BoxRec

dagosd2000 wrote:THE CUSTOM

When guys got whacked during prohibition times,it was always a mistake. At least the guys behind the hit said that. When my grandfather "Diamond Joe" Esposito was murdered down the street from his house on Oakley Boulevard,his wife(my grandmother)and her daughter Jeanette(my aunt)went to Al Capone for an answer.
"It was a mistake",Capone said to them.
What were they going to do? Supposedly my grandfather was worth about 10 mil,had a country home on Bass Lake in Indiana,and the Bella Napoli Cafe which was one of the posh spots in the city. Capone ate his spaghetti there every night when his mother wasn't dishin' it out to him. One time Bugs Moran's boys offered ten thousand dollars to the cook to poison Capone's pasta. The cook tipped Big Al off. Moran's boys were sleeping with the fish in Lake Michgan after that.

As was the custom,Al Capone took my father in with him. But Capone stole all my grandfather's dough,but looked after my dad.A custom? Hell,I never understood it. He took my grandfather's rings. He had one so big he called it The Sun. A 50,000 dollar diamond studded money belt,the house on Bass lake,and The Bella Napoli were no longer under the name of Esposito.

Capone soon after contracted syphylis from when of the hookers he was bangin'. He wound up useless. The shooters who killed my grandfather? Within The Outfit(the name of the Chicago Italian mob) it was known who they were. The murderers car was found in the Melrose Park section of Chicago.The car belonged to the Barcellini brothers. Carl and Tony. Now it was my father that would draw blood.

After the war my father decided it was time to get even. He'd been a Marine at Pelileu and Okinawa. He'd done some "offin". One of the brothers who killed my grandfather was dead. Shot in a mob hit. The other was still walkin ' the streets,but not for long. Diamond Joe's son made restitution. I guess you would call it the custom.



"Diamond Joe" Esposito

Rick Farris wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:THE CUSTOM

When guys got whacked during prohibition times,it was always a mistake. At least the guys behind the hit said that. When my grandfather "Diamond Joe" Esposito was murdered down the street from his house on Oakley Boulevard,his wife(my grandmother)and her daughter Jeanette(my aunt)went to Al Capone for an answer.
"It was a mistake",Capone said to them.
What were they going to do? Supposedly my grandfather was worth about 10 mil,had a country home on Bass Lake in Indiana,and the Bella Napoli Cafe which was one of the posh spots in the city. Capone ate his spaghetti there every night when his mother wasn't dishin' it out to him. One time Bugs Moran's boys offered ten thousand dollars to the cook to poison Capone's pasta. The cook tipped Big Al off. Moran's boys were sleeping with the fish in Lake Michgan after that.

As was the custom,Al Capone took my father in with him. But Capone stole all my grandfather's dough,but looked after my dad.A custom? Hell,I never understood it. He took my grandfather's rings. He had one so big he called it The Sun. A 50,000 dollar diamond studded money belt,the house on Bass lake,and The Bella Napoli were no longer under the name of Esposito.

Capone soon after contracted syphylis from when of the hookers he was bangin'. He wound up useless. The shooters who killed my grandfather? Within The Outfit(the name of the Chicago Italian mob) it was known who they were. The murderers car was found in the Melrose Park section of Chicago.The car belonged to the Barcellini brothers. Carl and Tony. Now it was my father that would draw blood.

After the war my father decided it was time to get even. He'd been a Marine at Pelileu and Okinawa. He'd done some "offin". One of the brothers who killed my grandfather was dead. Shot in a mob hit. The other was still walkin ' the streets,but not for long. Diamond Joe's son made restitution. I guess you would call it the custom.



"Diamond Joe" Esposito

Roger . . . This is one of the best stories written on this thread. Maybe the best.
The painting of "Diamond Joe" is the perfect complement to a great piece, adding the final touch to win my vote as the best story to date.

-Rick Farris

kikibalt wrote:
To the left, the yellow building is the backside of what was once the "Hollywood Legion Stadium". To the right, the building featuring a picture of Kobe Bryant, is the "Henry Fonda Theatre". Below Kobe's image is the path to the back door of the "Blue Palm Bar". The theatre (I was told) was built in 1926 and was originally an Opera house.

-Rick Farris

dagosd2000 wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
To the left, the yellow building is the backside of what was once the "Hollywood Legion Stadium". To the right, the building featuring a picture of Kobe Bryant, is the "Henry Fonda Theatre". Below Kobe's image is the path to the back door of the "Blue Palm Bar". The theatre (I was told) was built in 1926 and was originally an Opera house.

-Rick Farris

I don't know how you guys feel,but I'd rather be lookin' at the Hollywood Legion Stadium maybe with a mural of Art Aragon on the front.

dagosd2000 wrote:THE CUSTOM

When guys got whacked during prohibition times,it was always a mistake. At least the guys behind the hit said that. When my grandfather "Diamond Joe" Esposito was murdered down the street from his house on Oakley Boulevard,his wife(my grandmother)and her daughter Jeanette(my aunt)went to Al Capone for an answer.
"It was a mistake",Capone said to them.
What were they going to do? Supposedly my grandfather was worth about 10 mil,had a country home on Bass Lake in Indiana,and the Bella Napoli Cafe which was one of the posh spots in the city. Capone ate his spaghetti there every night when his mother wasn't dishin' it out to him. One time Bugs Moran's boys offered ten thousand dollars to the cook to poison Capone's pasta. The cook tipped Big Al off. Moran's boys were sleeping with the fish in Lake Michgan after that.

As was the custom,Al Capone took my father in with him. But Capone stole all my grandfather's dough,but looked after my dad.A custom? Hell,I never understood it. He took my grandfather's rings. He had one so big he called it The Sun. A 50,000 dollar diamond studded money belt,the house on Bass lake,and The Bella Napoli were no longer under the name of Esposito.

Capone soon after contracted syphylis from when of the hookers he was bangin'. He wound up useless. The shooters who killed my grandfather? Within The Outfit(the name of the Chicago Italian mob) it was known who they were. The murderers car was found in the Melrose Park section of Chicago.The car belonged to the Barcellini brothers. Carl and Tony. Now it was my father that would draw blood.

After the war my father decided it was time to get even. He'd been a Marine at Pelileu and Okinawa. He'd done some "offin". One of the brothers who killed my grandfather was dead. Shot in a mob hit. The other was still walkin ' the streets,but not for long. Diamond Joe's son made restitution. I guess you would call it the custom.



"Diamond Joe" Esposito

kikibalt wrote:
This is the back door entrance of the "Blue Palms Bar", located across the alley behind the "Hollywood Legion Stadium". When it was time for an "eye opener", Hap Navarro would slip out of his office at the Legion, cross the alley and enter this very door. Once inside, it was very common to hear a voice coming from the bar . . . "Hap Navarro, I can knock you out in 42 rounds!" The voice belonged to the legendary Speedy Dado, Hap's cue to buy a round.

-Rick Farris

Rick Farris wrote:

Randyman wrote:
This is the photo from my boxing license in 1976.

The eyes say it all. "A Fighter".


-Rick

Dongee wrote:

kikibalt wrote:Courtesy of Hap Navarro



Thanks, Hap.

You are welcome, Frank.

That telegram was the current N.B.A.'s way of granting their approval to the bout. Notice that they sent it collect, first to my home in Leimert Park and then to the stadium. Mr. Saddy was the president at the time.

hap

Rick Farris wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:

kikibalt wrote:
To the left, the yellow building is the backside of what was once the "Hollywood Legion Stadium". To the right, the building featuring a picture of Kobe Bryant, is the "Henry Fonda Theatre". Below Kobe's image is the path to the back door of the "Blue Palm Bar". The theatre (I was told) was built in 1926 and was originally an Opera house.

-Rick Farris

I don't know how you guys feel,but I'd rather be lookin' at the Hollywood Legion Stadium maybe with a mural of Art Aragon on the front.

Roger, I agree. However, it seems boxing isn't completely lost to the area. On the N/E corner of Sunset Blvd. & El Centro, just a half block south of the Legion, a large mural has been painted on the wall of a parking structure. It shows Muhammad Ali smashing a jab into the face of Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams in a 1966 title defense. Still, if the artist knew anything of the area's boxing history, he might have painted an action image of L.A.'s real "Golden Boy" from one of the matches Hap Navarro made for him in the early 50's. Unfortunatly, most people's knowledge of boxing relates to Ali. If they only knew.

By the way, the mural I'm referring to will be posted here later. I found it ironic this mural, located just a half block from Hollywood's most cherished boxing memory. We will make sure anybody who drops into this thread is well schooled in this regard.

-Rick Farris

Rick Farris wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:

Randyman wrote:
This is the photo from my boxing license in 1976.

The eyes say it all. "A Fighter".


-Rick

Rick Farris wrote:Where Hap made it happen . . .

I started the morning talking with Frank on the phone. We shared some warm memories of Johnnie Flores, his brilliant story telling, etc. Now I was in the mood for some history, something to see and to share. I knew where to go, and where to look when I got there. The words of Hap Navarro were my guide. It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last because we are now reconstructing a brilliant era in Los Angeles boxing. Most true L.A. historians believe it to be Los Angeles' "Golden Era" of boxing.

Today, I am 57-years-old, I began my boxing career in L.A. nearly forty-five years ago. I believe this qualifies "my opinion", as I came up in a pretty hot era myself, the one that followed L.A.'s "Golden Era of Boxing". And just for the record, I am not ignorant to what went on in this town in previous eras of the last century, thanks to Mr. Navarro.

My wife had some business downtown, so we took care of it and then headed for Hollywood. We parked the car on El Centro, by the curb fronting the old Hollywood Legion Stadium, today a Balley's Fitness center. As I sat behind the wheel of my car, motor running, I asked Monica to photograph the building from across the street, and she wisely took the initiative to take another facing up the street, toward the Hollywood Hills. When she returned to the car she was smiling.

"I took one photo that shows the Hollywood Sign up in the hills," she said, "it lines up perfect with the Legion building."

I'd never noticed before, but she was right. It was as if the legendary "Hollywood Sign" was aligned with the building that once housed the city's most popular boxing arena. Maybe that's why the stars (movie stars) lined up in numbers to attend boxing matches at the "Hollywood Legion". There's something magic about the area.

This is still Hollywood, jaded and faded, but still where people come to find their dreams. In days past, many dreams were found under the roof of what is today a Balley's Fitness Center.

"Let's go around the corner and get a shot of the Blue Palms Bar, Hap's watering hole," I suggested. I just wanted a quick shot, nothing to artsy this time, just want the guys to get an idea. I'll go deeper later, inside the buildings, take better photos, get more info. After shooting the front, we went around to a side parking lot which gave me a shot of the building's back side, off the alley.

As I walked up to the back of the Henry Fonda Theatre, where I could access the Blue Palms back door, I see that the area is protected by a chain link fence. The theatre is now a music venue ("The Music Box") and rock bands load in-and-out back stage from there. A young rock band "roadie" was locking the gate when I jog up and ask, "You mind if I get a picture before you lock up?"

The young man smiled and said, "Go ahead." We struck up a brief conversation and I told him why I wanted to shoot the bar's rear door. I told him about the Hollywood Legion, what the bar once was to the fight crowd, etc. He was a boxing fan and seemed to enjoy the history. "Wow, I had no idea. That was a boxing arena, huh?" pointing to Balley's.

"Yes it was. One of the best in boxing history." I answered.


-Rick Farris

Rick Farris wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:

Randyman wrote:
This is the photo from my boxing license in 1976.

The eyes say it all. "A Fighter".


-Rick

kikibalt wrote: