Jaclem wrote:..i can see how a reporter wouldn't know who bob satterfield was....but i can NOT see how any reporter wouldn't have checked to find out...it would be so easy to do....if this guy's claiming to be him was telling the truth.
Don't you know reporters are incompetent?
And the posters here get everything they post from these very "reporters."
Hi my name is Robert i was born in San bernadino Cal. raised in Santa Ana cal and now reside in Powell wy. im 21 yrs old. i encounterd champ on many occasions. i think the first time i was about 12 or so. At the time i was walkin home from school and saw a homeless man with a scraggly looking dog. He reeked of urine and always sipped on a bottle of thunderbird. hed tell me stories of how he used to box. hed always tell me " you know Robert, thats my name to, i used to be great i was once a boxer. i had lots of fights, beat up a lot of people and got beat up by a lot of people. they call me champ." champ became my best friend. id always see him walkin by Jerome park, which was right around the corner from my house. and hed come shuffling along and id run out and go talk to him. sneak him some food. and walk around with him. i always felt close to him and i loved to hear his stories. he used to tell me the reason why he was homeless was beacuse his manager told him to throw a fight (i forget who he was fighting) but he was supposed to fight this person again for a bigger purse and the fight never happend. he told me that he fought or sparred with Rocky Marciano i dont remember which. the last time i seen him he was sweeping the side walk. A man by the name of Mr. Moss would pay him to sweep up his place. and i walked up to him and he seen me his eyes glistend and he greeted me " hey champ" ( he called me champ for some reason) "hows it going young man? how is school? you boxing yet? you know you should be a boxer your a pritty big boy you could do some damage." and i jus laughed talked to him for a minute and bak across the street to my house. i gatherd up about 5 pairs of pants a bunch of old shirts some shoes and a belt and gave it to him. he was so happy that he came over and swept my sidewalk. i told him he didnt have to but he was a stubborn old man. the reason i wrote this was to share an experience i had. i respect him alot. he was a great friend.
i do not know if he was Bob Satterfield or Tommy Harrison but he will always be champ to me.
rob.. a very nice, touching story. so many people just ignore those who live on the streets, forgetting that they are human beings who have the same needs and feelings that all of us do..and there are many reasons why they have come to this sad condition. i see a lot of these people around chicago, have talked to more than a few and i find it amazing how many of them maintain some kind of inner dignity.
... as for his identity i can assure you without question he was not bob satterfield.
Last edited by Jaclem on 26 Aug 2007, 23:53, edited 2 times in total.
Somewhat reminds me of my own experience with a local drunk several years ago. There were so many stories told about him, that he was in Vietnam, went nuts, tried to steal a helicopter, etc that it was very hard to believe in such stories, and his mind was so fried from moonshine and dope he didn't know where the hell he ever was or who was talking to him.
Sadly he died after getting hit by a car while riding his bike, like he always did. I guess it was inevitable, because we always told him if he kept riding his bike like he did while drunk he'd get run over, jokingly. Unfortunately it did happen, just like we all said.
Then the truth did come out: He was one of the very few who came from my town who really did go to Vietnam, and he recieved a 'Dear John' letter from his fiance, and he did indeed have an incident with a helicopter, I guess in the hopes to try and get back to his would-be wife to change her mind...and when he came back after the war was over, he found she was married and from then on out, he became willingly a homeless burnt out drunk and doper.
Puts alot of things into perspective, really, that the people you don't pay much respect or attention to, have lived one helluva life and one that you couldn't believe until you saw the evidence.
Yari Film Group's "Resurrecting the Champ," with Samuel L. Jackson as a former boxer now living on the streets and Josh Hartnett as a sportswriter who chronicles the man's story, opened weakly with $1.85 million.
i cant wait to see the movie itll probably a couple weeks cause i live in a very small town. from what it looks like Sam Jackson looks kinda like him cept for the dreads. Hes got some big shoes to fill, Champ was a good man. do anything for anybody. i dunno if he has passed away does anyone know if he has?
