to have a fight.

Mike Quarry showed up at the Main Street Gym one day. This was the first time I had seen him at the gym since I had been training there and I had been there for at least a year and a half. Mike carried himself like a pro. His mannerisms, the way he walked and the way he dressed. He was wearing a light blue three piece suit that day. I was skipping rope when he came through the doors. From where I was standing, Mike cut a pretty imposing figure. I immediately recognized him.

No sooner did he come through the door then he and my trainer, Mel Epstein, had eye contact. They talked for a few minutes, then Mel walked over to me in that slightly bent and rapid pace way that he did whenever he felt rushed. "You're gonna spar with Mike Quarry today" he said to me. "He wants to work with someone smaller and faster than him-you okay with that?" Yeah, I'm okay with it" I said. "Okay, Keep warming up" and he walked away.

A few minutes later I was getting geared up for sparring, putting on the cup, head gear and wraps and gloves. Mel was putting Vaseline on my face and says to me "Don't try to slug with him, it's just a workout, and don't get nervous just because it's Quarry". I'm not nervous Mel" I said, and I wasn't.

As soon as I stepped in the ring, Mike started teeing off on me. He came at me as if I was someone that he hated. It took me a minute to realize that Mike was not playing around. I immediately had a bloody nose. I was doing my best to keep him off me and I never took a backward step. When the bell went off and I went to the corner, Mel was livid. "That f*cking bastid is cutting you with his laces". I hadn't noticed but I remember saying "Mel. He wouldn't do that". "F*ck it, I'm pulling you out-he can find someone else." "Mel. don't do it" I was serious. Normally I went along with whatever Mel wanted but I was firm on this. It was a matter of pride.

We sparred about four or five rounds that day and Mike was really laying it on thick. I was being pummeled. I got in a few licks though but for the most part I was just a punching bag.

When we were done sparring, Mike was back to his old self, smiling and joking. The picture of affability. I don't think I have ever seen Mel so angry. He used every curse word he could think of and probably created a few just for the occasion. After I was done getting dressed I walked back to the floor to wait for Mel. Mike walks up to me and says "tomorrow?" Yeah sure, no problem"

The next day my friend Ken Robledo came with me. I think he wanted to see Mike kick my ass. If so, he wasn't disappointed. It was a repeat of the first day only more so. Again Mel was pissed off. I know that Mel never really cared for the Quarrys. He always thought that they had a negative influence on middleweight Mike Nixon, at least that's what he told me. So for Mel, it was just one more thing to be angry about. When I was cleaned up and ready to go, my friend Ken walks up to me and said "Man, Quarry really kicked your ass" Yeah, well..." was all could muster. "You never took a backward step though, I'll give you that".

The third and last day was more of the same. Still I was looking for some payback, just a little bit. My chance came when Mike finished teeing off on my head. The funny thing is no matter how many times Mike landed, and he did land, he never really hurt me. He overwhelmed me at times but never hurt me. He dropped his hands to his sides and did the Ali shuffle and stuck out his chin. The guy was mocking me and was probably expecting me to be awed or intimidated, instead I threw the best right hand I have ever thrown or ever will. It landed flush on his chin. His eyes rolled up and flickered and he fell against the ropes. I know I hurt him. As I rushed him trying my best to at least end this sparring session with some dignity, the guy that was working his corner called an end to the sparring. Then Mike started acting funny. He started shaking his ass and laughing the way a fighter does when he wants to show the other guy he wasn't hurt. I hate to say it but he was acting like a jerk. I think he was embarrassed.

Mel walks up to me and said "You knocked that f*cking bastid out on his feet". "I don't think so Mel, I think he was kidding" "Bullshit, he was hurt.

Later after we showered Mike came up to me and said "Randy, thanks for the workout-I had a harder workout with you than most light heavyweights". "Thanks Mike, I had a harder workout with you than most welterweights!" Maybe Mike was just being polite, I don't know, but coming from him it was quite a compliment.

Evey word was true. It took me three f*cking days but I caught him and I know I hurt him, just a little. More importantly, at least to me, I never took a backward step.[/quot

[kikibalt]

At the Simons reunion

My paternal aunt and uncle, Lala (90 years old) & max (89 years old).

[Randyman]

At the Simons reunion

My paternal aunt and uncle, Lala (90 years old) & max (89 years old).

Frank, your aunt and uncle are a nice looking couple. Looking at them in this photo explains a lot about your youthful look (relatively speaking). Your family has great genes.

Randy

[kikibalt]

Chano Diaz, Chano is not his real name, never knew his real name, we also called him "Newspaper" because, you couldn't tell him anything without him telling everybody.
Chano, was one of the guys that used to sneak into the Olympic with me in the late 1940's-early 1950's, hadn't seen "Newspaper" in over 30 years.