Primo Carnera and Willie Ritchie
Classic American West Coast Boxing
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dagosd2000
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 8638
- Joined: 01 Sep 2007, 03:31
kikibalt wrote:Did you know that Cut and Shoot Harris is a lawyer?
Really? You know Frank there's an expression in Southern Italy"See Naples and Die". Now that I know Cut and Shoot is a lawyer,I'll think I"ll drop over dead.
BTW,I got away from the Forum for a few. Been listening to Little Willie G. and Thee Midniters. Been listening to "I Need Someone". It's on YouTube. Man does that remind me of East LA.
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dagosd2000
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 8638
- Joined: 01 Sep 2007, 03:31
Hey Frank 'ol Pal, I'm old. Old with memories. Stories like my father told me,watching old movies,watching old fight films,seeing the ex pugs at the Father/Son Banquet. That's why I like my wife's home town. Try to tear down one of those buildings built a hundred years ago. Looking at those fight programs and pics. Listening to Willie G. and Thee Midniters. Seeing your posts. I look forward to that everyday. Wait. Turner Classics is just about to show a Sherlock Holmes. "The Night of Terror." I bet I've seen it a dozen times. Well,I never thought 13 was an unlucky number. Hasta Manana Amigo!
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Rick Farris
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7200
- Joined: 15 Feb 2008, 16:04
Sorry to hear it Frank. I didn't know Davey, however, I do remember his career pretty well. He was unbeaten before the Crawford fight, but Frankie was just too much for him. I was surprised he quit boxing, or that I never saw him try again after Crawford. I haven't checked his record yet, but I think Crawford kinda took the wind out of his sails.kikibalt wrote:Rick,
Remember Dave Contreras , that fought out of the Teamsters Gym, for Louis J., and fought Frankie Crawford in 1966?.
Just heard that he passed away recently.
Hope to get more info soon.
By the way, I was supposed to fight Davey's brother "Butch" (Victor) in my second pro fight, but he didn't show up for the morning weigh-in, so I fought somebody else the following week. I remember them both fighting amateur out of the Teamsters Gym. You may remember that in '67, Channel 5 (KTLA) showed the Western Region Golden Gloves finals on TV. I remember "Butch" fighting that night, with Louie J. in his corner. We had a good team that year with Clay Hodges, Thurman Durden and Paul Bad horse all win ning Nat'l G.G. titles. As you know Frank, any city that produces three Nat'l G.G. champs the same year iis hot! Without question, L.A. amateur boxers of the 20th century were as good, or better than anywhere else in the world.
Back to Davey Contreras, I will see that his name is mentioned during the ten count at the next WBHOF banquet in July.
-Ricardo
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Rick Farris
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7200
- Joined: 15 Feb 2008, 16:04
To tell you the truth,I never liked Norton. The first time I sparred with anyone was with Norton,a little before this fight.He roughed me up pretty good,but he couldn't knock me down. He never seemed friendly. I always thought he was a little arrogant.
Dagos . . . I didn'tknow Ken Norton very well, just from the gym. As a stablemate of Jerry Quarry, I found it very enjoyable, watching Jerry flatten Norton in the gym. It looked like it was heating up to be a good show, with both guys throwing hard. Jerry landed a beautiful, short right to the chin and Norton went down hard. It took him a few seconds to regain his balance and he took a knee long enough to be conted out. The bell rang, and Bill Slayton pulled his boxer out. This wasn't the first time Quarry had his way with Norton, however, I just heard of this from Johnny Flores, JErry's manager. Johnny told us (his amateurs who trained at his home gym) that Quarry had dropped Norton to a knee with a hook to the liver. I was hoping to see something like that myself on the day I saw them working together. I saw something better. I didn't have any reason to believe that Ken's jaw was weak, because Quarry could KO anybody he hit solid.
However, more would be revealed about Norton, and a lot of it was good. He was one guy that had the style to beat Ali. And his fight with Larry Holmes was very close, also.
-Rick
Dagos . . . I didn'tknow Ken Norton very well, just from the gym. As a stablemate of Jerry Quarry, I found it very enjoyable, watching Jerry flatten Norton in the gym. It looked like it was heating up to be a good show, with both guys throwing hard. Jerry landed a beautiful, short right to the chin and Norton went down hard. It took him a few seconds to regain his balance and he took a knee long enough to be conted out. The bell rang, and Bill Slayton pulled his boxer out. This wasn't the first time Quarry had his way with Norton, however, I just heard of this from Johnny Flores, JErry's manager. Johnny told us (his amateurs who trained at his home gym) that Quarry had dropped Norton to a knee with a hook to the liver. I was hoping to see something like that myself on the day I saw them working together. I saw something better. I didn't have any reason to believe that Ken's jaw was weak, because Quarry could KO anybody he hit solid.
However, more would be revealed about Norton, and a lot of it was good. He was one guy that had the style to beat Ali. And his fight with Larry Holmes was very close, also.
-Rick
The photo of Bundini crying next to Ali with a busted jaw is one that was flashed across the world in 1973, one of those truly 'great' photos, although hindsight tells us Bundini was only worried about the Ali gravy train.Rick Farris wrote:To tell you the truth,I never liked Norton. The first time I sparred with anyone was with Norton,a little before this fight.He roughed me up pretty good,but he couldn't knock me down. He never seemed friendly. I always thought he was a little arrogant.
Dagos . . . I didn'tknow Ken Norton very well, just from the gym. As a stablemate of Jerry Quarry, I found it very enjoyable, watching Jerry flatten Norton in the gym. It looked like it was heating up to be a good show, with both guys throwing hard. Jerry landed a beautiful, short right to the chin and Norton went down hard. It took him a few seconds to regain his balance and he took a knee long enough to be conted out. The bell rang, and Bill Slayton pulled his boxer out. This wasn't the first time Quarry had his way with Norton, however, I just heard of this from Johnny Flores, JErry's manager. Johnny told us (his amateurs who trained at his home gym) that Quarry had dropped Norton to a knee with a hook to the liver. I was hoping to see something like that myself on the day I saw them working together. I saw something better. I didn't have any reason to believe that Ken's jaw was weak, because Quarry could KO anybody he hit solid.
However, more would be revealed about Norton, and a lot of it was good. He was one guy that had the style to beat Ali. And his fight with Larry Holmes was very close, also.
-Rick
The vision of Murphy's fist crashing through the painting is priceless.dagosd2000 wrote:"Hey Tony,don't you ever take a day off?"kikibalt wrote:
Irish Bob Murphy vs Henry Brimm
"I haven't taken more than a week off since George's father opened the Arizona in 1945."
I remember Tony Panza when I was a kid settin' up pins in the bowling alley that was through the little hallway that led from the bar. Tony ran the bowling alley and George Radovich handled the bar. Between the bar and the bowling alley there was a small kitchen. George always made sure he had some 'ol gal in there cookin' up lunches. I'm not kiddin' ya',they were the best home cooked meals down at the beach.Pork Roasts,mashed potatos,corn on the cob,salad. Dishes like that that stuck to your ribs. Everyone affiliated with the Arizona Cafe was some kind of Serb. They all went to the Serbian church and married Serbians,drank Vodka by the gallons,spoke Serbian and hated Tito's guts. They all belonged to the "Serbian Defense League." One time I asked George Radovich.
"What the hell is the Serbian Defense League?"
"We sit around and get drunk on Vodka and talk about invading Yugoslavia",laughed George.
Well George finally had to break down and get "automatic pin setters" because too many pin boys like myself were getting hit in the noggin' by the pins flying around. After that Tony Panza moved inside and tended bar. The Arizona was like a historical museum in a way. There were old pictures on the wall of the beach and the Arizona Cafe. But the ones that interested me the most were the pictures of "Irish Bob" Murphy. George handled Murphy when he was an amateur just gettin' out of the Navy. There was always an "Irish Bob" Murphy story to go around. I've run a few by you,but here's a fresh one.
Tony's tellin' me this artist comes into the bar one night and draws one of these" charactertures" of George behind the bar. George likes the artwork and commissions this guy(I think it was all the booze you could drink)to do one of these "charactertures" of everyone sittin' at the bar. Tony told me on this night the place was really packed. All the local crowd was there. Well Michaelangelo is workin' his way down the bar doin' his artwork and every body is pleased as punch. At the end of the bar is Murphy sittin' there with his then manager Travis Hatfield. The way Tony told it was like this.
DaVinci works his way up to Murphy and says he's going to paint his picture. Well I don't think Picasso knew who Murphy was because if he did he'd known that Murphy was one of those "bad" drunks. Tony said Murphy gave him a sneer and sad"Why not?"
Well Rembrandt is paintin' up a storm and gets finished painting Murphy. He holds up the finished product in front of his face and asks Murphy his opinion. Next thing you know Murphy's fist comes crashing through the guy's painting and lands against his nose. Norman Rockwell is layin' there unconscious on the bar room floor with Murphy's painting next to him. Hatfield,who's been drinkin' with Murphy all night,turns to Murphy and says,"I guess you didn't like it?"
The Arizona Cafe is closed up now. George died a while back,Murphy broke his neck in '61 in a motorcycle accident. Tony's around,but with the Arizona gone,I assume his days will be numbered. But you know what?After that guy painted all those pictures of everybody at the Arizona that night,George hung them all up behind the bar. Even Murphy's picture. But Murphy's picture was held together in two by Scotch Tape. To think they had to use Scotch Tape to put that Irishman together. I bet that made him sore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpsM3IkbrfE
diego
I used to sing this song to my wife, when we were young.
diego
I used to sing this song to my wife, when we were young.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0ucKUCxFI
diego
You never should had brought up music
Thats a 1937 Chevy on the cd cover, thats the kind of car I had when I met my wife 54 years ago.
diego
You never should had brought up music
Thats a 1937 Chevy on the cd cover, thats the kind of car I had when I met my wife 54 years ago.
Last edited by kikibalt on 24 Apr 2008, 10:28, edited 1 time in total.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPOTQ7159_Ydagosd2000 wrote:kikibalt wrote:Did you know that Cut and Shoot Harris is a lawyer?
Really? You know Frank there's an expression in Southern Italy"See Naples and Die". Now that I know Cut and Shoot is a lawyer,I'll think I"ll drop over dead.
BTW,I got away from the Forum for a few. Been listening to Little Willie G. and Thee Midniters. Been listening to "I Need Someone". It's on YouTube. Man does that remind me of East LA.
"I Need Someone"
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Rick Farris
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7200
- Joined: 15 Feb 2008, 16:04
bennie wrote:The photo of Bundini crying next to Ali with a busted jaw is one that was flashed across the world in 1973, one of those truly 'great' photos, although hindsight tells us Bundini was only worried about the Ali gravy train.Rick Farris wrote:To tell you the truth,I never liked Norton. The first time I sparred with anyone was with Norton,a little before this fight.He roughed me up pretty good,but he couldn't knock me down. He never seemed friendly. I always thought he was a little arrogant.
Dagos . . . I didn'tknow Ken Norton very well, just from the gym. As a stablemate of Jerry Quarry, I found it very enjoyable, watching Jerry flatten Norton in the gym. It looked like it was heating up to be a good show, with both guys throwing hard. Jerry landed a beautiful, short right to the chin and Norton went down hard. It took him a few seconds to regain his balance and he took a knee long enough to be conted out. The bell rang, and Bill Slayton pulled his boxer out. This wasn't the first time Quarry had his way with Norton, however, I just heard of this from Johnny Flores, JErry's manager. Johnny told us (his amateurs who trained at his home gym) that Quarry had dropped Norton to a knee with a hook to the liver. I was hoping to see something like that myself on the day I saw them working together. I saw something better. I didn't have any reason to believe that Ken's jaw was weak, because Quarry could KO anybody he hit solid.
However, more would be revealed about Norton, and a lot of it was good. He was one guy that had the style to beat Ali. And his fight with Larry Holmes was very close, also.
-Rick
Bundini Brown: A professional noise maker. Mike Tyson had his version, a guy they call "Crocodile". He made plenty of noise in Tyson's camp, and when the money was gone, so was Crocodile. Bundini sold Muhammad's championship belt, some friend? Guys like Bundini and Crocodile should be shot for impersonating a friend.
-Rick
I had the pleasure of working as a cornerman for Ken when he came to Oklahoma City back in 1975 to fight Reco Brooks. ("Working" is an overstatement - he stopped Brooks in the first round, so all I really did was help him take off his robe, rinse off his mouthpiece before the start of the fight, and help him back on with his robe after the fight.)Rick Farris wrote:To tell you the truth,I never liked Norton. The first time I sparred with anyone was with Norton,a little before this fight.He roughed me up pretty good,but he couldn't knock me down. He never seemed friendly. I always thought he was a little arrogant.
Dagos . . . I didn'tknow Ken Norton very well, just from the gym. As a stablemate of Jerry Quarry, I found it very enjoyable, watching Jerry flatten Norton in the gym. It looked like it was heating up to be a good show, with both guys throwing hard. Jerry landed a beautiful, short right to the chin and Norton went down hard. It took him a few seconds to regain his balance and he took a knee long enough to be conted out. The bell rang, and Bill Slayton pulled his boxer out. This wasn't the first time Quarry had his way with Norton, however, I just heard of this from Johnny Flores, JErry's manager. Johnny told us (his amateurs who trained at his home gym) that Quarry had dropped Norton to a knee with a hook to the liver. I was hoping to see something like that myself on the day I saw them working together. I saw something better. I didn't have any reason to believe that Ken's jaw was weak, because Quarry could KO anybody he hit solid.
However, more would be revealed about Norton, and a lot of it was good. He was one guy that had the style to beat Ali. And his fight with Larry Holmes was very close, also.
-Rick
He and Bill Slayton were good guys, and treated me with a great deal of courtesy - especially Slayton who really made me feel like I was part of "Team Norton" for that evening - not just a guy who helped out in the corner.
Ken seemed like a nice enough fellow, and very unassuming and soft spoken - for the most part. One incident I specifically recall: Everybody who fought in Oklahoma City shared dressing rooms, as did Ken. While Bill was taping Ken's hands, one of the guys made the comment that Ali exposed Foreman as "not much of a fighter." To that, Ken commented loud enough for everybody to hear, "Well, he sure knocked the shit out of me!!"
Because of my brief encounter with Ken, I tried to learn as much about his career as possible, and I became a big fan. I talked to a fellow who worked with Ken, and this gent told me that Ken was actually a shy individual, and his shyness made him seem aloof to people.
But, of course, I never had to spar with him, as did Rick. My opinion might have been different if he had hit me in the head a few times.
But beyond that, I really liked Bill Slayton, and I was sorry to hear of his passing.
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dagosd2000
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 8638
- Joined: 01 Sep 2007, 03:31
kikibalt wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0ucKUCxFI
diego
You never should had brought up music
Thats a 1937 Chevy on the cd cover, thats the kind of car I had when I met my wife 54 years ago.
Hey Mr. Oldies,But Goodies
I was thinking about this today. A while back you said that fighters had star quality and when they'd go to the fights with their wives or girlfriends(or like Aragon ,with both)they were celebrities. I agree. But added to the charisma,to me,was they always dressed to the" nines." Always stylish. I know Sugar Ray always looked good. Gaspar Ortega was a dresser. Gato doesn't remember this,but I was introduced to him and Jackie McCoy one night between fights at the Coliseum. The first thing I picked up on Gato was the natty attire.
Any of you Southland guys(Frank,Rick,Scar,etc.) can you remember the fighters that wore the nice threads? I don't mean those purple and green floppy bell bottom outfits like Sly Stone wore. Frank,show some oics with this please. Dagos
Great Story Dagos!bennie wrote:The vision of Murphy's fist crashing through the painting is priceless.dagosd2000 wrote:"Hey Tony,don't you ever take a day off?"kikibalt wrote:
Irish Bob Murphy vs Henry Brimm
"I haven't taken more than a week off since George's father opened the Arizona in 1945."
I remember Tony Panza when I was a kid settin' up pins in the bowling alley that was through the little hallway that led from the bar. Tony ran the bowling alley and George Radovich handled the bar. Between the bar and the bowling alley there was a small kitchen. George always made sure he had some 'ol gal in there cookin' up lunches. I'm not kiddin' ya',they were the best home cooked meals down at the beach.Pork Roasts,mashed potatos,corn on the cob,salad. Dishes like that that stuck to your ribs. Everyone affiliated with the Arizona Cafe was some kind of Serb. They all went to the Serbian church and married Serbians,drank Vodka by the gallons,spoke Serbian and hated Tito's guts. They all belonged to the "Serbian Defense League." One time I asked George Radovich.
"What the hell is the Serbian Defense League?"
"We sit around and get drunk on Vodka and talk about invading Yugoslavia",laughed George.
Well George finally had to break down and get "automatic pin setters" because too many pin boys like myself were getting hit in the noggin' by the pins flying around. After that Tony Panza moved inside and tended bar. The Arizona was like a historical museum in a way. There were old pictures on the wall of the beach and the Arizona Cafe. But the ones that interested me the most were the pictures of "Irish Bob" Murphy. George handled Murphy when he was an amateur just gettin' out of the Navy. There was always an "Irish Bob" Murphy story to go around. I've run a few by you,but here's a fresh one.
Tony's tellin' me this artist comes into the bar one night and draws one of these" charactertures" of George behind the bar. George likes the artwork and commissions this guy(I think it was all the booze you could drink)to do one of these "charactertures" of everyone sittin' at the bar. Tony told me on this night the place was really packed. All the local crowd was there. Well Michaelangelo is workin' his way down the bar doin' his artwork and every body is pleased as punch. At the end of the bar is Murphy sittin' there with his then manager Travis Hatfield. The way Tony told it was like this.
DaVinci works his way up to Murphy and says he's going to paint his picture. Well I don't think Picasso knew who Murphy was because if he did he'd known that Murphy was one of those "bad" drunks. Tony said Murphy gave him a sneer and sad"Why not?"
Well Rembrandt is paintin' up a storm and gets finished painting Murphy. He holds up the finished product in front of his face and asks Murphy his opinion. Next thing you know Murphy's fist comes crashing through the guy's painting and lands against his nose. Norman Rockwell is layin' there unconscious on the bar room floor with Murphy's painting next to him. Hatfield,who's been drinkin' with Murphy all night,turns to Murphy and says,"I guess you didn't like it?"
The Arizona Cafe is closed up now. George died a while back,Murphy broke his neck in '61 in a motorcycle accident. Tony's around,but with the Arizona gone,I assume his days will be numbered. But you know what?After that guy painted all those pictures of everybody at the Arizona that night,George hung them all up behind the bar. Even Murphy's picture. But Murphy's picture was held together in two by Scotch Tape. To think they had to use Scotch Tape to put that Irishman together. I bet that made him sore.
It reminds me of another one involving Billy Conn and his brother who was named Jackie I think.
Another couple of"spirited" Irishman.
A local Pittsburgh sporstwriter wrote a column on how Billy Conn was a great boxer, but his brother Jackie was in fact, Pittsburghs champion streetfighter.
Jackie was really eatin this up. Really playin the role.
One day he was sittin in a Pittsburgh Tavern basking in the glow of his new found fame and drinkin himself a snootful when in walks some roughneck.
The guy walks over to Jackie taps him on the shoulder and asks him if he is Jackie Conn Pittsburghs champion streetfighter.
Jackie says yes in fact he is Pittsburghs champion streetfighter.
The guy hauls off and belts jackie with a haymaker and knocks him out.
He looks down at the snoozing Jackie Conn and says "now Im the champ".
I thought so, but my memory aint what it ought to be sometimes. But hey Ali drew strength from him even if it wasn't the sort of friendship we all wish for. So maybe they both got what they needed.kikibalt wrote:Bundini died years ago.BoxBuzz wrote:Bundini...sort of like Paulie....
Where is he now? Is he still hangin' on? Dead? The gardner maybe?
diego,dagosd2000 wrote:kikibalt wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0ucKUCxFI
diego
You never should had brought up music
Thats a 1937 Chevy on the cd cover, thats the kind of car I had when I met my wife 54 years ago.
Hey Mr. Oldies,But Goodies
I was thinking about this today. A while back you said that fighters had star quality and when they'd go to the fights with their wives or girlfriends(or like Aragon ,with both)they were celebrities. I agree. But added to the charisma,to me,was they always dressed to the" nines." Always stylish. I know Sugar Ray always looked good. Gaspar Ortega was a dresser. Gato doesn't remember this,but I was introduced to him and Jackie McCoy one night between fights at the Coliseum. The first thing I picked up on Gato was the natty attire.
Any of you Southland guys(Frank,Rick,Scar,etc.) can you remember the fighters that wore the nice threads? I don't mean those purple and green floppy bell bottom outfits like Sly Stone wore. Frank,show some oics with this please. Dagos
You're right, fighters back then used to be celebrities, and they used to dress according, one of the sharpest dresser's was keeny Teran, he used to dress, like you say to the "nines", unfortunately I don't have a pic. of him dressed up.
Enrique Bolanos as you can see was a good dresser, and so was Ray Ramos, both seen here with Mando Ramos
