Classic American West Coast Boxing

[Rick Farris]

Rick...Remember ON TV?, the first of cable TV in L.A....Frankie and Tony fought twin main events on the first boxing show on ON TV back in the early 1980's.
Both won by second round KO

Frank, I remember that very well, but hadn't thought of it in years.
John Montes fought the same night, and also won by 2nd round KO.
It's a nice memory, like Pug's reminder about the UHF stations.


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

Then and Now . . .


My friend Pete passed away several years ago.
He'd just turned 70, and had lived a hard life. Many do who work in the entertainment industry.

Pete had been a life long friend of the late Don Drysdale, the legendary L.A. Dodgers pitcher from the fiftys and sixties.
He played ball with Drysdale on the Van Nuys High School varsity baseball team, in the early 50's.
A teenage Bob Redford (as in actor Robert) was in the outfield.

After the Dodgers drafted Drysdale out of high school, the future Cy Young Award winner would encourage scouts to give his friend a tryout.
Pete went to Montreal, the Dodger's triple-A farm team, along with Drysdale.
Drysdale was soon sent to Brooklyn to join the Dodgers, our friend struggled in the minors and soon washed out.

Like many kids who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, Pete had a relative who worked in the film industry.
His uncle hooked him up with the Set Lighting Dept. at Paramount Studios, and soon he was working full time and earning a good living.
We'd cross paths years later, on a film set.

More than once, after wrapping production for the day, Pete and I would sit with others on the crew and have a beer before heading home.
In the old days, the film crew boys would drink heavy and risk getting a drunk driving charge. However, times had changed.

After finishing a Pepsi commercial one evening, my friend and I were sitting with a group from the production company and having a beer.
Somebody brought up the subject of DUI's and DWI's, and Pete told a story of he and Drysdale driving home from Las Vegas.

It was in the early 60's, a couple years after the Dodger's had been playing at their new stadium.
He and Drysdale have been drunk in Las Vegas for two days. It's time to drive home and Drysdale is behind the wheel.
As they head west for Van Nuys, California, they are pulled over by the Highway Patrol four different times for swerving, speed, etc.
Each time they are pulled over, the cops are ready to haul them in until they recognize the driver.

"Don would sign an autograph, the cop would shake his hand, pat him on his back and let us go."
Pete told us they were stopped in Barstow, San Bernardino, Pomona and El Monte.
"When we finally got to Van Nuys, we drove directly to Don's tavern, 'Drysdale's Dugout', on Van Owen Street."
A few more whips to steady the nerves, then it was home to the wives.

Pete was a good guy. Don Drysdale was too, from what I've heard from those who knew him well.
Drysdale died relativly young and quick. Pete lasted longer, but was pretty worn out come his last days.
I remember looking into his red face, he drank a lot. It was once common among the ball players, and old school film crews.

But time has changed things.

Can you imagine a Highway Patrol officer letting anybody slide on a DUI today?
Just ask Mel Gibson.


-Rick Farris

[dagosd2000]

Salvador Sanchez

[Rick Farris]

Salvador Sanchez

[dagosd2000]

A JAR OF PEANUT BUTTER

You've seen that peanut butter that has the jelly in it. The lines of peanut butter go down the inside of the jar with a layer of jelly alongside. My wife wanted to go to Tijuana today because her brother,El Momia,called last night. When we went to my daughter's house in Canyon Johnson to wait for my brother in law,I saw a jar of that peanut butter on the counter.

My daughter rents the place. It's small and dingy. The linoleum is torn up from the kitchen floor. The mold and dirt where the the holes are is evidence that the floor has been that way a long time. I lived in that place once. It was a long time ago. My daughter has been living there ,it seems,forever.

I looked at that peanut butter jar. That jar is probably in a million places around the world. The way it looks , it should be in Harriet Nelson's kitchen. I tried not to see anything outside that jar. The chipped and broken cabinets. The junk piled in the corner next to the sink. The flies coming through the crack in the window. I didn't want to look outside that window. The houses leaning crookedly on old wood stilts. The brown weeds on the cliff. The trash piled in dirt yards ready to burn. The dogs walking back and forth on the rooftops.

El Momia arrived an hour late. It wasn't unexpected. He had a plastic bag in his hand.His hair was shaven real close. My wife was very happy to see him. My daughter's husband was sitting with us talking about how he was looking for work,but couldn't find any. My daughter was working at the commissary in San Diego cleaning fish.

"Hola amigo,"i said to El Momia. "Donde estabas?"
"La carcel,"he answered as he sat down.
My wife asked her brother if he wanted to eat the machaca and refried beans she had made especially for him. El Momia broke out in a big smile.
"Seguro."
While he chomped away ,he told us that he'd gone to Ensenada with a friend. El Momia said he didn't know his friend was looking for marijuana. El Momia said that when they stopped the car at the toll booth,the police searched the car and found the marijuana. El Momia said he didn't know his friend had the marijuana with him.

My wife laughed at his story. How he was in the Ensenada jail for four months. How the federales beat you up if they were in a bad mood.How the food was lousy. Stale bread,beans undercooked,and thin soup. But my brother in law had spent many years in and out of jails. He said while he was in jail,there were many prisoners from Michoacan. They called him "Hermano",brother.

My wife asked him if he wanted to go to Michoacan with her in August. He hadn't been back since his mother died. He said he'd go. My wife said that if he wanted to stay for awhile it was ok. She could return by herself. Of course she would pay for everything and he could live in our house down there.

My brother in law complained that his knee was sore from a fall in the jail. I took off my knee brace and gave it to him.He put the knee brace in his plastic bag. We were done talking and eating. I said I would drop him off downtown. My wife pulled a hundred dollar bill from her wallet and handed it to him.

Before leaving, my daughter's husband, who was looking for a job,asked El Momia if he wanted to take the jar of peanut butter with him. El Momia shook his head.
"No me gusta."
And we walked out the door.

[scartissue]

Nostalgia is a beautiful thing.
Im remembering back to all these things from the old days including UHF.
We used to watch wrestling after church on Sunday mornings on UHF also.
A guy named Bob Luce used to promote what was called All Star Championship wrestling.
It was sponsored by Bens Auto Sales on Chicagos South Side. This was gritty stuff and great entertainment.
I would go over to Johnny Gambacortas house after mass , watch the matches and then practice the moves.Those were the days.
UHF and a supplex off a bunk bed were all the fancy technology we needed.

Oh, man, I remember this Brian. "Go to Ben's fans, go to Ben's." was the key phrase. They even had all the wrestlers stumping ads for Ben's Auto Sales. It just looked so awkward seeing Wilbur Snyder trying to do a commercial. Funny stuff. I always remember them advertising Pepper Gomez as the "man with the cast-iron stomach" and having a volkswagen roll over his belly. I don't know what the age of these guys were but I recall in the early 70s them saying Gomez took a shot from a prime Marciano in the gut. I was sitting there saying, Marciano's prime was in '52, no way was he around then. I did pick up an old 1958 Ring magazine at the memorabilia show a few years ago however, and they used to publish wrestling results. And I'll be damned if Pepper Gomez didn't have a few results in there. God knows how old these guys were.

Scartissue

[scartissue]

Salvador Sanchez

Great work on Sanchez, Rog. Hey, does anyone else see the resemblance between Sanchez and Zovek Barajas?

Scartissue

[Randyman]

Salvador Sanchez

Salvador Sanchez....... I can't think of Sanchez without thinking of Danny "Little Red" Lopez. In their first fight, I assumed, like most fans, that Danny would win the fight. He might get knocked down, but as in almost all his fights, he would find a way to win, usually by knockout.

Watching the fight unfold it was hard to accept what was happening. Midway through the fight the unacceptable became a foregone conclusion. Danny was being beat from every angle. Sanchez stopped Danny in the thirteenth round of their scheduled fifteen rounder. This Sanchez kid was a prodigy. His style was atypical of Mexican fighters at that time. Smooth, quick, and with complete control of his environment, in complete control of his punches. Every movement had a purpose. I became an instant fan. A few months later he repeated his victory over Danny, this time stopping him in the fourteenth round.

In the next couple of years he racked up some great wins that included Ruben Castillo, Juan La Porte, and a young Azumah Nelson but the apex of his career came with an eighth round knockout of the legendary Champion from Puerto Rico, the great Wilfredo Gomez.

Sanchez died August 12, 1982 in an auto accident. A great loss to his family, the people of Mexico and to the world of boxing. Julio Cesar Chavez is considered the Mexico's greatest boxer and rightly so but with Sanchez dieing at the tender age of twenty two it's not so hard to imagine that
his accomplishments might have exceeded Chavez'. We will never know if he would have beaten Alexis Arguello or what weight he would have finished his career at. He was still a baby.

Roger the painting of Salvador Sanchez is right on target. I believe, knowing that your talent is going to be put to the test this year, that you are rising to the occasion. it's the fighter in you!

Randy

[Randyman]

Salvador Sanchez

Great work on Sanchez, Rog. Hey, does anyone else see the resemblance between Sanchez and Zovek Barajas?

Scartissue

Now that you mention it Dan, there is a slight resemblance. I sparred regularly with Zovek Barajas. He was a very spartan and no nonsense guy.

[Expug]

Nostalgia is a beautiful thing.
Im remembering back to all these things from the old days including UHF.
We used to watch wrestling after church on Sunday mornings on UHF also.
A guy named Bob Luce used to promote what was called All Star Championship wrestling.
It was sponsored by Bens Auto Sales on Chicagos South Side. This was gritty stuff and great entertainment.
I would go over to Johnny Gambacortas house after mass , watch the matches and then practice the moves.Those were the days.
UHF and a supplex off a bunk bed were all the fancy technology we needed.

Oh, man, I remember this Brian. "Go to Ben's fans, go to Ben's." was the key phrase. They even had all the wrestlers stumping ads for Ben's Auto Sales. It just looked so awkward seeing Wilbur Snyder trying to do a commercial. Funny stuff. I always remember them advertising Pepper Gomez as the "man with the cast-iron stomach" and having a volkswagen roll over his belly. I don't know what the age of these guys were but I recall in the early 70s them saying Gomez took a shot from a prime Marciano in the gut. I was sitting there saying, Marciano's prime was in '52, no way was he around then. I did pick up an old 1958 Ring magazine at the memorabilia show a few years ago however, and they used to publish wrestling results. And I'll be damned if Pepper Gomez didn't have a few results in there. God knows how old these guys were.

Scartissue

Dan, I figured you would remember these guys.
We must have had similar interests back then. Heck, we still do!
I remember well that Pepper Gomez VW stunt.I think there was a video or at least pictures of that "event".
But I cant remember for sure. Man its been a long time.I used to love watching Dick The Bruiser and The Crusher kick ass.
Remember how they would come into the ring and beat on each other to warm up? Great stuff. Your right, God knows how old some of these guys were. They seemed to be around forever.

[dagosd2000]

Salvador Sanchez

Salvador Sanchez....... I can't think of Sanchez without thinking of Danny "Little Red" Lopez. In their first fight, I assumed, like most fans, that Danny would win the fight. He might get knocked down, but as in almost all his fights, he would find a way to win, usually by knockout.

Watching the fight unfold it was hard to accept what was happening. Midway through the fight the unacceptable became a foregone conclusion. Danny was being beat from every angle. Sanchez stopped Danny in the thirteenth round of their scheduled fifteen rounder. This Sanchez kid was a prodigy. His style was atypical of Mexican fighters at that time. Smooth, quick, and with complete control of his environment, in complete control of his punches. Every movement had a purpose. I became an instant fan. A few months later he repeated his victory over Danny, this time stopping him in the fourteenth round.

In the next couple of years he racked up some great wins that included Ruben Castillo, Juan La Porte, and a young Azumah Nelson but the apex of his career came with an eighth round knockout of the legendary Champion from Puerto Rico, the great Wilfredo Gomez.

Sanchez died August 12, 1982 in an auto accident. A great loss to his family, the people of Mexico and to the world of boxing. Julio Cesar Chavez is considered the Mexico's greatest boxer and rightly so but with Sanchez dieing at the tender age of twenty two it's not so hard to imagine that
his accomplishments might have exceeded Chavez'. We will never know if he would have beaten Alexis Arguello or what weight he would have finished his career at. He was still a baby.

Roger the painting of Salvador Sanchez is right on target. I believe, knowing that your talent is going to be put to the test this year, that you are rising to the occasion. it's the fighter in you!

Randy

Thanks fellas' for my effort on Sanchez. Sanchez died in a head on collision with a semi truck on a mountain road in his home state of Queretero. I wrote a story about that on the thread way back when.He was supposed to be training for a fight with Juan La Porte. He'd beaten him once before. Sanchez was breaking training. The day he died he'd been drinking heavily with friends and wanted to take his Porsche to a near by town to get stereo speakers installed . They say the impact was so terrible that the only thing that identified him was his gold ring on his finger.

Maybe it was for the best that he went out undefeated. I think that the high life was getting to him.

Btw. I've written so much that my memory is getting foggy. I remember the story about Sanchez that I wrote. Something about the amber lights high in the hills at night near that mountain road where his life ended. The lights representing a little pueblo.At night you can see the amber lights. The nearer to the top of the mountain,the fewer the lights. Something about Sanchez had had enough of the fast life. That he's really up in those hills living the rest of his life in peace.Solitude. I can't remember exactly what I wrote.

[Rick Farris]

Salvador Sanchez

Salvador Sanchez....... I can't think of Sanchez without thinking of Danny "Little Red" Lopez. In their first fight, I assumed, like most fans, that Danny would win the fight. He might get knocked down, but as in almost all his fights, he would find a way to win, usually by knockout.

Watching the fight unfold it was hard to accept what was happening. Midway through the fight the unacceptable became a foregone conclusion. Danny was being beat from every angle. Sanchez stopped Danny in the thirteenth round of their scheduled fifteen rounder. This Sanchez kid was a prodigy. His style was atypical of Mexican fighters at that time. Smooth, quick, and with complete control of his environment, in complete control of his punches. Every movement had a purpose. I became an instant fan. A few months later he repeated his victory over Danny, this time stopping him in the fourteenth round.

In the next couple of years he racked up some great wins that included Ruben Castillo, Juan La Porte, and a young Azumah Nelson but the apex of his career came with an eighth round knockout of the legendary Champion from Puerto Rico, the great Wilfredo Gomez.

Sanchez died August 12, 1982 in an auto accident. A great loss to his family, the people of Mexico and to the world of boxing. Julio Cesar Chavez is considered the Mexico's greatest boxer and rightly so but with Sanchez dieing at the tender age of twenty two it's not so hard to imagine that
his accomplishments might have exceeded Chavez'. We will never know if he would have beaten Alexis Arguello or what weight he would have finished his career at. He was still a baby.

Roger the painting of Salvador Sanchez is right on target. I believe, knowing that your talent is going to be put to the test this year, that you are rising to the occasion. it's the fighter in you!

Randy

Randy . . .

I agree with you almost to the tee on Salvador Sanchez.
I can't think of him without thinking of his domination of our friend, Danny Lopez.

I always wonder the possibilities of a Sanchez-Arguello match, at 130-135lbs.
I respect J.C. Chavez, but do not consider him the best of Mexican boxers. Maybe the best of the years he fought? Nada mas.
I'd like to have seen Chavez against 60's Mexican lightweight, Alfredo Urbina.
If we could turn the clock back more than three decades, Chavez vs. Enrique Bolanos. Chavez was no Ike Williams. My opinon.
Jimmy Carter vs. Chavez? Carlos Ortiz? When I think of these possibilities, Julio Cesar Chavez starts to feel kind of average.

I wish we'd have had a little more time with Salvador Sanchez. He was really special.


-Rick Farris

[bennie]

A view of the Blackpool Tower. Note the Burger King looming larger into the shot. That's how my mind works.

[bennie]

My own Irish pub (my surname is Connolly). We had a few barrels in there.

A better view of the tower from the Irish Sea. It looks a bit like the The Eiffel Tower but, thankfully, without any French people knocking about.

[bennie]

Rush hour in Blackpool (by tram and pony). Note the Pleasure Beach behind Harold Steptoe.

[bennie]

Bev and I at Lake Windemere in the Lake District. We took a ferry across the lake. (Donald Campbell died on nearby Lake Coniston in Bluebird; Bluebird flipped over and smashed into a thousand pieces). We were luckier.


Below: David Hasslehoff has done the rounds on his quad bike and cleared the beach with his scary stomach.

[bennie]

One of the three Blackpool beach piers.


Below: The Grand Theatre

[bennie]

Me in in posh Lytham St Annes near Blackpool. There is a statue of the late, great comedian Les Dawson nearby but I swear it looks more like Chad Dawson.



Below: Bev and I on the coach on the way back. I look like I could do with a blood pressure test but, in my defence, we fair-skinned Irishmen do turn red after a week on the beer.

[bennie]

The famous Blackpool Winter Gardens.

[dagosd2000]

The famous Blackpool Winter Gardens.

Bennie
Lovely pics of your getaway. You and Bev look great. Cheers Rog.

[Rick Farris]

Me in in posh Lytham St Annes near Blackpool. There is a statue of the late, great comedian Les Dawson nearby but I swear it looks more like Chad Dawson.



Below: Bev and I on the coach on the way back. I look like I could do with a blood pressure test but, in my defence, we fair-skinned Irishmen do turn red after a week on the beer.

Bennie . . . Thanks for all the great photos of Blackpool.

-Rick

[kikibalt]

Guys, I'm sorry but, Connie and I will not be able to meet with you guys on Sunday, June 7, due to something going on, on connie side of the family on Sunday, I feel real bad because it was my idea, hopefully we can re-schedule for later in the summer when every body can make it.
I apologize for any inconvenience I might have cause

[Rick Farris]

Guys, I'm sorry but, Connie and I will not be able to meet with you guys on Sunday, June 7, due to something going on, on connie side of the family on Sunday, I feel real bad because it was my idea, hopefully we can re-schedule for later in the summer when every body can make it.
I apologize for any inconvenience I might have cause

Frank . . . Don't worry about it. We can get together later. Have a good time.


-Rick

[dagosd2000]

THE BIRTH DEFECT

We were all sittin' around drinkin' in the street that night in front of the little store. The tequila and the cuahmas were on the hood of an old broken down wreck of a car parked on the side of the street. The sun was going down and I always liked feeling like that when the sun is going down on a summer night in that canyon. The colonia was underneath everything and no one seemed to notice us.

The bragging was going on about who got in the worst car accidents. My Mexican son in law said he got his head shoved through the windshield and he's got the scars to prove it. Another guy says he wrapped his car around a lamp post not far down the street and went to the hospital with broken ribs. The last yarn ended it all when another dude said he crashed head on into a truck ,the guy sitting next to him went through the windshield and was killed. No one could come up with a lie or anything else to top that one. We all had a drink for that one.

Meanwhile I saw the kids starting to move the soccer game towards our direction. One of the kids had a protrusion in his chest. They call it a pidgeon breast I think. One of the guys drinkin' with us said that that boy was his son.He said his son's condition was the result of a birth defect. The kid looked around eight or nine.

At the time I was involved with Children's Hospital in San Diego working with kids across the border who were in need of medical help. Children's Hospital had a clinic in one of the local hospitals and would give medical attention to people who were poor. I told the father that I thought I could get his son's condition examined free by the staff at the hospital.

The father began to cry and then we all started too. We must have been a sight all crying like that, drunk in the canyon. I told the father that I'd come back in a few days on a Tuesday to take his son to the clinic.We were all looking at the boy playing soccer with that pidgeon breast. It was sad,but I was happy because I thought I could help.

When I returned Tuesday, I went to the kid's house. His father,who'd been drinking with us in the canyon, was shoveling some dirt in the front. He looked up at me.
"Que pasa?"he asked me.
"Donde esta tu hijo?"
The father looked puzzled. He told me his son was with his grandmother. I don't know why, but I didn't say anything.

I saw the father again once in a while. Never saw his son. When I'd see the father drinking in the canyon with the neighborhood crew ,I'd take my drinking into town.

[Bobbin & Weavin]

Salvador Sanchez

Salvador Sanchez....... I can't think of Sanchez without thinking of Danny "Little Red" Lopez. In their first fight, I assumed, like most fans, that Danny would win the fight. He might get knocked down, but as in almost all his fights, he would find a way to win, usually by knockout.

Watching the fight unfold it was hard to accept what was happening. Midway through the fight the unacceptable became a foregone conclusion. Danny was being beat from every angle. Sanchez stopped Danny in the thirteenth round of their scheduled fifteen rounder. This Sanchez kid was a prodigy. His style was atypical of Mexican fighters at that time. Smooth, quick, and with complete control of his environment, in complete control of his punches. Every movement had a purpose. I became an instant fan. A few months later he repeated his victory over Danny, this time stopping him in the fourteenth round.

In the next couple of years he racked up some great wins that included Ruben Castillo, Juan La Porte, and a young Azumah Nelson but the apex of his career came with an eighth round knockout of the legendary Champion from Puerto Rico, the great Wilfredo Gomez.

Sanchez died August 12, 1982 in an auto accident. A great loss to his family, the people of Mexico and to the world of boxing. Julio Cesar Chavez is considered the Mexico's greatest boxer and rightly so but with Sanchez dieing at the tender age of twenty two it's not so hard to imagine that
his accomplishments might have exceeded Chavez'. We will never know if he would have beaten Alexis Arguello or what weight he would have finished his career at. He was still a baby.

Roger the painting of Salvador Sanchez is right on target. I believe, knowing that your talent is going to be put to the test this year, that you are rising to the occasion. it's the fighter in you!

Randy

All I can say about the loss of Salvador Sanchez at such an early age is, "we wuz robbed!"
Bruce