Classic American West Coast Boxing

[CNorkusJr]

I want to thank Don Fraser and the California Boxing Hall of Fame for inducting my father Jose "Potrillo" Lopez.

It's truly sad that you are being forced into making that statement in writing by Don Fraser and his staff. Your father was a great boxer and earned the honor of being a Inducted into the California Boxing Hall Of Fame, like my father was, ON MERIT OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE RING.
Hundreds of people know what is going on behind the scenes of the Ca. Boxing HOF and I hope Frank Baltazar has the audacity to show this to anyone who sits on the Board of the CA B HOF.

I would like to see him force Harold Lederman, the family of Gil Clancy, George Foreman or Andre Ward make such a public statement in support of Don.
Don is the President of the HOF and therefore be HONORED that all boxers are fortunate enough to be in HIS HOF. No one person is bigger than the sport and these boxers and trainers and officials made it that way with their BLood and hard work.

Jose "Potrillo" Lopez deserves to be in the HOF and shouldnt have to kiss no ones ass to get that recognition.

Charlie, what is truly sad is that you would post bullshit like this without knowing the facts.The fact is that I had nothing do with Portillo Lopez daughter writing a statement of any kind, I have in fact never talked to her...By the way I know that this is not really coming from you, somebody fed you this bullshit and you felled for it.

I just spoke with Don Fraser on the phone about this situation and Don will call you about that conversation. I deleted the post but it can be seen above. There will be no further discussion about this situation from me.

[kikibalt]

Charlie Norkus Jr., you should at least have the decency to acknowledge you spoke-out without having the facts in front of you. I say this because its my name you drag through the mud without knowing what you were talking about...I will not say anymore on this as now I know what kind of man you are.

[El Gallo]

Hall of Fame?

It's not bullshit, you and Don are playing a control game. And I won't even say you Frank, as you have no CBHOF power. You are basicly a secretary.
All I did was congratualte the CBHOF for inducting a few that Don Fraser knew I planned to induct this year.
I did that here, and it can be seen. Somebody involved the the CBHOF (I wonder who used to post here and is often seen checking out the thread?) notified Don.
That person informed Don that I was trying to take credit for a worthy fighter's induction? How could I, I am no longer involved?
Don has a huge ego, "I AM THE CALIFORNIA BOXING HALL of FAME!!!"
He told me, as he let me know that he had no intention of honoring his word to let me carry on the group.
I am happy that I am not involved with this group, as their honor roll has not been maintained, and that is foremost important to any Hall of Fame.
Who is actually in the CBHOF?
Well, last year after I pointed out to Don that the previous year's honor roll was missing names, he said "Nobody will notice".
I noticed and so would members of any previous honorees family if they were to proudly look for their relative name and find it missing.
Names like Fernando Vargas, Israel Vasquez and Diego Corrales are three.
Regardless, in the future, I will have a historically correct organization, and do it as I believe will best honore the fighters.
As for me making false claims, I have evidence supporting everything.
These are qualified inductees, all will bring in fans that will support the event.
I am not responsible for their induction this year, but a number of the inductees Don knew I was going to induct.
I have proof that the boxers were being squeezed to write a post thanking Don for their induction, so there you have it.
The reason people are mad is because they are being exposed. That was not the goal here, it was to recognize a few Classic American West Coast Boxers.
I won't back down in the defense of veteran boxers. It's about boxers, not founders or their support group.
I have truth on my side, and evidence. This isn't a game, it's the Hall of Fame!

-Rick Farris

[CNorkusJr]

Charlie Norkus Jr., you should at least have the decency to acknowledge you spoke-out without having the facts in front of you. I say this because its my name you drag through the mud without knowing what you were talking about...I will not say anymore on this as now I know what kind of man you are.

If you re-read my original post- I accused you of nothing !!! I know you read this post and write in a few times compared to Don and whoever sits with the HOF, and wanted you to know that YOU should show the rest of the HOF group my post. And that is exactly what you did, told Don within 10 mins of my post which I got a phone call from Don himself telling me you called him.

[El Gallo]

"Well, last year after I pointed out to Don that the previous year's honor roll was missing names, he said "Nobody will notice" . . .

The reason he eliminated names (He told me this) was because the list had grown so large, it would mean adding another page. I said, "Let's ad that page."
Don said he didn't want to deal with it. I told him I would research the missing names (which he told me had kept?) and fix the honor roll.
He told me that you can't just add one page to a magazine-type publication, you must add four pages. This is true. So I said, I would sell three more pages of advertising that would more than pay for the extra pages, basicly clear profit. I sold lots of advertising, or my nominees did, so he knew I could.
"Forget about it. Nobody will notice and you have enough to do." I wrote all but three of the two dozen bios that were fearured in the most successful CBHOF Journal to date. Most noticed that the Journal was much thicker, twice as many pages than the previos year's Journal. Easily validated to doubters.
I dropped the issue as I did have a lot to do, and I figured that would be one of my priorities when I took over the event and supervision of the CBHOF in 2013. Don and I had a falling out, we parted ways. Done! Just because I am no longer the CBHOF Vice President, does not mean I don't care for the organization in spirit, as I am also an inductee, and I am proud enough to hope the group survives, with or without me. If you do the right things, good energy will follow. I am not plaqued with a life threatening disease or old age. I am not bitter. I am healthy, happy, love what I do in life, EVERYTHING! I am happy with myself. Can others say the same? Look forward to something good in the future of Veteran Boxer's events. In fact, Something is in the works for this summer, not a Hall of Fame type event, but a great group of legends and fans at a special event involving the preview of a great new boxing documentary. Keep you posted. Fun for all boxing fans, and an intro to the future!

-Rick Farris

[CNorkusJr]

Maybe Frank, if you understood how all this came about, or maybe it slipped Don's mind, at last years planning of the CA Boxing HOF dinner, Rick called me up and told me that he submitted my father's name for induction to the CA Boxing HOF. A true honor and I will always be grateful for that consideration. It was followed up by a letter from Don telling that it would be an honor to put my father in and hoped that I could attend. Of course I would with a table of ten. I also asked Rick if I can post a few ad pages in the journal along with a bio. He told me Don writes a paragraph bio on fighters and we at the HOF really dont take in too many ads into their journals.

I explained to Rick that several state HOF's that I go to each have a journal and 50% of all HOF revenues come from family or friend ads put into the journal.I sent several journals from those HOF's to Rick. He showed them to Don. Approaching Don with the idea of opening up the journal for MORE than usual ads, which Don said-okay Rick you do that, I sent in over $3,000 in ads alone in support of my dad from my family and I. PLus some from other East Coast Orgs.

After the HOF induction which was wonderful last year, I presented Don with a bank check for an additional $3,000 in appreciation of my fathers Induction, and words precisely to Don " This check I give to you AND RICK, for a start on next years Induction ceremony". Rick was the primary attention on that because of the huge amount of work he did on behalf of the HOF last year because Don was laid up mostly for his arm care.. If it wasnt for Rick, my father wouldnt have been thought of.

Don accepted the check with Rick right there on stage. Don knew he was firing Rick, but failed to tell anyone including me he was firing him a few short hours. He felt threatened Rick was taking over the HOF, and why not ?, Rick did most of the leg work. Instead I got a call from Rick saying of such action and after a month at home, a phone call from Don, telling me he was donating some of the money I gave to a fighter with cancer. Thats fine. But maybe everyone should know that Rick laid out hundreds of dollars on behalf of the HOF that Don refused to pay him back. Maybe Don should tell everybody that the money I donated finally generated a profit for the org. since a few people were told that money was stolen from the front table that became unaccountable, but the idea of selling hundreds of dollars in ads generated a profit.
So maybe if you were there FRank you would see what kind of man I am, I would have preferred to keep my mouth shut, but since you called me out on it.

By the way, the cost of a FULL PAGE ad in any of those three journals Ring 8's Holiday Awards Dinner, New Jersey Boxing HOF, and NY State Boxing HOF journals are $150 per full page.Which is the going rate just about anywhere and those orgs. turn a huge profit to support the following years event.

[kikibalt]

Maybe Frank, if you understood how all this came about, or maybe it slipped Don's mind, at last years planning of the CA Boxing HOF dinner, Rick called me up and told me that he submitted my father's name for induction to the CA Boxing HOF. A true honor and I will always be grateful for that consideration. It was followed up by a letter from Don telling that it would be an honor to put my father in and hoped that I could attend. Of course I would with a table of ten. I also asked Rick if I can post a few ad pages in the journal along with a bio. He told me Don writes a paragraph bio on fighters and we at the HOF really dont take in too many ads into their journals.

I explained to Rick that several state HOF's that I go to each have a journal and 50% of all HOF revenues come from family or friend ads put into the journal.I sent several journals from those HOF's to Rick. He showed them to Don. Approaching Don with the idea of opening up the journal for MORE than usual ads, which Don said-okay Rick you do that, I sent in over $3,000 in ads alone in support of my dad from my family and I. PLus some from other East Coast Orgs.

After the HOF induction which was wonderful last year, I presented Don with a bank check for an additional $3,000 in appreciation of my fathers Induction, and words precisely to Don " This check I give to you AND RICK, for a start on next years Induction ceremony". Rick was the primary attention on that because of the huge amount of work he did on behalf of the HOF last year because Don was laid up mostly for his arm care.. If it wasnt for Rick, my father wouldnt have been thought of.

Don accepted the check with Rick right there on stage. Don knew he was firing Rick, but failed to tell anyone including me he was firing him a few short hours. He felt threatened Rick was taking over the HOF, and why not ?, Rick did most of the leg work. Instead I got a call from Rick saying of such action and after a month at home, a phone call from Don, telling me he was donating some of the money I gave to a fighter with cancer. Thats fine. But maybe everyone should know that Rick laid out hundreds of dollars on behalf of the HOF that Don refused to pay him back. Maybe Don should tell everybody that the money I donated finally generated a profit for the org. since a few people were told that money was stolen from the front table that became unaccountable, but the idea of selling hundreds of dollars in ads generated a profit.
So maybe if you were there FRank you would see what kind of man I am, I would have preferred to keep my mouth shut, but since you called me out on it.

Charlie, I had nothing to do with happened last year, but tell me what does what happened last year has to do with you writing this about me, if you can make a case for writing this, please do so. If you have proof that I did what you claim I did, show me and the people that read this bullshit the proof. I'm only concerned with what you wrote about me without checking your facts. Ask Ms. Portillo Lpoez If I ever talk to her...You shouldn't believe everything you hear, and most of all you shouldn't follow blindly.

"It's truly sad that you are being forced into making that statement in writing by Don Fraser and his staff. Your father was a great boxer and earned the honor of being a Inducted into the California Boxing Hall Of Fame, like my father was, ON MERIT OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE RING.
Hundreds of people know what is going on behind the scenes of the Ca. Boxing HOF and I hope Frank Baltazar has the audacity to show this to anyone who sits on the Board of the CA B HOF.

I would like to see him force Harold Lederman, the family of Gil Clancy, George Foreman or Andre Ward make such a public statement in support of Don.
Don is the President of the HOF and therefore be HONORED that all boxers are fortunate enough to be in HIS HOF. No one person is bigger than the sport and these boxers and trainers and officials made it that way with their BLood and hard work.

Jose "Potrillo" Lopez deserves to be in the HOF and shouldnt have to kiss no ones ass to get that recognition."

[kikibalt]

Charlie Norkus Jr., you should at least have the decency to acknowledge you spoke-out without having the facts in front of you. I say this because its my name you drag through the mud without knowing what you were talking about...I will not say anymore on this as now I know what kind of man you are.

If you re-read my original post- I accused you of nothing !!! I know you read this post and write in a few times compared to Don and whoever sits with the HOF, and wanted you to know that YOU should show the rest of the HOF group my post. And that is exactly what you did, told Don within 10 mins of my post which I got a phone call from Don himself telling me you called him.

What do you mean you didn't accused me of anything, you should re-read you own you post. You accused me of making Ms. Lopez write a statement....Or did somebody else write this for you?

[CNorkusJr]

It's truly sad that you are being forced into making that statement in writing by Don Fraser and his staff. Your father was a great boxer and earned the honor of being a Inducted into the California Boxing Hall Of Fame, like my father was, ON MERIT OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE RING.
Hundreds of people know what is going on behind the scenes of the Ca. Boxing HOF and I hope Frank Baltazar has the audacity to show this to anyone who sits on the Board of the CA B HOF.

I would like to see him(meaning Don Fraser ) force Harold Lederman, the family of Gil Clancy, George Foreman or Andre Ward make such a public statement in support of Don.
Don is the President of the HOF and therefore be HONORED that all boxers are fortunate enough to be in HIS HOF. No one person is bigger than the sport and these boxers and trainers and officials made it that way with their BLood and hard work.

Jose "Potrillo" Lopez deserves to be in the HOF and shouldnt have to kiss no ones ass to get that recognition.

Charlie, what is truly sad is that you would post bullshit like this without knowing the facts.The fact is that I had nothing do with Portillo Lopez daughter writing a statement of any kind, I have in fact never talked to her...By the way I know that this is not really coming from you, somebody fed you this bullshit and you felled for it.

I just spoke with Don Fraser on the phone about this situation and Don will call you about that conversation. I deleted the post but it can be seen above. There will be no further discussion about this situation from me.

Where Frank ? I always meant Don, because thats who I was told who did it and was ACKNOWLEDGED BY YOU in another post.

[kikibalt]

Here: It's truly sad that you are being forced into making that statement in writing by Don Fraser and his staff...I am "Staff"

[kikibalt]

I have said all I'm going to say on this!!

[CNorkusJr]

I want to thank Don Fraser and the California Boxing Hall of Fame for inducting my father Jose "Potrillo" Lopez.

It's truly sad that you are being forced into making that statement in writing by Don Fraser and his staff. Your father was a great boxer and earned the honor of being a Inducted into the California Boxing Hall Of Fame, like my father was, ON MERIT OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE RING.
Hundreds of people know what is going on behind the scenes of the Ca. Boxing HOF and I hope Frank Baltazar has the audacity to show this to anyone who sits on the Board of the CA B HOF.

I would like to see him force Harold Lederman, the family of Gil Clancy, George Foreman or Andre Ward make such a public statement in support of Don.
Don is the President of the HOF and therefore be HONORED that all boxers are fortunate enough to be in HIS HOF. No one person is bigger than the sport and these boxers and trainers and officials made it that way with their BLood and hard work.

Jose "Potrillo" Lopez deserves to be in the HOF and shouldnt have to kiss no ones ass to get that recognition.

Charlie, what is truly sad is that you would post bullshit like this without knowing the facts.The fact is that I had nothing do with Portillo Lopez daughter writing a statement of any kind, I have in fact never talked to her...By the way I know that this is not really coming from you, somebody fed you this bullshit and you felled for it.

[CNorkusJr]

I have said all I'm going to say on this!!

I agree, I'm done too !

Hopefully someone will post some California history here next.

[dagosd2000]

Fathers And Sons

Jesse called me up from work and told me he had a couple of ducats for the fights at the Coliseum Tuesday night.
He wanted me to see the pro debut of a kid that Jesse had kept on eye on in the amateurs. I said Ok and that I'd meet him in front of the Coliseum.
"Rog,I think you'll like what you see."
"Always interesting seeing a kid with promise."
Jesse bought ringside tickets. I knew he was going to analyze everything for me. He had once been a regular on the cards in Southern California and Mexico.
"I followed this kid early,"he said. "His father trains him. He used to be a fighter."
"Sometimes that doesn't always work out. They are too close."
"Eventually I'd like to step in. Even get a piece of him."
The arena was filling up rapidly. Looked like another sellout.
"Well he'll have a big crowd in front of him,"I said.
"He's local so they'll be with him."
I motioned for the beer vendor. I asked Jesse if he wanted anything. He said he'd have a Coke when the guy came around.
"Jesse,you remember your first fight?"
"It was out in front of my uncle's house in Mexicali."
"What do you mean?"
"It's how I got started. My father and my uncles would bet money on me to fight the other kids in the street."
"Did you like that?"
"I had no choice or they would have kicked my ass. Besides I was pretty good. I could beat a lot of the older boys."
"So what happened next?"
"My father took me to the gym."
"How was it?"
"I liked going there. Pretty soon I was fighting pro."
"No amateur fights?"
"I started when I was 14 years old. I was fighting guys 10 years older than me."
"Must have been a challenge."
"As long as I kept winning,they kept putting me out there."
"You had a lot of fights."
"Often in Mexico your early pro fights is when you gain your experience. Make it or break it."
"I guess if you're going to fight you might as well get paid for it."
"Yes,things are hard in Mexico.No one wants to work for free."
The first prelim fighters were in the ring rubbing ther shoes in the rosin box. The mike came down from the ceiling into the ring announcer's hand.
"The kid is on the right,"said Jesse." He's going to go far. His father made sure he's been handled right."
"You went pretty far."
"I was cannon fodder. Fought guys I wasn't ready for. I built up a bunch of wins early. Looked good on the record.but those guys were nobodies."
As the fighters were prancing up and down in their corners waiting for the bell to ring, I could see Jesse leaning forward in his seat.

[dagosd2000]

This is Prince Smalls. Son of ex pro and local favorite Tiger Smalls. Prince makes his pro featherweight debut in Tijuana at the Auditorium Friday,March 22nd. Prince is trained by his father. Will keep my fingers crossed for the kid.

[El Gallo]

This is Prince Smalls. Son of ex pro and local favorite Tiger Smalls. Prince makes his pro featherweight debut in Tijuana at the Auditorium Friday,March 22nd. Prince is trained by his father. Will keep my fingers crossed for the kid.

Same here, Rog. This kid is really good, and in a world of prima donna's he has old school roots and dedication.
He is a gentleman, and I can't help but think of real warriors from days gone by when I think of a young pro making his debut below the border.
How many Classic American West Coast Boxers were forced to find work in Mexico because they were just "too good for their own good" in Cali?
Dwight Hawkins, L.C. Morgan, Paulie Armstead are just a few that come to mind.
Sorry I will miss this fight, but hope to see him when he makes his Southern Cal debut.

[CNorkusJr]

This is Prince Smalls. Son of ex pro and local favorite Tiger Smalls. Prince makes his pro featherweight debut in Tijuana at the Auditorium Friday,March 22nd. Prince is trained by his father. Will keep my fingers crossed for the kid.

Looks like he has good size hands

[El Gallo]

This is Prince Smalls. Son of ex pro and local favorite Tiger Smalls. Prince makes his pro featherweight debut in Tijuana at the Auditorium Friday,March 22nd. Prince is trained by his father. Will keep my fingers crossed for the kid.

Looks like he has good size hands

Charley, Prince is a 6'1" featherweight.

[CNorkusJr]

his hands are probably 20 lbs of his total weight if not more

[El Gallo]

his hands are probably 20 lbs of his total weight if not more

He's a puncher, slick boxer. The whole package!

[dagosd2000]

The Ugly Man

In the early 50's my dad was flush doing his odds and ends(I'll call it that)for the Outfit in Chicago. Disneyland on the coast was going to open up and us kids wanted to be there for that one. So my dad sent my mother and sisters and my "nana" on the Super Chief out to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

It was the first time I'd seen palm trees,but was dissapointed when they told me no coconuts grew on them. But us kids weren't into seeing the local vegetation as much as going to Disneyland and seeing some movie stars.

Well Disneyland for me was a two edged sword. I was in wonderment the whole time seeing the different "lands" and going on the rides like the Safari Trip. But after I got off the Mad Hatter Teacup Ride all I wanted to do is kick Walt Disney in the balls. I never was so sick in my life.

We were out in California for two weeks. We went to one of the missions,the Farmers Market,and I remember eating at the Brown Derby. Leave it to my grandmother,Diamond Joe's wife,she orders spaghetti. The waiter says they don't have spaghetti,so my grandmother tells him the place ain't a real restaurant because they don't have spaghetti. She makes a fuss and finally I think someone went out and bought a can of Chef Boy R Dee and served it to her.She saw the ruse and said to the waiter the joint has no class and they wouldn't have any of this in Chicago.

I really liked the time at the Ambassador Hotel though. The swimming pool reminded me of a small lake and for lunch we ate at the Coconut Grove. They had palm trees on the tables with coconuts,but the coconuts were phony.

But I did see a few movie stars. I saw Rita Hayworth because her husband at the time,Dick Haymes, was singing there. I guess they had a big brouhaha in the lounge and afterwards I heard they got a divorce.I also saw Walter Cronkite. He wasn't a movie star,but I always saw him on TV doing the news so I counted him as a movie star. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were in the parking lot with their horses Trigger and Buttermilk peforming horse tricks and singing. That sure counted as movie stars.My mother also took us to see the Pinky Lee Show. Pinky Lee was sure a big fan with us kids and of course he was a movie star.

But I remember one day as we were waiting for the elevator to come down,I saw a movie star that I didn't recognize,but my mother sure did. Out of the elevator walked Victor McLaglen. My mother melted. Not like a swooning teenager,but like she saw a cute little boy. She smiled magnificantly.He walked past us. He was big as a mountain and had the ugliest face. But I looked at my mother and she couldn't take her eyes off him.
"Oh that was Victor McLaglen,"she said. "I've always liked him."
My mother was always ,too me and in real life, a very attractive woman.Males of all ages liked being around her. She made them feel at ease. She listened to men. It was a nurturing thing. But when I remembered Victor McLaglen's face at the time,I wondered what my mother was thinking.

Years later I saw John Ford's "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne,Maureen O'Hara,and Barry Fitzgerald. Victor McLaglen played the older brother of Maureen O'Hara. What a charming man.He was like a boy with this big bulk and craggy face. I loved the guy. He didn't like John Wayne because he liked his sister and finally at the end of the movie they get in a fight.John Wayne won ,but they became friends and John Wayne married Maureen O'Hara and Victor McLaglen married Mildred Natwick.

Later I found out that Victor McLaglen was a fighter and had fought Jack Johnson when Lil' Arthur was champ of the world.He probably could have kicked John Wayne's ass.
But now I know what my mother saw in Victor McLaglen. Sometimes uglier is prettier.



Victor McLaglen

[dagosd2000]

CORRECTION

Prince Smalls will be fighting in Tijuana March 29th not March 22nd. Saw him spar today. He looks very sharp. Doesn't seem like a kid making his pro debut. Got to credit his dad,Tiger Smalls,for preparing him in the amatuers and getting him ready in the gym.

[El Gallo]

The Ugly Man

In the early 50's my dad was flush doing his odds and ends(I'll call it that)for the Outfit in Chicago. Disneyland on the coast was going to open up and us kids wanted to be there for that one. So my dad sent my mother and sisters and my "nana" on the Super Chief out to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

It was the first time I'd seen palm trees,but was dissapointed when they told me no coconuts grew on them. But us kids weren't into seeing the local vegetation as much as going to Disneyland and seeing some movie stars.

Well Disneyland for me was a two edged sword. I was in wonderment the whole time seeing the different "lands" and going on the rides like the Safari Trip. But after I got off the Mad Hatter Teacup Ride all I wanted to do is kick Walt Disney in the balls. I never was so sick in my life.

We were out in California for two weeks. We went to one of the missions,the Farmers Market,and I remember eating at the Brown Derby. Leave it to my grandmother,Diamond Joe's wife,she orders spaghetti. The waiter says they don't have spaghetti,so my grandmother tells him the place ain't a real restaurant because they don't have spaghetti. She makes a fuss and finally I think someone went out and bought a can of Chef Boy R Dee and served it to her.She saw the ruse and said to the waiter the joint has no class and they wouldn't have any of this in Chicago.

I really liked the time at the Ambassador Hotel though. The swimming pool reminded me of a small lake and for lunch we ate at the Coconut Grove. They had palm trees on the tables with coconuts,but the coconuts were phony.

But I did see a few movie stars. I saw Rita Hayworth because her husband at the time,Dick Haymes, was singing there. I guess they had a big brouhaha in the lounge and afterwards I heard they got a divorce.I also saw Walter Cronkite. He wasn't a movie star,but I always saw him on TV doing the news so I counted him as a movie star. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were in the parking lot with their horses Trigger and Buttermilk peforming horse tricks and singing. That sure counted as movie stars.My mother also took us to see the Pinky Lee Show. Pinky Lee was sure a big fan with us kids and of course he was a movie star.

But I remember one day as we were waiting for the elevator to come down,I saw a movie star that I didn't recognize,but my mother sure did. Out of the elevator walked Victor McLaglen. My mother melted. Not like a swooning teenager,but like she saw a cute little boy. She smiled magnificantly.He walked past us. He was big as a mountain and had the ugliest face. But I looked at my mother and she couldn't take her eyes off him.
"Oh that was Victor McLaglen,"she said. "I've always liked him."
My mother was always ,too me and in real life, a very attractive woman.Males of all ages liked being around her. She made them feel at ease. She listened to men. It was a nurturing thing. But when I remembered Victor McLaglen's face at the time,I wondered what my mother was thinking.

Years later I saw John Ford's "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne,Maureen O'Hara,and Barry Fitzgerald. Victor McLaglen played the older brother of Maureen O'Hara. What a charming man.He was like a boy with this big bulk and craggy face. I loved the guy. He didn't like John Wayne because he liked his sister and finally at the end of the movie they get in a fight.John Wayne won ,but they became friends and John Wayne married Maureen O'Hara and Victor McLaglen married Mildred Natwick.

Later I found out that Victor McLaglen was a fighter and had fought Jack Johnson when Lil' Arthur was champ of the world.He probably could have kicked John Wayne's ass.
But now I know what my mother saw in Victor McLaglen. Sometimes uglier is prettier.



Victor McLaglen

[El Gallo]

CORRECTION

Prince Smalls will be fighting in Tijuana March 29th not March 22nd. Saw him spar today. He looks very sharp. Doesn't seem like a kid making his pro debut. Got to credit his dad,Tiger Smalls,for preparing him in the amatuers and getting him ready in the gym.

Thank you, Roger! I will repost this photo. Thanks for the update!

[dagosd2000]

Mothers And Sons

"Oh no I never saw Rocky fight in person,"said the big heavy set woman.
Every time I went to Mexicali I would drop by to visit Estrellita and see how she was doing.Her son was once the champion of the world. He was very popular in Mexico and in Latin America. He could punch and that's what the aficianados wanted from him. They liked blood and he gave it to them. Sometimes it was his own, but that made him even more magnficant in victory.
"Not even on the television?"I asked.
"No never. Nor did I even listen to him fight on the radio."
She sat beneath a portrait of her son in his boxing pose.Estrellita had on a dress with all kinds of flowers printed on it . She wore thick glasses. She held her small hands in her lap.
"What did you do when he had a fight?"
"I prayed for him and I prayed for the boy he was fighting."
"Well,he never got hurt,"I said.
"Thank God. But that time he sent that other boy to the hospital,I prayed with everything I had in me."
"I remember that. He came out of it,but never fought again."
"Rocky paid for his hospital bills and visited the family."
"Rocky was a good boy."
"Yes,he was a good son. I would make his father his lunch and yell out the door,'Rocky,time to go to the mill and give your father his lunch'".I put the food in a brown bag and Rocky would ride his bike to the mill and give his father his lunch."
"Rocky bought you this house,"I said.
"Yes,for his father and me. When he won the title he made his father stop working at the mill."
Estrellita sighed and looked up above the rim of her glasses.
"You know when he died,his father never recovered from that,"she said still looking up.
"I remember he was always at Rocky's fights."
Estrellita took a deep breath.
"Did you know Rocky could not live without having my tamales in his house. His wife was a bad cook."
"You must miss him a lot,"I said trying to say the right thing.
She then looked at me .
"You know I always prayed for the boys he fought because they had mothers too."