Classic American West Coast Boxing

[Dongee]

FYI:

The Main Event was one of the nicer sheets published to compete with the established weekly The Knockout back in the 1950s in California. It was first headed by an old Jack Dempsey associate named Leonard Sacks, with the editorial input of Fidel La Barba. Before long it was taken over by a Texas welterweight named Artie Dorrell. Although it was well produced and was the first ever boxing magazine printed entirely in offset, it lasted about 12 months before fading away.

The Double Kayo magazine shown above was started by Midget Martinez during the late 1950s as a successor to the original Knockout. Another contemporary boxing sheet was printed totally in Spanish under the name "Todo en el Ring" (Everything in the Ring). A young married Hispanic couple started that one but it also ceased to exist shortly afterward.

hap navarro

[bennie]

English villagers try to save struggling pubs


Bridget Jones / Associated Press

Monica Shackelly chats with customer Leslie Hathaway at the Chequers pub in Chipping Norton, England.
Money woes brought on by regulations, taxes and competition force many beloved taverns in the countryside to close their doors. But locals in a few spots have managed to keep the ale flowing.

By Henry Chu
June 9, 2009

Reporting from Kentisbeare, England -- Last summer, the tranquil English village of Kentisbeare woke up to find a dagger piercing its heart.

The man who ran the neighborhood pub, the Wyndham Arms, had decided to call it quits. Hit by hard times, he locked up one evening and never came back, leaving the village bereft of its "local," the watering hole down the road where, for more than 200 years, the good folk here could always drop in for a pint, a pie or a piece of gossip.

The tavern seemed destined to become yet another lost marker of traditional village life, bound for the same remorseless oblivion that had already swallowed the baker's, the butcher's and the petrol station in this lazy green countryside where bluebells nod in the breeze, medieval church towers loom like giant chess pieces and thatched roofs peek coyly through the leaves.

This time, though, residents drew a line. They retrieved the keys to the pub, renovated the whitewashed 16th century building themselves and reopened it less than two months later.

"People couldn't bear the thought of it being boarded up," said Mavis Durrant, 67, a lifelong resident of the village in southwestern England. "There's something very appealing about a country pub, isn't there?"

Indeed. For centuries, virtually nothing has been more central to the good cheer and cozy charm of English village life than the local pub, whose name alone -- the Bishop's Finger, the Drunken Duck, the Quiet Woman, the Moorend Spout -- could summon a smile.

But feel-good stories like the rescue of the Wyndham Arms are rare these days, because pubs are closing down across Britain faster than a thirsty man can down a pint. Colorful and often iconic establishments that managed to survive civil wars, frowning Victorian teetotalism and tales of being haunted are increasingly buckling under to modern market forces, higher taxes and lifestyle changes.

Every week, 39 alehouses call for "last orders" one final time, according to the British Beer and Pub Assn. All told, more than 2,000 taverns have shut down since March of last year, at a cost of 20,000 jobs.

It's an especially distressing turn of events for those in the countryside, who warn that villages may eventually be reduced to little more than rural dormitories, stripped of the shops, services and gathering places that gave them a sense of identity and cohesion.

"We risk undoing centuries of tradition. An English pub is absolutely part and parcel of English society and community," said Nick Harvey, a member of Parliament for North Devon, a district in western England where 70 to 80 taverns remain, down from more than 100 just a few years ago.

In many neighborhoods, Harvey said, "the shops have gone, the garage has gone, everything has gone. The pub is the only thing left."

Britain remains home to 57,000 pubs, including some alehouses that can trace their history to Saxon times. Many still sport the dimly lit interiors, snug alcoves, crackling fireplaces and agreeably low ceilings made of old wooden beams (with signs warning taller customers, "Duck or grouse") that give old public houses their unique flavor.

Between pulls at the tap and backhanded wipes of the mouth, proprietors and regulars sketch various reasons for the pub's rapid decline.

Government rules that have allowed big chains to buy up or control thousands of alehouses can make life tough for the tenants who lease the pubs and try to turn a profit. High alcohol duties have steadily pushed up prices at the bar stool, even as supermarkets sell beer at cut-rate prices to draw in customers content to drink at home.

Modern times have also brought new habits and ideas. Because of safety regulations, construction workers and tradesmen no longer have a quick pint during their lunch hour. Britons are now more mobile, meaning they don't have to stick to their hometown bar. And rising prosperity, before the current recession struck, spurred demands for better food, flashier decoration and more options for families with young children.

Pub managers and traditionalists grumble loudest over the smoking ban instituted in 2007. Business has gone down as a result, publicans say, though the move also brought in some new customers.

But in spite of all the changes, the neighborhood pub remains at the heart of community life in countless towns and villages.

Words written 70 years ago to describe the pub's preeminent position in British society still resonate today in those places.

"Of the social institutions that mold men's lives between home and work . . . the pub has more buildings, holds more people, takes more of their time and money, than church, cinema, dance hall and political organizations put together," the pop-sociological movement Mass-Observation reported in the 1930s.

At the pub, the report said, your hard-earned shilling bought not just a beer but an experience.

You could drink, talk, think, smoke, play cards, throw darts, spit, bet and sing. Equally enjoyable side activities included weddings and funerals, "quarrels and fights," sex, secret-society meetings, religious processions, crime, prostitution and, rather mystifyingly for the contemporary pubgoer, "pigeon flying."

The loss of such an important social nerve center can be devastating for a small community -- akin to the death of an old friend, as the quiet village of Bickington learned.

Like Kentisbeare, Bickington sits primly in Devon, in a rustic landscape of sun-dappled fields sliced into puzzle pieces by high hedgerows. The "green and pleasant land" hymned by the English poet William Blake doesn't get any greener or pleasanter than this.

Villagers watched in dismay as their police station, post office and mechanic's shop gradually went out of business. When the firm that owned the local pub, the Toby Jug, decided to cut costs and close down the tavern several years ago, it was "the final blow" to communal life, said Caroline Meek, whose family has lived in Bickington since 1809.

"At the moment, if we see each other, it just happens to be out and about . . . catching five minutes here or there," Meek said of the village's residents. "Before, that would've happened in the pub over a nice drink."

Villagers have lobbied the Toby Jug's owner to reopen it, to no avail. They hold a candlelight vigil for their dearly departed tavern every Christmas Eve, out of both a sense of mourning and hope, but the building remains shuttered and forlorn, its white walls dingy from neglect, its quaint old sign missing.

"When you used to walk down there when the lights were on, on a cold winter's night, and there was a roaring fire on, that was a lovely feeling," said Meek, 34. "When you see it now, it just looks like a gray shell, and it's quite sad."

With the nearest pub at least three miles in either direction, "we're kind of marooned. We have to get in a car or catch a taxi," Meek said. "My husband is quite a traditional chap really, and going to the pub is something he'd like to do with his friends once a week, twice a week. It takes a tremendous effort to try to do that."

Bickington's fate is precisely what Mike Scales sought to avert in Kentisbeare when he rallied his neighbors to help save the Wyndham Arms last summer.

By then, the tavern was ailing, no longer as well frequented as it once was, which residents attribute to poor management by the man who ran it until he gave up last July.

The threat of losing the place altogether galvanized 80 volunteers from the village who spent eight weeks scrubbing, stripping, painting, hammering, wiring and redecorating the former farmhouse, whose wooden rafters were erected when their grandfathers' grandfathers hadn't been born.

"We had people in here seven days a week, on different shifts, from 8 o'clock in the morning till sunset," said Scales, a genial 61-year-old who has been involved in the pub industry, mostly as an auditor, since leaving the navy 35 years ago.

"I was probably one of the few that kept coming, and that's why I didn't want to see it go," he said of the Wyndham Arms, which is named after the family that at one time virtually owned Kentisbeare. "It's the center of the village."

Enterprise Inns, the company that owns the tavern, was so impressed by the community's efforts that it agreed to throw in $150,000 to overhaul the roof and the heating system. Scales is now busy putting in a new kitchen.

He knows the battle for survival isn't over. To remain a viable concern, the alehouse has to keep customers coming back, which is why it serves better food, welcomes children and dogs, and, as its latest innovation, offers Wi-Fi.

But for now the inhabitants of Kentisbeare once more have somewhere to go for a pint and a chat, especially the elderly regulars -- "the gargoyles," Scales calls them -- who like to come in the early evening.

"People need to talk to each other. They need to communicate. They need to feel as though they belong to a community," Scales said. "If I've done nothing in my miserable life, this is perhaps one good thing."

Then he got up to make a round of the tables, among laughing and chatting customers who greeted him by name.

Cheers!

[email protected]

The smoking ban (enforced in 2007) has crucified English pubs. They are desperately trying to sell food to survive. The ones that don't are boarded up and for sale, lock, stock and barrel. I've walked into a few well-known pubs round here on a Friday or Saturday night and there are two or three people in there at most. Plus, people can buy packs of 12 cans of beer in the supermarkets for the same price as one pint in a pub - seriously. Everyone is drinking at home.

[Rick Farris]

FYI:

The Main Event was one of the nicer sheets published to compete with the established weekly The Knockout back in the 1950s in California. It was first headed by an old Jack Dempsey associate named Leonard Sacks, with the editorial input of Fidel La Barba. Before long it was taken over by a Texas welterweight named Artie Dorrell. Although it was well produced and was the first ever boxing magazine printed entirely in offset, it lasted about 12 months before fading away.

The Double Kayo magazine shown above was started by Midget Martinez during the late 1950s as a successor to the original Knockout. Another contemporary boxing sheet was printed totally in Spanish under the name "Todo en el Ring" (Everything in the Ring). A young married Hispanic couple started that one but it also ceased to exist shortly afterward.

hap navarro

Hap . . . Nice history on the Main Event. From a graphic arts stand point, I also found it interesting that you mention that it was the first ever boxing magaizine printed entirely in offset. In high school, I worked in the print shop. This was the mid-60's and I learned to operate a line-o-type, we even melted down our lead type in the shop. Of course, offset printing was the hot thing at the moment and in due course the line-o-type was put out to pasture.


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

[kikibalt]

The Ray Fuentes on the above program is Orlando De La Fuentes's brother.

[raylawpc]

I wasn't aware Mando Muniz was active back then . . .

[Rick Farris]

The Ray Fuentes on the above program is Orlando De La Fuentes's brother.

Frank . . . another name is that of Curley Lee. Curly Lee fought out of Phoenix, but he was an L.A. guy.
A friend of mine went to Manuel Arts High School with Lee and Dwight Hawkins.
Lee had a great record 18-2 (14 KO's). Cleveland Williams stopped him in 10, but claims Lee was his toughest fight.

Does anybody remember Curley Lee? Big hitter.

-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

I wasn't aware Mando Muniz was active back then . . .

Tom . . .
In 1955 this Armando Muniz fought Art Aragon in El Paso.
Art floored him three times in the third round, last time for good.
He fought a lot at the Olympic in the 50's, the Legion too.
Frank must have seen him.

I remember in the late 60's, when our friend Armando Muniz was fighting amateur in L.A., Johnnie Flores gave me dozens of old Knockout Magazines.
I'd see the name Armando Muniz and discover another welterweight who was pretty tough.
Ironically, both were born in in the same place below the border.
The original Armando Muniz passed away in 2005 from colon cancer.

Great names on this program. Gaspar "El Indio" Ortega, a WBHOF regular.
Ortega vs Griffith on YouTube ain't a bad way to kill some time.


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

Rick, I did see this Armando Muniz fight, though, I don't remember much if anything about him, maybe Hap can tell us some thing about him.

boxer: Armando Muniz

birth date 1934-08-28
death date 2005-05-08
division welterweight

nationality Mexico
residence Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
birth place Ciudad ,Juarez, MEX

won 29 (KO 6) + lost 12 (KO 6) + drawn 4 = 45
rounds boxed 279 : KO% 13.33
biography

1961-01-17 Memo Ayon 8-2-0
La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico L KO 3

1960-08-12 156 Rudy Sawyer 19-3-1
Bull Ring, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico L TKO 6 10

1960-05-17 Gaspar Ortega 51-18-2
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico L PTS 10 10

1959-06-02 Alfredo Cota 19-11-3
Bull Ring, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W UD 10 10
~ referee: Alex Guerrero ~

1958-12-18 Jimmy Martinez 151 91-30-10
Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States L UD 10 10
~ referee: Zora Folley 94-98 | judge: Willis Barnes 96-98 | judge: H. Sheilds 95-96 ~

1958-12-03 Jimmy Martinez 90-30-9
Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States D PTS 10 10
~ referee: Marshall Leach 99-94 | judge: Willis Barnes 96-97 | judge: C.R. Shelley 96-96 ~

1958-08-19 141 LC Morgan 137 23-9-0
Bull Ring, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico L KO 2 10
~ time: 2:20 ~

1958-06-21 146½ Charley 'Tombstone' Smith 146½ 26-6-0
Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, United States L KO 3 12
~ referee: Dick Young ~
California State Welterweight Title
Muniz was knocked down twice in the 3rd round.

1958-05-06 148 Chico Vejar 157½ 78-14-2
Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California, United States W PTS 10 10
~ referee: Frankie Van 98-94 ~
The first five rounds were about even. Muniz had a big sixth round, having Vejar in serious trouble, and after that had much the better of the fight.

1958-03-22 151 Frankie Belma 151 7-1-1
Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, United States W UD 10 10
~ referee: John Thomas 99-91 | judge: Tommy Hart 100-92 | judge: Joey Olmos 99-91 ~

1958-02-21 Angel Lopez 4-2-0
San Bernardino, California, United States W PTS 10 10

1958-02-04 Henry Brown 3-2-0
Arena, San Bernardino, California, United States W PTS 6 6

1958-01-04 146½ Frank Brown 147 7-1-1
Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, United States W KO 2 6
~ time: 1:06 ~

1957-12-21 147 Eddie Gilbert 149 10-5-5
Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, United States W UD 6 6

1957-11-09 148½ Willie Barnes 156 2-6-0
Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, United States W UD 6 6

1957-01-29 Dennis Woodbury 15-19-4
Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, United States W KO 2 8

1956-06-11 147½ Kid Juarez 145½ 14-5-1
Bull Ring, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico D PTS 10 10
~ referee: Bobby Fernandez 99-93 | judge: Carl Beers 95-97 | judge: Reynaldo Acosta 98-98 ~

1956-05-14 Pete Ruiz 4-2-0
Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W KO 1

1955-09-12 Ludwig Lightburn 32-6-0
Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, United States L UD 10 10
~ referee: Cyp Payo ~

1955-03-14 149 Art Aragon 150 62-15-5
Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, United States L KO 3 10
~ time: 1:43 ~
The The Ring, June 1955, page 51. reported a W 10 for Aragon, however the El Paso Herald-Post reported a KO 3 win for Aragon, with Muniz going down three times in the round.

1955-01-24 142 Carlos Chavez 141 62-27-9
Auditorio Municipal, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W UD 10 10
~ referee: Bobby Fernandez 4-3 | judge: Santos Quijano 6-1 | judge: Carl Beers 4-1 ~

1954-12-06 Ramon Hernandez 5-2-0
Auditorio Municipal, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W UD 6 6

1954-11-17 Juan Leanos 23-8-1
Auditorio Municipal, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W UD 10 10

1954-11-13 Juan Leanos 22-8-1
Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico L PTS 10 10

1954-09-10 Ray Perez 14-11-4
Auditorio Municipal, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W UD 10 10

1954-07-28 Kid Juarez 9-1-0
Bull Ring, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W SD 6 6

1954-05-21 Ramon Hernandez 5-1-0
Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W PTS 6 6

1954-05-03 Bobby Romo 19-18-10
Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States W KO 5 10

1954-02-16 138½ Manny Renteria 138¼ 10-1-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States L KO 2 10
~ time: 2:28 | referee: Reggie Gilmore ~

1953-12-14 138 Billy Hartman 140 6-5-1
Arena, South Gate, California, United States W SD 6 6
Muniz was knocked down twice in the 1st round.

1953-12-01 137½ Manny Renteria 137 8-1-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States L SD 6 6

1953-11-06 138½ Armando Lara 144 1-0-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W UD 6 6

1953-10-14 Mario Conde 15-13-0
Auditorio Municipal, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W TKO 5 6
~ time: 0:50 ~

1953-09-01 136 George Berry 135½ 11-5-1
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States L UD 6 6

1953-08-25 135 Babe Vance 136 9-6-2
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States D PTS 4 4

1953-08-04 135 Aaron Junior 133 19-26-12
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States D PTS 6 6

1953-06-23 138 Henry Johnson 142 2-6-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W SD 6 6

1953-06-16 141 Manny Elam 142 2-2-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W TKO 3 4

1953-06-09 142 Henry Johnson 142 1-5-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W PTS 4 4

1953-05-26 141 Mel Harris 141½ 0-0-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W PTS 4 4

1953-05-19 141 Henry Johnson 143 1-3-0
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W PTS 4 4

1953-05-12 143 Joe Kezele 143½ 17-16-1
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W PTS 4 4

1953-02-09 143 Bobby Satchell 137 4-13-3
Sports Center, Tucson, Arizona, United States W UD 10 10

1953-01-16 Roy Hernandez 0-0-0
El Paso, Texas, United States W PTS 6 6

1952-10-22 David Gonzales 0-1-0
Auditorio Municipal, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico W UD

[Rick Farris]

Hap & Frank . . .

Charlie "Tombstone" Smith.
This is one of the names I'd read about, and see photos of, on the first pages of publications such as we are discussing.
Between Johnny Flores & George Parnassus, I had many such magazines.

Are there any memories of stories of this boxer. I know he fought at both Hollywood Legion and the Olympic.


-Rick Farris

[Dongee]

The Ray Fuentes on the above program is Orlando De La Fuentes's brother.

Frank . . . another name is that of Curley Lee. Curly Lee fought out of Phoenix, but he was an L.A. guy.
A friend of mine went to Manuel Arts High School with Lee and Dwight Hawkins.
Lee had a great record 18-2 (14 KO's). Cleveland Williams stopped him in 10, but claims Lee was his toughest fight.

Does anybody remember Curley Lee? Big hitter.

-Rick Farris

I know a little about the tragedy that befell Curley Lee and his family.....is that what you man, Rick?

hap navarro

[kikibalt]

[Rick Farris]

The Ray Fuentes on the above program is Orlando De La Fuentes's brother.

Frank . . . another name is that of Curley Lee. Curly Lee fought out of Phoenix, but he was an L.A. guy.
A friend of mine went to Manuel Arts High School with Lee and Dwight Hawkins.
Lee had a great record 18-2 (14 KO's). Cleveland Williams stopped him in 10, but claims Lee was his toughest fight.

Does anybody remember Curley Lee? Big hitter.

-Rick Farris

I know a little about the tragedy that befell Curley Lee and his family.....is that what you man, Rick?

hap navarro

Hap . . . I was only referring to Curley Lee in the ring. I'm not familiar with the tragedy. Could you tell more about that?


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

[raylawpc]

I wasn't aware Mando Muniz was active back then . . .

Tom . . .
In 1955 this Armando Muniz fought Art Aragon in El Paso.
Art floored him three times in the third round, last time for good.
He fought a lot at the Olympic in the 50's, the Legion too.
Frank must have seen him.

I remember in the late 60's, when our friend Armando Muniz was fighting amateur in L.A., Johnnie Flores gave me dozens of old Knockout Magazines.
I'd see the name Armando Muniz and discover another welterweight who was pretty tough.
Ironically, both were born in in the same place below the border.
The original Armando Muniz passed away in 2005 from colon cancer.

Great names on this program. Gaspar "El Indio" Ortega, a WBHOF regular.
Ortega vs Griffith on YouTube ain't a bad way to kill some time.


-Rick Farris

I had never heard of that Armando Muniz until I saw the name on the program.

[Rick Farris]

Names on a Door . . .

I remember the dressing room at the Main Street Gym, that was used by the Paddy Quaid-Johnny Villaflor stable.
Many of those rooms had names painted on the door, boasting a popular stable.
I recall Lee Boren's room. How many recall Lee?

Former promoter/matchmaker/manager Mickey Davis was a sign painter by trade.
Some of the names on those doors were the work of Mickey's paint brush.

At Shagrue's Hoover Street Gym, a sign on the wall above the ring shows a cartoon-like etching of a beaten fighter. And the words:
"A Tough Guy Gets Tough, When The Going Gets Rough"- Mickey Davies.

For those of you who remember Davies' shift as matchmaker for Aileen Eaton's Olympic Boxing Club in the mid-60's,
you might recall between the semi-main and main event, there would be a short intermission.
Between fights there would usually be an interview and some sort of promo for the following week's card.
Mike LeBell would be standing next to a nice sign advertising the upcoming match.
Mickey would paint the sign in the afternoon, later in the evening LeBell would pitch the event on TV during the intermission.

I liked Mickey Davies. He was good to me, and said some nice things about me on TV one night.
I also liked the names on some of those doors.
Does the name Manuel Dros mean anything to you guys?
His name was on a door. So was Norm Lockwood, Bill Slayton, Ralph Gambina, Charlie Gregoli, and of course, Arthur "Duke" Holloway.

I can still see that room, I feel it, I can smell it.
I hear the speed bags in the background, the leather jump ropes tapping the floor, the timer bell.
Howie is scowling. "Who's the dirty co__sucker that crapped in the shower. I'll find out and your outta here!"

Howie had his standards, and and he had no sympathy for a thief.
On the wall above the mirror where many boxers shadowboxed was a sign . . .
"Anybody caught stealing will be treated like any Thief, Lardon or Goniff . . . You might even get your head busted!"

The sign reflected Steindler's yiddish humor.
And it also revealed the sign painting skill of Mickey Davies.

Mickey Davies is a true Los Angeles boxing legend.


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

I wasn't aware Mando Muniz was active back then . . .

Tom . . .
In 1955 this Armando Muniz fought Art Aragon in El Paso.
Art floored him three times in the third round, last time for good.
He fought a lot at the Olympic in the 50's, the Legion too.
Frank must have seen him.

I remember in the late 60's, when our friend Armando Muniz was fighting amateur in L.A., Johnnie Flores gave me dozens of old Knockout Magazines.
I'd see the name Armando Muniz and discover another welterweight who was pretty tough.
Ironically, both were born in in the same place below the border.
The original Armando Muniz passed away in 2005 from colon cancer.

Great names on this program. Gaspar "El Indio" Ortega, a WBHOF regular.
Ortega vs Griffith on YouTube ain't a bad way to kill some time.


-Rick Farris

I had never heard of that Armando Muniz until I saw the name on the program.

Thats because you're too young, Tom....

This Muniz had a brother that also fought in L.A., his name was Giberto Muniz.

[kikibalt]

Vince Delgado

[kikibalt]

[Rick Farris]

Vince Delgado

Frank . . . I'll tip Vince off about your posting this. In fact, Vince will be at this weekend's WBHOF moard meeting.
Roger will be there with his art.

-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

This is for our buddy, Tom . . .

You may already be aware of an article that appeared in the very first issue of The Ring Magazine, dated February 15, 1922.
It was about Jim Jeffries. I have a copy of that publication, and this is the article written by I.C. Brenner:

Photo of Jeffries with his prize cattle on Burbank Farm.

"Shadows of the Past-No.1, James J. Jeffries"
by I.C. Brenner

Where do former champions go? Could easily be used as the text of a stirring series of stories. Where, for instance, is Jim Jeffries these days? Well, Jeff is out in California, where the sun shines hotter and oftener than any other place in the world-not too hot, you understand-but just right (Native son version). Jeff is a farmer. He raises prize cattle ans get's prizes with them.

When Jeff retired from the ring -before that debacle in Reno- he went into the business that was most popular for the time for ex-champions, it's now ruled out by Mr. Volstead's Law. It was a paying business, however, and Jeff saved his money, added to it by what he had earned and saved in the ring, and after he collected from the Reno affair, he went in for farming and then cattle raising. Jeff made more than a cool quarter of a million out of the Reno encounter with Johnson.

They say Jeff looks fit as a fiddle these days, but he keeps pretty much to himself. That is, he doesn't go in for much city life- just runs up to Los Angeles now and then to buy a new bit of farm machinery - but he has his friends out to see him often, and he looks mighty good to them in his blue jeans and cap as he goes about tending his cattle. No more fight for Jeff, even as a spectator. He had his fling, got to the top, and then went to the well once too often - and you know the rest. Jeffries is highly content in his new field.





-Rick Farris

[HomicideHenry]

does any of you more knowledgable posters know of a sports writer named Mannie Pineta? I believe he was around in the 1930's and 1950's out in California. I was wondering if anyone had any information on him.

[raylawpc]

This is for our buddy, Tom . . .

You may already be aware of an article that appeared in the very first issue of The Ring Magazine, dated February 15, 1922.
It was about Jim Jeffries. I have a copy of that publication, and this is the article written by I.C. Brenner:

Photo of Jeffries with his prize cattle on Burbank Farm.

"Shadows of the Past-No.1, James J. Jeffries"
by I.C. Brenner

Where do former champions go? Could easily be used as the text of a stirring series of stories. Where, for instance, is Jim Jeffries these days? Well, Jeff is out in California, where the sun shines hotter and oftener than any other place in the world-not too hot, you understand-but just right (Native son version). Jeff is a farmer. He raises prize cattle ans get's prizes with them.

When Jeff retired from the ring -before that debacle in Reno- he went into the business that was most popular for the time for ex-champions, it's now ruled out by Mr. Volstead's Law. It was a paying business, however, and Jeff saved his money, added to it by what he had earned and saved in the ring, and after he collected from the Reno affair, he went in for farming and then cattle raising. Jeff made more than a cool quarter of a million out of the Reno encounter with Johnson.

They say Jeff looks fit as a fiddle these days, but he keeps pretty much to himself. That is, he doesn't go in for much city life- just runs up to Los Angeles now and then to buy a new bit of farm machinery - but he has his friends out to see him often, and he looks mighty good to them in his blue jeans and cap as he goes about tending his cattle. No more fight for Jeff, even as a spectator. He had his fling, got to the top, and then went to the well once too often - and you know the rest. Jeffries is highly content in his new field.





-Rick Farris

Thanks Rick.

[dagosd2000]

SOMETHING CAUGHT MY EYE

Reading Frank's response about the 50's Armando Muniz that had a brother who boxed, brought to mind of the WBHOF's president and former welterweight contender by the same name that also had a brother who laced them up. Tragically Mando's brother died in a plane crash in Poland along with a contingency of amateur boxers that were going to compete in Europe. With that team that day was their coach Junior Robles.

Junior was an amateur boxer who had given back to his community of National City(a town just south of San Diego)a boy's amateur boxing program. Junior was also involved with youth basesball. Junior was just plain involved with anything in Nat City.The homeless. Old folks. Anything that needed to be addressed that involved helping people,you could find Junior Robles. He kind of revived a community that was starting to reveal a darker side . That was part of Junior's mission. He wanted to improve the quality of life looking to the future of National City.

When I was dabbling in the sport of boxing,I remembered Robles's gym. It wasn't a place to dabble. If a kid didn't want to sacrafice he was shown the door. But not many kids took that exit. Junior was a fella' steeped in pride. He was respected. Never a bad word from anyone's lips did I hear mention of Junior Robles.

When that plane went down in 1980 I was disconnected from the sport of boxing. One day after work(I was working at a school for handicapped kids in National City) I stopped by a local ice cream parlor for a homemade ice cream. As I was entering the establishment I saw that a newspaper article was posted on the front window of the store. It was the news of the plane crash and an obituary of Junior Robles.

How could that have passed by me? I was in no mood to eat something sweet after reading that story.

Junior Robles,the Mexican kid,meant so much to National City,but outside that community hardly anyone had heard of him. His name was submitted twice to enter the local Hall Of Champions and denied. Just this year Junior was finally crowned. There's a street in National City with his name on it. Maybe it's because his sport was boxing. Maybe it was because he was Mexican. Maybe that's why he wasn't a San Diego name like a Tony Gwynn or a Marshall Faulk.

One day ,way back when, I walked inside Robles's gym. It was packed to the doors with kids wanting to take Junior's direction.Learning how to be a fighter. Bring up the name of Junior Robles's name today in Shell Town(the nick name for National City)and people are still trying to follow his way.That's a place where they never forgot.

[raylawpc]

Thats because you're too young, Tom....

This Muniz had a brother that also fought in L.A., his name was Giberto Muniz.

"too young. . ." Man, that's the first time anybody has called me that in a long time. Thanks! You made my day!