Classic American West Coast Boxing

[Randyman]

My daughter Meranda gave Jeri and I two tickets, for Christmas, to see Merle Haggard tomorrow night at the Pechanga Hotel and Casino. I'm really looking forward to it. It's been years since I've seen him. We saw him in 1982 and a few years later, around '84 or so.

Randy DD

[kikibalt]

Also I found your website Franks site a lot of nice pictures on there you still got your harley.

No, I sold it when I came down with cancer.

[dagosd2000]

PICKING YOURSELF UP

On PBS they've been running a series on emotional well being.Part of what I saw had to do with people overcoming their fears. Conquering something they've always been afraid of.

A psychiatrist was saying that many people try to avoid conflicts and that is not healthy nor realistic. He said there are always going to be problems. These problems need to be addressed. Often one's imagination tells him that he will be defeated when in actuality the problem can be solved.

It made me think of boxing as an analogy. I think the greatest victory for a fighter is when he is knocked down he then picks himself off the canvas and comes back to win.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0a5n4ySxDk

Archie Moore vs. Yvon Durelle I

Archie Moore's greatest victory.

[dagosd2000]

I heard Archie Moore say this about the first Durelle fight. He used to say this all the time with a wink and a smile when asked about the first knock down.
"The first thing I could remember was Jack Sharkey saying '5'. I figured I better get up because I didn't remember anything before that."

[bennie]

Billy Baxter and I still see him at the world series of poker every year and btw I wouldnt ever bet on a guy like Mayweather unless he had a chin transplant,I mean I thought technically speaking Roger was a good fighter but his chin was maybe the worst that I have ever seen on a championship fighter

Baxter!, Billy Baxter, that the dude that wanted to bet purses

He certainly knew how to throw his boys in at the deep end. He pretty much ruined Minsker, although Andy was plagued with bad hands.

[Rick Farris]

A new year, a new gig . . .

Today I begin lighting an established TV series, "Ghost Whisperer", at Universal.
The studio is close to my home, good people on the crew.
I haven't worked with Jennifer Love Hewitt since she was 14-years-old, back in '93 on Sister Act-2.
She's no longer a kid.


-Rick Farris

Good luck on your new gig Rick

Rick
My grandson was just over from his Christmas break. He's attending San Francisco Art Institute. I told him I had a friend who's a lighting tech. Been working it for years. Maybe next time when he's in town and when you're shooting,you can show him the ropes.He lives in Orange County. He wants to make movies one day.

Roger . . . Whenever your grandson is in town, and I'm working on a film set, he is welcome to visit as my guest.
Depending on the production, I can sometimes leave my set for awhile and take him to visit other productions on other stages.
I'm down for three episodes of Ghost Whisperer, and then I hope to be starting a major feature. Your family is always welcome on a set I work.


-

[bennie]

“Braveheart” Ricky Burns ventures to The Lion’s Den when he challenges WBO super-featherweight king Roman Martinez in Puerto Rico on March 6.
Burns, ranked No. 1 by the WBO and from Coatbridge near Glasgow, treads the path trodden by Edinburgh great Ken Buchanan 40 years ago when “Kenny” pulled off one of the biggest wins in the history of British boxing in September 1970 with a dazzling 15-round decision over Panama’s Ismael Laguna in the overwhelming heat of San Juan for the world lightweight title.
Burns hopes that history will repeat itself.
The tall, clever Scot has lost only to Alex Arthur and Carl Johanneson in 29 outings - both on points in 12-rounders. He is on a winning run of 12 since the hard-hitting "Ingemar" Johanneson denied him for the British title in Leeds in February 2007 and is undeniably improved, picking up the Commonwealth super-featherweight title in 2008 and retaining it three times.
However, he is not a big puncher and “Rocky” Martinez won the WBO belt with a stunning four-round stoppage of Dagenham’s Nicky Cook in Manchester early last year and defended with a nine-round knockout of Colombia’s Feider Viloria in Puerto Rico in September. He most definitely is a puncher, unbeaten in 24 outings and always dangerous. Martinez was struggling against Cook when he pulled out a beautiful left uppercut to turn the fight his way. Cook, a lanky fellow like Burns, was down twice.
This equates to a trip to Hell for our Ricky.

[dagosd2000]

Rick
My grandson was just over from his Christmas break. He's attending San Francisco Art Institute. I told him I had a friend who's a lighting tech. Been working it for years. Maybe next time when he's in town and when you're shooting,you can show him the ropes.He lives in Orange County. He wants to make movies one day.[/quote]

Roger . . . Whenever your grandson is in town, and I'm working on a film set, he is welcome to visit as my guest.
Depending on the production, I can sometimes leave my set for awhile and take him to visit other productions on other stages.
I'm down for three episodes of Ghost Whisperer, and then I hope to be starting a major feature. Your family is always welcome on a set I work.

Thanks Rick.I'll let you know when he comes down again. I think that would be a great experience for him. Rog

[dagosd2000]

Max Baer

[kikibalt]

Vincente Saldivar vs Howard Winstone

June 15,1967

[Rick Farris]

Vincente Saldivar vs Howard Winstone

June 15,1967

Saldivar . . .

As we watch today's crop of featherweights, and hear the ringside announcers tout there "greatness", I can't help but think of Vicente Saldivar.
I saw him live, more than once in L.A., and I grew up in boxing reading of this brilliant southpaw.
Like so many past greats that were not given the media exposure or showcased on cable TV internationally, he is an unknown entitiy.
We hear people touting a BUM like Prince Naseem, for example, as a great featherweight? The guy took one ass-whipping and disappeared. Lucky for him he didn't attempt to ply his trade in L.A. in years past. His spirit would have been broken quickly, leaving him to find another way to make a buck.

Look at Saldivar's record. He retired unbeaten, came back to re-win the title a few years later. The competition was strong in those days.

Viva Vicente!


-Rick Farris

[kikibalt]

Courtesy Rick Farris



Rick Farris (L) vs. Jose Mendoza
The Forum, 1972. Referee- Dick Young

[kikibalt]

Thanks for the photo Rick....

[dagosd2000]

Vincente Saldivar vs Howard Winstone

June 15,1967

Saldivar . . .

As we watch today's crop of featherweights, and hear the ringside announcers tout there "greatness", I can't help but think of Vicente Saldivar.
I saw him live, more than once in L.A., and I grew up in boxing reading of this brilliant southpaw.
Like so many past greats that were not given the media exposure or showcased on cable TV internationally, he is an unknown entitiy.
We hear people touting a BUM like Prince Naseem, for example, as a great featherweight? The guy took one ass-whipping and disappeared. Lucky for him he didn't attempt to ply his trade in L.A. in years past. His spirit would have been broken quickly, leaving him to find another way to make a buck.

Look at Saldivar's record. He retired unbeaten, came back to re-win the title a few years later. The competition was strong in those days.

Viva Vicente!


-Rick Farris

Rick
I mentioned this before. I saw Saldiver lose his first fight and his title in the Municipal Auditorium in TJ. Saldivar always was a strong fighter. Constantly stalking his opponent until he wore him down. The night he lost to Shibata he didn't have his old strength. I think everyone was waiting to see Saldivar get stronger as the fight progressed,but you could see him waning. It was eerie to watch. Finally he couldn't continue in the 12th round. Later he said he got hit in the throat and had a hard time breathing. i think it was all the drinking and late night partying that finally caught up with him. A few years later he met another "strongman",Eder Jofre. Vicente was through by then.

[dagosd2000]

PUNCH DRUNK

I wonder sometimes when a fighter knows he's had it and doesn't stand a chance. I've seen a few of those boys go into the ring not exactly sober. One guy ,I know had laced the water bottle with vodka. It was all for the dough anyway. The manager. The trainer. Hell, they still had a cash cow. If their charge wanted to go in their under the influence of a liquid anesthetic...well it wasn't the corner men that were going to take the beating.

Then when it got to the point that a guy couldn't get a fight. Lost his license. Couldn't pass a physical.It was finally over and done with. Maybe there were people that told him to stop long ago,but then he had to make a living. Fighters have told me that fighting was better than working to make a buck. I'll drink to that.

[Rick Farris]

Vincente Saldivar vs Howard Winstone

June 15,1967

Saldivar . . .

As we watch today's crop of featherweights, and hear the ringside announcers tout there "greatness", I can't help but think of Vicente Saldivar.
I saw him live, more than once in L.A., and I grew up in boxing reading of this brilliant southpaw.
Like so many past greats that were not given the media exposure or showcased on cable TV internationally, he is an unknown entitiy.
We hear people touting a BUM like Prince Naseem, for example, as a great featherweight? The guy took one ass-whipping and disappeared. Lucky for him he didn't attempt to ply his trade in L.A. in years past. His spirit would have been broken quickly, leaving him to find another way to make a buck.

Look at Saldivar's record. He retired unbeaten, came back to re-win the title a few years later. The competition was strong in those days.

Viva Vicente!


-Rick Farris

Rick
I mentioned this before. I saw Saldiver lose his first fight and his title in the Municipal Auditorium in TJ. Saldivar always was a strong fighter. Constantly stalking his opponent until he wore him down. The night he lost to Shibata he didn't have his old strength. I think everyone was waiting to see Saldivar get stronger as the fight progressed,but you could see him waning. It was eerie to watch. Finally he couldn't continue in the 12th round. Later he said he got hit in the throat and had a hard time breathing. i think it was all the drinking and late night partying that finally caught up with him. A few years later he met another "strongman",Eder Jofre. Vicente was through by then.

Roger . . . I appreciate your take on the Saldivar-Shibata fight. I didn't expect Saldivar to fall to Kiniaki Shibata. I realize Shibata might be Japan's all-time featherweight great, but Saldivar was a legend. More important, he was the best Mexican featherweight of the era, in my opinion. An all-time great world champion. He was a brilliant boxing southpaw who could bang and beat great fighters from early on . . . besides the great Mexicans, he whipped Ismael Laguna, Sugar Ramos, Raul Rojas and contenders from every corner of the world. In 1967, Dwight Hawkins flattened Shibata in seven. They carried him out on a stretcher with a towel covering his face. In '63. Saldivar had stopped Hawkins (something that impresses me.) Jofre, the vegetarian and non-partier, had aged well, lost only to Harada when weight was an issue, took a little time off (like Saldivar had). Not a good match for a worn out guy who liked to drink. I enjoyed hearing what you saw that day in TJ, and I wish I'd been with you to see it.


-Rick Farris

[Rick Farris]

Vicente Saldivar

birth date 1943-03-05
death date 1985-07-18
division featherweight
stance southpaw
height 5′ 3″ / 160cm
residence Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
won 37 (KO 26) + lost 3 (KO 2) + drawn 0 = 40
rounds boxed 291 KO% 65
---------------------------------------


1973-10-21 125¾ Eder Jofre 124¼ 64-2-4
Ginasio Antonio Balbino, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil L KO 4 15
~ WBC featherweight title ~

1971-07-15 128 Frankie Crawford 128 35-10-4
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States W UD 10 10
~ referee: Lee Grossman 7-2 | judge: Larry Rozadilla 7-2 | judge: John Thomas 7-3 ~

1970-12-11 125 Kuniaki Shibata 126 31-2-2
Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico L RTD 12 15
~ time: 3:00 | referee: Ray Solis 114-116 | judge: Ramon Espinoza 116-117 | judge: Carlos Ruanova 114-116 ~
~ WBC featherweight title ~

1970-05-09 126 Johnny Famechon 124¼ 56-4-6
Palazzo Dello Sport, Rome, Lazio, Italy W UD 15 15
~ referee: Harry Gibbs ~
~ WBC featherweight title ~

1969-07-18 127½ Jose Legra 127 111-7-4
Forum, Inglewood, California, United States W UD 10 10
~ referee: John Thomas 8-3 | judge: Rudy Jordan 6-4 | judge: Lee Grossman 7-4 ~
Saldivar comes out of a brief retirement. Saldivar was knocked down in the 3rd round.

1967-10-14 125½ Howard Winstone 125¼ 59-4-0
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W TKO 12 15
~ time: 2:10 ~
~ WBC featherweight title ~
~ WBA World featherweight title ~
Winstone was knocked down in the 7th and 12th rounds. Winstone's manager Eddie Thomas threw in the towel.
Saldivar announced retirement shortly afterwards

1967-06-15 125¼ Howard Winstone 125 59-3-0
Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom W PTS 15 15x3
~ referee: Wally Thom 73¾-73¼ ~
~ WBC featherweight title ~
~ WBA World featherweight title ~

1967-01-29 125½ Mitsunori Seki 126 55-9-1
El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W TKO 7 15
~ time: 1:58 ~
~ WBC featherweight title ~
~ WBA World featherweight title ~

1966-08-07 124½ Mitsunori Seki 124 54-8-1
Plaza Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W UD 15 15
~ WBC featherweight title ~
~ WBA World featherweight title ~

1966-02-12 123½ Floyd Robertson 124¼ 24-9-4
Plaza Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W KO 2 15
~ time: 2:29 ~
~ WBC featherweight title ~
~ WBA World featherweight title ~

1965-09-07 125¾ Howard Winstone 125¼ 53-2-0
Earls Court Arena, Kensington, London, United Kingdom W PTS 15 15x3
~ referee: Bill Williams ~
~ WBC featherweight title ~
~ WBA World featherweight title ~

1965-05-07 124¾ Raul Rojas 125½ 23-0-1
Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States W TKO 15 15
~ time: 2:50 | referee: Tommy Hart 12-2 | judge: Joey Olmos 8-4 | judge: Lee Grossman 11-2 ~
~ WBC featherweight title ~
~ WBA World featherweight title ~

1964-12-06 Delfino Rosales 16-7-1
Leon, Baja California, Mexico W TKO 11 15
~ Mexico featherweight title ~
Boxing News December 18, 1964

1964-09-26 125 Sugar Ramos 124½ 45-1-3
El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W RTD 12 15
~ WBC featherweight title ~
~ WBA World featherweight title ~

1964-06-01 126 Ismael Laguna 125 34-1-0
Plaza de Toros, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico W PTS 10 10
Boxing News June 12, 1964

1964-04-04 125 Eduardo Guerrero 125 37-11-3
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W PTS 12 12
~ Mexico featherweight title ~

1964-02-08 Juan Ramirez 41-10-4
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W TKO 2 12
~ Mexico featherweight title ~

1963-12-16 Felix Gutierrez 24-21-3
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico W TKO 3 10
1963-09-21 125¾ Beresford Francis 123½ 12-8-1
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W TKO 2 10
~ time: 2:52 ~

1963-07-13 Eloy Sanchez 32-17-1
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W KO 1 10
1963-06-12 Baby Luis 15-2-0
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W TKO 8 10
1963-04-19 Dwight Hawkins 21-13-3
Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico W KO 5 10
1963-03-16 126 Luis Chamaco Hernandez 127 14-7-1
Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico W KO 2 10
1962-12-29 Baby Luis 11-2-0
El Toreo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico L DQ 7 10
1962-12-16 Jorge Baby Salazar 35-14-3
Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico W KO 5 10
1962-11-17 Jose Lopez 18-6-1
Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico W PTS 10 10
1962-10-11 Luis Chamaco Hernandez 13-6-1
Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico W KO 1 10
1962-08-22 Alberto Soto 18-13-3
Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W TKO 2 10
1962-06-27 Indio Fernandez 1-1-0
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W TKO 6 10
1962-05-02 127 Genaro Gonzalez 126 3-3-0
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico W DQ 8 10
1962-04-04 Jorge Baby Salazar 32-11-3
Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico W KO 4 10
1962-03-18 Juan Zavala 0-3-1
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico W KO 10 10
1962-02-08 Rosendo Martinez 9-10-3
Huachinango, Puebla, Mexico W TKO 5 10
1962-01-06 127 Ernesto Beltran 128 5-2-1
Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico W KO 6 10
1961-12-03 Juan Rodriguez
Leon, Baja California, Mexico W TKO 6 10
1961-10-14 126 Jose Luis Mora 125 16-14-0
Huachinango, Puebla, Mexico W PTS 10 10
1961-05-20 Babe Lopez 9-11-2
Leon, Baja California, Mexico W KO 3 8
1961-04-16 132 Eduardo Meza 130 11-17-1
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico W KO 3 8
1961-03-22 Frijol Gonzalez 1-1-0
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico W KO 4 6
1961-02-18 Baby Palacios 0-0-1
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico W KO 1 6

[kikibalt]

At 94, Los Angeles barber can still cut it

As business slows down at Elvie Lewis' barbershop on South Normandie, he's finally thinking of retirement. It's not something his clients like to consider.



Elvie Lewis, left, jokes with customer Robert Hunter after a haircut. (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times)

By Bob Pool

January 9, 2010

Past the iron-mesh security door and the empty, 20-foot-long vinyl waiting bench, Elvie Lewis gives his ancient barber's chair a slap with a striped towel to dust off the last stray wisps of hair from the customer he has just finished.

With a weary grin, Lewis plops down in the ornate chair and tugs a lever to make it recline. With his head back and his feet up, he closes his eyes.

"It isn't like it used to be. You couldn't even sit down, it was so busy. We kept this place full when I was in my prime," he says softly.

If business is a bit slow, Lewis has earned a break. He has been cutting hair for 62 years. At the age of 94, he likes to call himself Los Angeles' oldest barber.

These days, he still has a steady hand -- and an even steadier clientele. Longtime customers trickle in Tuesdays through Thursdays; a steady stream comes Fridays and Saturdays.

His regulars travel from as far as Palmdale to the three-chair shop on South Normandie Avenue that Lewis has operated since 1952. He started cutting hair in 1947.

Longtime customers praise his $15 haircuts and his upbeat attitude.

Through the years, Lewis mastered each new style that came along. There was the buzz cut of the 1950s, the bushy Afro of the '60s, the dreadlocks and cornrows of the '70s, the 1980s' mullet, the high-top fade of the '90s and today's high-and-tight.

"My favorite style is what they ask for," he says with a grin. In his zip-up barber's smock, the short, cheerful-looking Lewis favors his own receding gray hairline cropped short.

Customers say it's his smile and encouraging outlook on life -- just as much as the haircut he gives -- that keeps them coming back.

"He started doing this the same year that Jackie Robinson broke into the majors," says Derrick Blakey, 50, who has frequented the shop for 22 years.

For much of that time, Lewis has allowed Blakey to sell T-shirts embossed with uplifting sayings such as "Wealth Is Good Health" and "Think Positive" in the shop. "Mr. Lewis is more than a hairstylist. He's an artist," Blakey says. "And he's an encourager. He's supported everything I've done."

Luvert Pineset, a 73-year-old retired high-rise maintenance worker who travels from Palmdale for his trims, appreciates Lewis' old-school, gentlemanly manner. "He's a nice man," Pineset explains.

"He's still got a steady hand," adds Robert Hunter, 76, a former steelworker from South Los Angeles who has been going to Lewis for more than a decade.

Lewis puts in a 7 a.m.-to-5 p.m workday Tuesdays through Saturdays. He's on his feet whenever he's cutting hair, despite the aches and pains that come from living nine decades.

He walks with a cane now, and four years ago he turned in his driver's license, swapping it for a simple ID card from the state.

Why didn't he retire 30 years ago?

"Everybody I know who retires goes out and gets another job. I already have a job," he says. "I'm not a 'honey do' man, you know, 'Honey do this, honey do that.' If I'm going to work at home, I may as well be working here."

Lewis' wife of 56 years, Mary, drives him to and from the shop from their home on West 66th Street, about a mile away.

"About the only places I go are to church, this barbershop and the VA hospital," he says. "For 45 years, I went on vacation all over the United States and to places like the Bahamas. Now my favorite place is here."

Born in the Dallas area, Lewis landed in Los Angeles after World War II, where he served "three years, six months and eight days" with the U.S. Army, primarily in the Persian Gulf region.

He had worked in Texas before the war as a busboy at a Woolworth's lunch counter and knew that he wanted to work for himself. A stint at a barbershop's shoeshine stand convinced him that he could cut it as a barber.

"So after the war I went to barbers' school and then worked as an apprentice for 18 months in Long Beach. After that I opened my first shop near the corner of Long Beach and Vernon avenues. Then I came here," Lewis says. "This is a good location."

Between customers, Lewis relaxes in one of his vintage barber chairs as he watches the passing parade outside the shop, tucked between a Mexican restaurant and an auto repair shop.

His favorite chair is a circa-1927 model produced by Emil J. Paidar of Chicago, according to the emblem stamped on its stainless steel footrest. He acquired the antique, along with two similar ones, when he bought his shop.

Pulling himself out of the chair, Lewis steps slowly toward a shelf lined with bottles of hair tonic and scented after-shave lotions. He rifles through a pile of magazines stacked near an old-fashioned manual cash register and pulls out a worn barber supply magazine.

He flips through it until he comes to an ad for an antique chair of the same vintage. It's listed with a sale price of $5,000.

Tossing the magazine back on the pile, Lewis rummages beneath a dog-eared copy of the 1996 Official Baseball Register that is used in ballgame discussions with customers, and pulls out another publication.

It is a directory, dated 1991, from Second Baptist Church, which Lewis and his wife attend. He proudly opens it to the page containing the couple's picture. "And that's my daughter," he says, pointing to a photo of Elva Brooks posted on the wall above the cash register.

Although his shop hasn't changed much since he took it over in 1952, the neighborhood has. The once predominantly African American area now has a heavy Latino presence. Younger men and boys are likely to seek out a spiffier-looking place than one with mid-century mirrors and sinks and ornate chairs. In fact, a pristine, modern hair salon has just opened four doors south of Lewis' shop.

"In the old days, all three chairs were busy. I had police, priests, businesspeople all coming in here. I'd tell them, 'If you've got the hair, I've got the time,' " Lewis says. "Now I only have another barber on Fridays and Saturdays."

Troy Samwel has been the shop's second barber for six years. "He's a good man, the best. He's like my daddy," Samwel says of his boss as he gives a customer in his mid-20s a buzz cut on a recent Friday. "I'm blessed to work with him -- I've learned so much. He always says to be yourself and mind your own business."

As good barbers do, Lewis knows to listen and agree and not debate when customers begin ranting about things such as politics, sports and red-light cameras at intersections.

"I've never had any drinking or cussing or smoking in here," Lewis says proudly. "This has been a good shop."

Still, Lewis sometimes thinks hard about retiring, even if his customers aren't eager for that to happen.

"I'm ready. When I do, I'm just going to stay home and sit down. I won't be looking for any part-time job. If I wanted to do that, I'd keep working here," he says.

He hasn't set a price for the place, or targeted a date when he'll lock up the shop for the last time.

But, Elvie Lewis says, "make an offer. You can take everything in here but me."

[email protected]

[dagosd2000]

Saldivar . . .

As we watch today's crop of featherweights, and hear the ringside announcers tout there "greatness", I can't help but think of Vicente Saldivar.
I saw him live, more than once in L.A., and I grew up in boxing reading of this brilliant southpaw.
Like so many past greats that were not given the media exposure or showcased on cable TV internationally, he is an unknown entitiy.
We hear people touting a BUM like Prince Naseem, for example, as a great featherweight? The guy took one ass-whipping and disappeared. Lucky for him he didn't attempt to ply his trade in L.A. in years past. His spirit would have been broken quickly, leaving him to find another way to make a buck.

Look at Saldivar's record. He retired unbeaten, came back to re-win the title a few years later. The competition was strong in those days.

Viva Vicente!


-Rick Farris

Rick
I mentioned this before. I saw Saldiver lose his first fight and his title in the Municipal Auditorium in TJ. Saldivar always was a strong fighter. Constantly stalking his opponent until he wore him down. The night he lost to Shibata he didn't have his old strength. I think everyone was waiting to see Saldivar get stronger as the fight progressed,but you could see him waning. It was eerie to watch. Finally he couldn't continue in the 12th round. Later he said he got hit in the throat and had a hard time breathing. i think it was all the drinking and late night partying that finally caught up with him. A few years later he met another "strongman",Eder Jofre. Vicente was through by then.

Roger . . . I appreciate your take on the Saldivar-Shibata fight. I didn't expect Saldivar to fall to Kiniaki Shibata. I realize Shibata might be Japan's all-time featherweight great, but Saldivar was a legend. More important, he was the best Mexican featherweight of the era, in my opinion. An all-time great world champion. He was a brilliant boxing southpaw who could bang and beat great fighters from early on . . . besides the great Mexicans, he whipped Ismael Laguna, Sugar Ramos, Raul Rojas and contenders from every corner of the world. In 1967, Dwight Hawkins flattened Shibata in seven. They carried him out on a stretcher with a towel covering his face. In '63. Saldivar had stopped Hawkins (something that impresses me.) Jofre, the vegetarian and non-partier, had aged well, lost only to Harada when weight was an issue, took a little time off (like Saldivar had). Not a good match for a worn out guy who liked to drink. I enjoyed hearing what you saw that day in TJ, and I wish I'd been with you to see it.


-Rick Farris

Rick
Looking back on it now,it would have been a great night if you'd been there with me to watch it. Boom Boom Club watch out!

[dagosd2000]

At 94, Los Angeles barber can still cut it

As business slows down at Elvie Lewis' barbershop on South Normandie, he's finally thinking of retirement. It's not something his clients like to consider.



Elvie Lewis, left, jokes with customer Robert Hunter after a haircut. (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times)

By Bob Pool

January 9, 2010

Past the iron-mesh security door and the empty, 20-foot-long vinyl waiting bench, Elvie Lewis gives his ancient barber's chair a slap with a striped towel to dust off the last stray wisps of hair from the customer he has just finished.

With a weary grin, Lewis plops down in the ornate chair and tugs a lever to make it recline. With his head back and his feet up, he closes his eyes.

"It isn't like it used to be. You couldn't even sit down, it was so busy. We kept this place full when I was in my prime," he says softly.

If business is a bit slow, Lewis has earned a break. He has been cutting hair for 62 years. At the age of 94, he likes to call himself Los Angeles' oldest barber.

These days, he still has a steady hand -- and an even steadier clientele. Longtime customers trickle in Tuesdays through Thursdays; a steady stream comes Fridays and Saturdays.

His regulars travel from as far as Palmdale to the three-chair shop on South Normandie Avenue that Lewis has operated since 1952. He started cutting hair in 1947.

Longtime customers praise his $15 haircuts and his upbeat attitude.

Through the years, Lewis mastered each new style that came along. There was the buzz cut of the 1950s, the bushy Afro of the '60s, the dreadlocks and cornrows of the '70s, the 1980s' mullet, the high-top fade of the '90s and today's high-and-tight.

"My favorite style is what they ask for," he says with a grin. In his zip-up barber's smock, the short, cheerful-looking Lewis favors his own receding gray hairline cropped short.

Customers say it's his smile and encouraging outlook on life -- just as much as the haircut he gives -- that keeps them coming back.

"He started doing this the same year that Jackie Robinson broke into the majors," says Derrick Blakey, 50, who has frequented the shop for 22 years.

For much of that time, Lewis has allowed Blakey to sell T-shirts embossed with uplifting sayings such as "Wealth Is Good Health" and "Think Positive" in the shop. "Mr. Lewis is more than a hairstylist. He's an artist," Blakey says. "And he's an encourager. He's supported everything I've done."

Luvert Pineset, a 73-year-old retired high-rise maintenance worker who travels from Palmdale for his trims, appreciates Lewis' old-school, gentlemanly manner. "He's a nice man," Pineset explains.

"He's still got a steady hand," adds Robert Hunter, 76, a former steelworker from South Los Angeles who has been going to Lewis for more than a decade.

Lewis puts in a 7 a.m.-to-5 p.m workday Tuesdays through Saturdays. He's on his feet whenever he's cutting hair, despite the aches and pains that come from living nine decades.

He walks with a cane now, and four years ago he turned in his driver's license, swapping it for a simple ID card from the state.

Why didn't he retire 30 years ago?

"Everybody I know who retires goes out and gets another job. I already have a job," he says. "I'm not a 'honey do' man, you know, 'Honey do this, honey do that.' If I'm going to work at home, I may as well be working here."

Lewis' wife of 56 years, Mary, drives him to and from the shop from their home on West 66th Street, about a mile away.

"About the only places I go are to church, this barbershop and the VA hospital," he says. "For 45 years, I went on vacation all over the United States and to places like the Bahamas. Now my favorite place is here."

Born in the Dallas area, Lewis landed in Los Angeles after World War II, where he served "three years, six months and eight days" with the U.S. Army, primarily in the Persian Gulf region.

He had worked in Texas before the war as a busboy at a Woolworth's lunch counter and knew that he wanted to work for himself. A stint at a barbershop's shoeshine stand convinced him that he could cut it as a barber.

"So after the war I went to barbers' school and then worked as an apprentice for 18 months in Long Beach. After that I opened my first shop near the corner of Long Beach and Vernon avenues. Then I came here," Lewis says. "This is a good location."

Between customers, Lewis relaxes in one of his vintage barber chairs as he watches the passing parade outside the shop, tucked between a Mexican restaurant and an auto repair shop.

His favorite chair is a circa-1927 model produced by Emil J. Paidar of Chicago, according to the emblem stamped on its stainless steel footrest. He acquired the antique, along with two similar ones, when he bought his shop.

Pulling himself out of the chair, Lewis steps slowly toward a shelf lined with bottles of hair tonic and scented after-shave lotions. He rifles through a pile of magazines stacked near an old-fashioned manual cash register and pulls out a worn barber supply magazine.

He flips through it until he comes to an ad for an antique chair of the same vintage. It's listed with a sale price of $5,000.

Tossing the magazine back on the pile, Lewis rummages beneath a dog-eared copy of the 1996 Official Baseball Register that is used in ballgame discussions with customers, and pulls out another publication.

It is a directory, dated 1991, from Second Baptist Church, which Lewis and his wife attend. He proudly opens it to the page containing the couple's picture. "And that's my daughter," he says, pointing to a photo of Elva Brooks posted on the wall above the cash register.

Although his shop hasn't changed much since he took it over in 1952, the neighborhood has. The once predominantly African American area now has a heavy Latino presence. Younger men and boys are likely to seek out a spiffier-looking place than one with mid-century mirrors and sinks and ornate chairs. In fact, a pristine, modern hair salon has just opened four doors south of Lewis' shop.

"In the old days, all three chairs were busy. I had police, priests, businesspeople all coming in here. I'd tell them, 'If you've got the hair, I've got the time,' " Lewis says. "Now I only have another barber on Fridays and Saturdays."

Troy Samwel has been the shop's second barber for six years. "He's a good man, the best. He's like my daddy," Samwel says of his boss as he gives a customer in his mid-20s a buzz cut on a recent Friday. "I'm blessed to work with him -- I've learned so much. He always says to be yourself and mind your own business."

As good barbers do, Lewis knows to listen and agree and not debate when customers begin ranting about things such as politics, sports and red-light cameras at intersections.

"I've never had any drinking or cussing or smoking in here," Lewis says proudly. "This has been a good shop."

Still, Lewis sometimes thinks hard about retiring, even if his customers aren't eager for that to happen.

"I'm ready. When I do, I'm just going to stay home and sit down. I won't be looking for any part-time job. If I wanted to do that, I'd keep working here," he says.

He hasn't set a price for the place, or targeted a date when he'll lock up the shop for the last time.

But, Elvie Lewis says, "make an offer. You can take everything in here but me."

[email protected]

Nice story Frank
Always nice to hear stuff about a guy like Elvie Lewis. South Central LA. is like TJ. Gets a lot of bad press. Most people in those neighborhoods are decent. Sounds like Elvie is a character.

BTW. When they talk about his barber chair being an antique. I'll go to TJ. and see the same thing. Barber shops with priceless old chairs. I saw a guy who had a small printing business on Negrete Street.Just enough space for him to move around. I looked at his printing press. I think he got it off of Ben Franklin. The thing has to be worth a fortune.

[kikibalt]

Roger....Nice to wake up to a good up-lifting story...

[dagosd2000]

22ND AND IMPERIAL

Oh I don't know if those guys are around anymore. They were old then. It's been more than twenty years. I doubt if anyone younger took over their spot. The spot was a lot in front of a small furniture store. It was a gathering hole for the retired and semi retired. Just men would sit out front. The owner of the furniture store didn't mind. Half the time he was out there with those guys too.

22nd and Imperial was mostly a Black neighborhood back then. Across the street was the welfare office. The welfare office used to be a Food Basket super market,but there was too much theft so they closed it up. The welfare office was put up in its place. I wonder how much theft went on in there?

The neighborhood was starting to run down. It was an area where there were a lot of hypes. More and more grafitti,gangs,but that lot out in front of the furniture store was holding its own.None of the riff raff would go there. I don't know if it was out of respect for those old men or whether the trouble makers knew they couldn't con those guys. All the town criers assembled there during the day. You'd see the old men sitting there with their walking canes beside them .The old timers would tell stories. Some of the stories were of what was happening around the neighborhood,but I liked the stories of what was told back in the day.

You might be wondering what a dago like myself was doing there listening to all this.Well, I ran with a lot of the fellas' that were on that Ghetto Messenger football team. They introduced me to that lot. There were no issues about race or color. Everyone was welcome to sit around and listen. I listened. I was too young to come up with anything though.

One time Archie Moore passed by. He was like everyone else. I remember one of those old timers brought up the Mongoose's fight with Johnny "The Bandit" Romero at the old Coliseum. Hell,that was back in the 30's.

Sometimes I wondered when Redd Foxx would stop in. I don't think he had to be anyone else but himself to play the role of Fred Sanford. It reminded me of guys like that.A bunch of characters. Happy. I'm tellin' ya' I never laughed so hard. And I never learned so much. How do you say it? "No egos allowed." No bull sh-t there.Except for some of those stories,but that just made that lot out in front of the furniture store even better.

[dagosd2000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eDUZ6hFXVU

That's Why I'm Crying

Koko Taylor

[kikibalt]

22ND AND IMPERIAL

Oh I don't know if those guys are around anymore. They were old then. It's been more than twenty years. I doubt if anyone younger took over their spot. The spot was a lot in front of a small furniture store. It was a gathering hole for the retired and semi retired. Just men would sit out front. The owner of the furniture store didn't mind. Half the time he was out there with those guys too.

22nd and Imperial was mostly a Black neighborhood back then. Across the street was the welfare office. The welfare office used to be a Food Basket super market,but there was too much theft so they closed it up. The welfare office was put up in its place. I wonder how much theft went on in there?

The neighborhood was starting to run down. It was an area where there were a lot of hypes. More and more grafitti,gangs,but that lot out in front of the furniture store was holding its own.None of the riff raff would go there. I don't know if it was out of respect for those old men or whether the trouble makers knew they couldn't con those guys. All the town criers assembled there during the day. You'd see the old men sitting there with their walking canes beside them .The old timers would tell stories. Some of the stories were of what was happening around the neighborhood,but I liked the stories of what was told back in the day.

You might be wondering what a dago like myself was doing there listening to all this.Well, I ran with a lot of the fellas' that were on that Ghetto Messenger football team. They introduced me to that lot. There were no issues about race or color. Everyone was welcome to sit around and listen. I listened. I was too young to come up with anything though.

One time Archie Moore passed by. He was like everyone else. I remember one of those old timers brought up the Mongoose's fight with Johnny "The Bandit" Romero at the old Coliseum. Hell,that was back in the 30's.

Sometimes I wondered when Redd Foxx would stop in. I don't think he had to be anyone else but himself to play the role of Fred Sanford. It reminded me of guys like that.A bunch of characters. Happy. I'm tellin' ya' I never laughed so hard. And I never learned so much. How do you say it? "No egos allowed." No bull sh-t there.Except for some of those stories,but that just made that lot out in front of the furniture store even better.

Great story Roger....

[kikibalt]

Jimmy's Barber Shop..1980

James is six years old and is getting a hair cut, about ten of us guys're watching fights on CBS TV, guys're arguing for and against each fighter, Jimmy the barber is arguing for his guy who is lookin' good at the moment, a minute or so late Jimmy's guy is in trouble and ready to go, six year old James tells Jimmy "oh,oh Jimmy you boy had it"...