Classic American West Coast Boxing

[dagosd2000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVuE0ywwBO0

Art's Blues

Art Tatum and the Dorsey Brothers

[raylawpc]

Guys, This lady is looking for her cousin Lupe Pintor. I suggested that she post to this thread, but apparently she's having trouble locating the West Coast thread, as she has posted essentially the same message twice to the "Boxers of the Past" Forum.

Here is one of her messages. I hope one of you guys can help her:

"Lupe Pintor.

His mother and my father;Alfredo Fabela Pintor were siblings, I believe his mothers name may have been Juanita, I am not positive for I was not able to grow up with my Pintor family...I was taken by my mother to live with her.

I would like to know if anyone can help me obtain an address for Lupe, for I would like to get to know him for he is all I have left, all my other family is, as far as I know deceased.

Even if someone should be a "go -between" , that would be fine. I do hope to write with him personally however.

Thank you and Blessings to you all,
Tina Pintor/flrgrl
P.S.
If someone should want to , you may see my profile and pictures of my family in my photos at : myspace.com/mepintor"

Here is the lady's e-mail address: [email protected]

[kikibalt]

California Newest Iductees

http://myboxingfans.com/2009/09/califor ... inductees/

[dagosd2000]

THE STRUGGLE TO GET THEIR AWARD

Frank made a good point the other day after the CBHOF Banquet. He said they should make room for the inductees whose legs have betrayed them. Those boys should be seated at the special table next to the dais. To see Kid Rayo,Paul Andrews,and Charley Powell struggle to make it to the podium to accept their awards was not pleasing to the eye.

I hate to see the old athlete ,whose reputation was made with his physical attributes,have to hobble ,or worse, be confined to a wheel chair. I know this is unavoidable. Everyone is destined for the breakdowns,but use a little sense.

I don't watch those Old Timer Baseball games. I don't see the fun of a Hall Of Famer staggering under a fly ball or not even seeing it. Leave the athletic movement for the athletes. When the athlete becomes old, he is no longer one.

The dignity I saw with the older inductees was very moving. I remember seeing Charley Powell and his brother Art around South East San Diego and at the fights down here. Their pro careers were over. When I saw them they were impressive still.

As Charley Powell was led back to his table after receiving his plaque,I asked him how his brother was doing. He stopped and looked at me.
"Very well. Thank you for asking,"the big man replied with a gracious smile.

I'm sure Charley,like the rest of the old timers who had difficulty getting to the podium,didn't complain . Only the ones sitting in the audience, who have the freedom of movement still, were made uncomfortable. If not,they should have been.

Those old pugs may not be athletes anymore,but they have their dignity . That's more than I can say for a lot of people.

[kikibalt]

THE STRUGGLE TO GET THEIR AWARD

Frank made a good point the other day after the CBHOF Banquet. He said they should make room for the inductees whose legs have betrayed them. Those boys should be seated at the special table next to the dais. To see Kid Rayo,Paul Andrews,and Charley Powell struggle to make it to the podium to accept their awards was not pleasing to the eye..

Roger, I talked to Don Fraser last nite about what you're saying and it will be done next year.

[dagosd2000]

Ruben Olivares(revised)

[Rick Farris]

Ruben Olivares(revised)

[Chuck1052]

I remember when Jessie Reid was managing Jesse Burnett, a very capable black light-heavyweight who beat Victor Galindez and Alvaro Lopez. Unfortunately, Burnett wasn't the most exciting fighter in the the world, which meant that he had a tough time getting fights on a regular basis. As I recall, Burnett worked as a landscaper on a full-time basis in addition to trying to find time to train.

The most vivid memory that I had of Burnett was when he was a virtual last-minute substitute in a light-heavyweight title bout with Miguel Angel Cuello which was being televised from Europe on one of the network channels. Unfortunately, Burnett had to travel by plane from the U.S. just before the bout, which must've resulted in a bad case of "jet lag." Burnett had a good start in the bout, but faded badly and was stopped. I often wondered what would have happened if Burnett had more time to get acclaimated after arriving in Europe.

- Chuck Johnston

[dagosd2000]

"Gentleman " Jim Corbett

[Rick Farris]

I remember when Jessie Reid was managing Jesse Burnett, a very capable black light-heavyweight who beat Victor Galindez and Alvaro Lopez. Unfortunately, Burnett wasn't the most exciting fighter in the the world, which meant that he had a tough time getting fights on a regular basis. As I recall, Burnett worked as a landscaper on a full-time basis in addition to trying to find time to train.

The most vivid memory that I had of Burnett was when he was a virtual last-minute substitute in a light-heavyweight title bout with Miguel Angel Cuello which was being televised from Europe on one of the network channels. Unfortunately, Burnett had to travel by plane from the U.S. just before the bout, which must've resulted in a bad case of "jet lag." Burnett had a good start in the bout, but faded badly and was stopped. I often wondered what would have happened if Burnett had more time to get acclaimated after arriving in Europe.

- Chuck Johnston

Chuck . . . I remember Jessie Burnett pretty good from his early days in Los Angeles. I think he was a far better boxer than his record reflects, but as you mentioned he wasn't an exciting fighter. Sadly, Burnett is one of those hard luck boxers that ended up falling in to the "opponent" catagory, and had to take what he could get on the road. I remember him in a bout at the Olympic in the early 70's against San Diego's Ronnie Wilson.


-Rick Farris

[dagosd2000]

FLYIN' OUT OF THE RING

It was one of those nights Mickey Davies wanted to forget. The Irish fight promotor had been told that his prelim card was a wash that night. One fighter was in jail. Another had car trouble driving through the desert and the last guy fell off the face of the earth. I was sitting near Mickey at ringside. He reached for the flask and told the announcer Fred Lewis to grab the microphone and relay the message.

Under California boxing rules,if there wasn't enough fighters on a card to make up a certain amount of rounds,the fans could get their money back at the ticket window. There was only one ticket window at the San Diego Coliseum. The line stretched around the block.

But all was not lost. The main event was on still. An undefeated light heavy by the name of Jesse Burnett, who had mopped up on the local talent,and the stranger than life,Ray"Windmill" White. Along with White's manager,Baron Von Stumme,the pair reminded me of something I'd seen at a side show at the state fair. Stumme with his long handlebar mustache and the double jointed White throwing punches from around his back, and yes,winding up his arms like a windmill. Need I go on.

Well Jesse Burnett was undefeated and was the classic boxer type. Contrast that with the bald headed "Windmill" and his antics in the ring, and the only laughs that were heard were in the opening 30 seconds of the first frame. After that it wasn't "ha ha" funny anymore.

Burnett was getting the best of White and it was apparent he didn't have the skills nor enough foolishness to win. So the "Windmill" brings out a new act out of his suitcase. Everytime he gets tapped on the shoulder ,he falls like a ton of bricks ,and just before the ref reaches 10,he pops up like a Jack In The Box. "Ha ha".

After White does this three or four times,the ref waves it off. No Oscars for this performance. Well White and The Baron go beserk. White leaps over the ring ropes and runs out into the street. He 's got his gloves on still and you can hear him screaming all the way out the door with The Baron behind him.

That was it for the night's entertainment. As I was shuffling out, I passed Mickey Davies.He was still at ringside . His tie was unloosened and the flask was on the floor. If I had a bottle on me I would have given it to him.

[Rick Farris]

FLYIN' OUT OF THE RING

It was one of those nights Mickey Davies wanted to forget. The Irish fight promotor had been told that his prelim card was a wash that night. One fighter was in jail. Another had car trouble driving through the desert and the last guy fell off the face of the earth. I was sitting near Mickey at ringside. He reached for the flask and told the announcer Fred Lewis to grab the microphone and relay the message.

Under California boxing rules,if there wasn't enough fighters on a card to make up a certain amount of rounds,the fans could get their money back at the ticket window. There was only one ticket window at the San Diego Coliseum. The line stretched around the block.

But all was not lost. The main event was on still. An undefeated light heavy by the name of Jesse Burnett, who had mopped up on the local talent,and the stranger than life,Ray"Windmill" White. Along with White's manager,Baron Von Stumme,the pair reminded me of something I'd seen at a side show at the state fair. Stumme with his long handlebar mustache and the double jointed White throwing punches from around his back, and yes,winding up his arms like a windmill. Need I go on.

Well Jesse Burnett was undefeated and was the classic boxer type. Contrast that with the bald headed "Windmill" and his antics in the ring, and the only laughs that were heard were in the opening 30 seconds of the first frame. After that it wasn't "ha ha" funny anymore.

Burnett was getting the best of White and it was apparent he didn't have the skills nor enough foolishness to win. So the "Windmill" brings out a new act out of his suitcase. Everytime he gets tapped on the shoulder ,he falls like a ton of bricks ,and just before the ref reaches 10,he pops up like a Jack In The Box. "Ha ha".

After White does this three or four times,the ref waves it off. No Oscars for this performance. Well White and The Baron go beserk. White leaps over the ring ropes and runs out into the street. He 's got his gloves on still and you can hear him screaming all the way out the door with The Baron behind him.

That was it for the night's entertainment. As I was shuffling out, I passed Mickey Davies.He was still at ringside . His tie was unloosened and the flask was on the floor. If I had a bottle on me I would have given it to him.

Mickey Davies . . .

Great story, Rog.
I can picture Mickey stressed out because I've seen him that way on several occasions.
I remember when George Parnassus' Forum boxing club office had moved to the Elks Bldg. across from MacArthur Park.
The Forum's weekly fight cards were promoted by Don Fraser and Mickey was matchmaker (with Parnassus concentrating on the bigger title cards he'd hold every few months.)
I recall visiting the office several times as I trianed downstairs in the ballroom daily.
I liked Mickey Davies and he was always good to me, however, I recall seeing him really blow his temper on a couple of occasions.
He was particularly annoyed by the nature of boxers, who sometimes "show up" and sometimes don't.
On one particular day, Mickey's anger was aimed at Sugar Ray Robinson (who was not present).
Mickey had wanted Robinson to make an "appearance" at a press conference/luncheon to say some good words about a fMike Nixon fight he'd scheduled.
Mickey told Robinson he'd give him $300 to make the appearance. Robinson held out for $500 and wanted his money up-front.
Mickey reluctantly agreed and wanted Robinson to assure him he was going to show up. As it turned out, Sugar Ray was a no show.
Later that afternoon, Mel Epstein and I were in Mickey's office and he was typing, face red, cursing as he pounded the typewriter's keys.
"That SOB did it again! This time he beat me for five bills," he lamented. This guy is known for that, hell, fighters are flakes!"
He then reached down into his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of scotch, poured it into a glass and took a big swig.
It wasn't his day.


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

A Mickey Davies memory . . .

During the mid-60's, Mickey Davies and Dick Enberg were the ringside commentators for the Olympic Auditorium's Thursaday night fights.
The fights were broadcast via KTLA Ch.5, and the combo of Enberg and matchamaker Davies was the best on TV for boxing.

One thursday, Davies was missing an Enberg announced that his partner at the mike had been bitten by a rattlesnake at his desert home.
Enberg told his audience, "The doctor said Mickey will be OK in a few days, but the snake died from an overdose of Scotch."


-Rick Farris

[Expug]

Nice to see Jesse Burnett mentioned here.
I thought Burnett was a good fighter. I believe he started fighting pro right out of the joint.
He had some real good wins especially for a guy who most likely didnt have a am. career to speak of if he was locked up.
He fought a guy I trained with here in Chicago named Young Joe Louis/ Eddie Taylor.

[dagosd2000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37OcLWu1T_E

Bob Fitzsimmons vs. Jim Corbett

[dagosd2000]

Bob Fitzsimmons

[Randyman]

Chuck Johnston--CBHOF 9-26-09


"Boxing in the Los Angeles Area"
"1880-2005"
Co-Author with Tracy Callis

Chuck, thanks for stopping by our table and talking with us. I enjoyed our conversation. We'll talk again next month.

Randy

[Rick Farris]

Now this is kinda cool . . .

Fast little bastid, huh?

[Randyman]

Fo a Slidehow of the CBHOF 2009 click on the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/randyman05 ... 9723/show/

Thanks to the generosity of my friends, Frank Baltazar Sr and Tom Ray, my wife Jeri and I were able to attend the 2009 California Boxing Hall of Fame. It was an honor to sit and dine with some of boxing's best. Our group consisted of two tables; the Frank Baltazar table; with Frank and Connie and their family, including Frankie Jr. The other table was the James J. Jeffries table which included Rick Farris, Ed Hernandez and his son Patrick, Vince Delgado, Mando Muniz, Bobby Chacon and his friend Rosie and Roger and Maria Esty. The event was held at Stevens Steakhouse in Commerce, California and began at 11:00am with a social and registration hour. A steak dinner was served around noon and the inductions began.

Anyone who thinks award ceremonies are a waste of time, or perhaps a place for big egos to be satisfied and catered to would have been sorely disappointed. Instead some of the humblest, nicest guys you would want to meet were given well deserved awards. There was a lot of emotion on display Saturday by men who were both proud and humbled to be receiving recognition for a lifetime of work and passion in the sport that they love.

An entry in to the Hall of Fame is more than just another award, it is validation, and justifies who you believe you are, it says to your family and friends and anyone that cared to listen that "I am who I said I was, and I did what I said I did". Several of the guys that were honored had their families there, some from out of state, many of them were driven to tears, or talked in whispers lest they start crying out loud, especially when their families stood up and cheered. Validation! When they left the dais they stood just a little taller, had a little more bounce in their steps. It did my heart good just to watch them as they went back to their seats to rejoin there families.That same pride was evident in the table next to ours as the daughters and nieces of Bob Fuente and Tony Fuentes cheered when their father and uncle were inducted posthumously. .

Seeing guys like Mando Muniz, Bobby Chacon, Danny "Little Red" Lopez, Alex Ramos and Vince Delgado, or younger guys like Roberto Garcia was the highlight of the event for me but the kicker was sitting down and spending time with my friends Frank Baltazar, Rick Farris, Roger Esty and Ed Hernandez and his son Patrick. For a fight fan this was the place to be last Saturday. It doesn't get any better.

[Randyman]

Now this is kinda cool . . .

Fast little bastid, huh?

[raylawpc]

Fo a Slidehow of the CBHOF 2009 click on the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/randyman05 ... 9723/show/

Thanks to the generosity of my friends, Frank Baltazar Sr and Tom Ray, my wife Jeri and I were able to attend the 2009 California Boxing Hall of Fame. It was an honor to sit and dine with some of boxing's best. Our group consisted of two tables; the Frank Baltazar table; with Frank and Connie and their family, including Frankie Jr. The other table was the James J. Jeffries table which included Rick Farris, Ed Hernandez and his son Patrick, Vince Delgado, Mando Muniz, Bobby Chacon and his friend Rosie and Roger and Maria Esty. The event was held at Stevens Steakhouse in Commerce, California and began at 11:00am with a social and registration hour. A steak dinner was served around noon and the inductions began.

Anyone who thinks award ceremonies are a waste of time, or perhaps a place for big egos to be satisfied and catered to would have been sorely disappointed. Instead some of the humblest, nicest guys you would want to meet were given well deserved awards. There was a lot of emotion on display Saturday by men who were both proud and humbled to be receiving recognition for a lifetime of work and passion in the sport that they love.

An entry in to the Hall of Fame is more than just another award, it is validation, and justifies who you believe you are, it says to your family and friends and anyone that cared to listen that "I am who I said I was, and I did what I said I did". Several of the guys that were honored had their families there, some from out of state, many of them were driven to tears, or talked in whispers lest they start crying out loud, especially when their families stood up and cheered. Validation! When they left the dais they stood just a little taller, had a little more bounce in their steps. It did my heart good just to watch them as they went back to their seats to rejoin there families.That same pride was evident in the table next to ours as the daughters and nieces of Bob Fuente and Tony Fuentes cheered when there father and uncle were inducted posthumously. .

Seeing guys like Mando Muniz, Bobby Chacon, Danny "Little Red" Lopez, Alex Ramos and Vince Delgado, or younger guys like Roberto Garcia was the highlight of the event for me but the kicker was sitting down and spending time with my friends Frank Baltazar, Rick Farris, Roger Esty and Ed Hernandez and his son Patrick. For a fight fan this was the place to be last Saturday. It doesn't get any better.

I wanted to add just a word about Jim Jeffries, and this seemed an appropriate spot. Had he known about the honor of his induction in the CBHOF, he would have been especially proud. Jim took great pride in being a Californian - if you read the newspapers of the times, he talked up California to anybody who would listen. After every fight and every vaudeville tour during his career, he always returned to Southern California. He took his vacations largely in California. After he retired, he lived in Burbank and rarely left California.

Jim has been inducted into the Ring Magazine Boxing Hall of Fame, the IBHOF and the WBHOF. But I can assure you that this induction would have meant more to him than any other. This honor, in my eyes, makes Jim legacy complete. Frank, thanks for making this happen.

[Rick Farris]

Fo a Slidehow of the CBHOF 2009 click on the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/randyman05 ... 9723/show/

Thanks to the generosity of my friends, Frank Baltazar Sr and Tom Ray, my wife Jeri and I were able to attend the 2009 California Boxing Hall of Fame. It was an honor to sit and dine with some of boxing's best. Our group consisted of two tables; the Frank Baltazar table; with Frank and Connie and their family, including Frankie Jr. The other table was the James J. Jeffries table which included Rick Farris, Ed Hernandez and his son Patrick, Vince Delgado, Mando Muniz, Bobby Chacon and his friend Rosie and Roger and Maria Esty. The event was held at Stevens Steakhouse in Commerce, California and began at 11:00am with a social and registration hour. A steak dinner was served around noon and the inductions began.

Anyone who thinks award ceremonies are a waste of time, or perhaps a place for big egos to be satisfied and catered to would have been sorely disappointed. Instead some of the humblest, nicest guys you would want to meet were given well deserved awards. There was a lot of emotion on display Saturday by men who were both proud and humbled to be receiving recognition for a lifetime of work and passion in the sport that they love.

An entry in to the Hall of Fame is more than just another award, it is validation, and justifies who you believe you are, it says to your family and friends and anyone that cared to listen that "I am who I said I was, and I did what I said I did". Several of the guys that were honored had their families there, some from out of state, many of them were driven to tears, or talked in whispers lest they start crying out loud, especially when their families stood up and cheered. Validation! When they left the dais they stood just a little taller, had a little more bounce in their steps. It did my heart good just to watch them as they went back to their seats to rejoin there families.That same pride was evident in the table next to ours as the daughters and nieces of Bob Fuente and Tony Fuentes cheered when their father and uncle were inducted posthumously. .

Seeing guys like Mando Muniz, Bobby Chacon, Danny "Little Red" Lopez, Alex Ramos and Vince Delgado, or younger guys like Roberto Garcia was the highlight of the event for me but the kicker was sitting down and spending time with my friends Frank Baltazar, Rick Farris, Roger Esty and Ed Hernandez and his son Patrick. For a fight fan this was the place to be last Saturday. It doesn't get any better.

Beautifully written, Randy.

[Rick Farris]

An old suit case . . .

That's where I find a variety of personal memorabelia. Packed deep into a closet for more than a dozen years.
Tonight I'm uncovering a lot of boxing memories, much more than I've posted.
However, I'll also unearth some old memories of film projects from days gone by.

In the 80's, I was knocking down a lot of major film work. Feature films, Episodic TV, Commercials and Music Videos.
I did a couple big ones with Michael Jackson, "Thriller" and "Moonwalker".
Working with Jacko was a little weird, as one might expect, but it was always for the biggest money and unending budgets.
Moonwalker was the most expensive feature film in relation to cost of product divided by the minute length of the film.
Moonwalker exceeded it's $30 million budget, and it was only a 24 minute film.

We had bomb threats, Michael Jackson walked like a frightened deer, always accompanied by his two bodyguards (off-duty LAPD officers).
We also signed confidentiality agreements. We were well paid to keep quiet about the details of the production, or that it even existed.
The working title of the film was "Chicago Nights". That's what we on the crew believed it would be called.

While going thru an old trunk, I found a letter that each of us on the crew received from the production's legal counsel.
It was CC'ed to Jackson, his manager Frank Dileo, and producer Jerry Kramer. Dated December 3, 1987.

It provided some intersting memories.

On this production, one of the grips was Art Aragon Jr., the ex-fighter's youngest son.
Halfway thru the production, Art Jr. failed to show up for work one evening (we were working nights on Universal's back lot).
It wasn't like Aragon, he was always on time, a real good grip and a good guy.
A few hours later we learn that Art had been killed in an accident riding his motorcycle to work.

Twenty-two years have passed.
I'll post the letter tomorrow.
It's kinda interesting the efforts to keep such an expensive, but meaningless project a secret?


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

"Moonwalker" . . .

This was sent to all of us who worked on the Michael Jackson movie, "Moonwalker."
It was from Jackson's legal counsel, regarding confidentiality of the project.


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

This came from the Moonwalker production office regarding press leaks relating to the project.
The working title of the project was "Chicago Nights".


-Rick Farris