BoxRec

kikibalt wrote:

Randyman wrote: Frankie looks great Frank. How's Tony doing?

Tony is doing okay, he is just having a hard time getting around and that is pissing him off, not use to sitting down in one place for long.....

kikibalt wrote:Back in the in mid-'40's playing cowboys with my buddy in Simons we used "yonder" a lot, we were not Okies but we used the word....

THEHAMMER321 wrote:

Randyman wrote:Rick and Frank, you might remember trainer Pat Ruggiero from the Main Street Gym. He sent me these photos. I thought they might stir some old memories.


Mike Nixon, Pat Ruggerio, Sugar Ray Robinson and Ralph Gambina


Pat Ruggerio and Bobby Chacon


Pat Ruggerio working the David Sotelo vs Art Hafey fight
Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California-April 15, 1976


AL SILVANI, FRANK SINATRA, HANK SANICOLA, RALPH Gambina and CISCO ANDRADE, 1950's


Pat Ruggierio and Ralph Gambina


Ralph Gambina and heavyweight John Baca at the Main Street Gym 1970's- Baca was trained by Ruggiero


Patrick Ruggiero and Sylvester Stallone at the main Street Gym during the filming of Rocky-1976


This last photo of Sylvester Stallone and me has been posted before but this is a much clearer photo and shows more background detail. That's Pat Ruggiero to my right.

I used to see John Baca train in the golden gloves gym here in Vegas about 1982 he was a lot heavier when I saw him than he was in this picture, I also saw him fight once at Caesars Palace, he was on the undercard of Mike Dokes vs Mike Weaver ''The infamous stop the fight'' where Mike Weaver got shafted by ref Joey Curtis.

kikibalt wrote:The outhouse over yonder.....

THEHAMMER321 wrote:Tom, have you ever heard of a lawyer from Oklahoma named Dale Everett, he passed away 7 or 8 years ago, I first met him when I was about 18, he liked to play poker and he came out to Vegas about every six months.

raylawpc wrote:

kikibalt wrote:

Bobbin & Weavin wrote: Tom,
Not just lawyers want to be like Atticus Finch...
Bruce

I want to be like Dill...Looka yonder!....

You should have grown up in Oklahoma. You woulda heard a lot of Okies say, "Looka yonder. . ." "Over yonder" is popular too. "Where do you live?" "Over yonder next to the school house on 5th street."

Rick Farris wrote:Jerry Quarry's career . . .



Jerry Quarry came to notice by winning the 1965 National Golden Gloves championship in Kansas City at age 19. He knocked out each of his five opponents, a feat unmatched before or since. Quarry began his pro career in march 1965, winning a decision against Gene Hamilton in Los Angeles, California.

1960s
Quarry's first loss came against veteran and former contender Eddie Machen in 1966, which was his 21st fight within just two full years as a pro.

In mid-1967, the (World Boxing Association) (WBA) held a tournament to replace Muhammad Ali, who had been stripped of his title for refusing induction into the military. Quarry had three convincing wins early in that year to improve his ranking, but also had another draw, this time with former champion Floyd Patterson.

In any case, Quarry was named to the eight-man tournament field. He defeated Patterson in their rematch with multiple knockdowns, then defeated ranked tournament favorite Thad Spencer[1], which brought him to national attention. In the tournament final, highly respected Kentucky fighter Jimmy Ellis decisioned Quarry to become new WBA Heavyweight Champion Of The World, replacing his good friend and fellow Louisvillian, Muhammad Ali. Legend has it that Quarry fought Ellis with an injured back. There was no rematch.

Quarry, just 22 years old and still very popular, mounted a comeback and accrued four straight wins. In 1969, Quarry pounded contender Buster Mathis and was given a title shot by Joe Frazier for Frazier's New York State title. Quarry lost the fight on cuts via seventh-round technical knockout despite a tremendous performance in which he led in the early rounds. The high-action match was called Ring Magazine's Fight of The Year. Quarry did return to win two more fights that year, before a sketchy loss to Canadian George Chuvalo. After getting up, Quarry went to one knee and didn't stand until the count of 10, and was counted out. At the time, Quarry was ahead on two of the three judges' scorecards. Former Harlem Globetrotter Zack Clayton was the referee for the match.

1970s
Quarry had two wins in early 1970 before being matched with undefeated #1 ranked Mac Foster. Quarry impressed boxing fans with a dominating win that returned him to contention. Another win later, he would fight Muhammad Ali, when the exiled champion returned to boxing in October 1970 in Atlanta. Quarry was the only ranked heavyweight willing to meet the former champion. The first two rounds were very competitive, before Ali opened a deep cut over the smaller Quarry's left eye. Referee Tony Perez stopped the fight before the start of the fourth round. Semi-retired in 1971, Quarry attained four straight additional wins, and also pursued acting and various business ventures. In November 1971 he went to London, England and fought the British Commonwealth Heavy weight champion, Jack Bodell. Jerry crushed the British Champion in 61 seconds of the first round to the cheers of Irishmen in the crowd. He was 26 years old and a millionaire despite never being world heavyweight champion.

In 1972, Quarry added two more wins before getting his rematch with Ali. He was ranked #2 at fight time. The match was part of a racially motivated 'Soul Brothers versus the Quarry Brothers' event promoted by Ali manager Don King, which included his brother Mike Quarry fighting Bob Foster for the world light-heavyweight title. Despite a better effort, Quarry again lost by TKO to a much bigger Ali in what proved a tough night for the Quarry brothers.

Proving his critics wrong, Quarry, now managed by Gil Clancy, again bounced back to have perhaps his best year in 1973. Quarry soundly defeated ranked contenders Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers that year at Madison Square Garden. Champion George Foreman, who attended the Shavers' KO fight, was said to tell Quarry ' you just lost your title shot ' .[citation needed] Foreman, a Quarry fan, later admitted to dodging Quarry through his entire career.[citation needed]

Again disappointed, Quarry had one more win before meeting a bigger Joe Frazier for the rematch many expected years earlier. Jerry tried to out-box Frazier, and scored well early in the opening rounds. Quarry then began to fade under Frazier's heavy pressure. At the end of the 4th round, it appeared Frazier knocked down Quarry with a left hook to the body just after the bell. Quarry was visibly injured by the body punch, but tried to continue. The fight was then stopped quickly in the 5th round when it it was obvious he couldn't continue. Former heavyweight champion Joe Louis was the referee for the bout, and looked very unsure on how to handle the proceedings.[citation needed] Joe Louis never refereed another fight.

In 1975, launching yet another comeback, Quarry had one win while being dodged by many potential opponents, many managed by promoter Don King.[citation needed] A desperate Quarry took a fight with Ken Norton on 18 days notice in April of that year. Two other opponents had backed out and Quarry was the second alternate. Quarry nonetheless gave another remarkable effort, and appeared to hurt Norton in the 3rd, while bleeding himself from a cut. The much bigger Norton hung on, and later won by TKO.

This concluded Quarry's prime years, having had many wars before the age of 30. Quarry was 50-8-4 at this time, with 32 KOs. He had two losses each to Frazier and Ali, one each to Norton, Chuvalo, Ellis and Machen. He had been ranked as high as #1 contender and won most of his matches while weighing under 200 pounds.

Quarry, who had acted in various programs on ABC to this point, did boxing commentary for ABC's "Wide World Of Sports." Still healthy and financially secure, he did commentary and acting from late 1975 to late 1977 before offers to return to the ring could no longer be ignored.

In November 1977, Jerry fought seven losing rounds against Italian Lorenzo Zanon before a star-studded Las Vegas crowd, before turning the tables and beating him by a knockout in the ninth round. Following the fight, Quarry stated he was rusty and merely needed to fight his way back into shape. However, following the fight, Quarry retired again, this time for five years.

The 1970s included numerous small-part television acting appearnces for Quarry, and television commercials. Quarry also surprised many during ' The Superstars ' television contests on ABC. An excellent athlete, Quarry made the event Finals in 1974, competing against NFL stars. His performance that year is still the highest score of any boxer in the history of the long-running contests.

1980s
Quarry could not remain retired, since he had been married three times and fell victim to several failed business ventures. With few other opportunities, the fighter known for his many comebacks and physical toughness decided once again to climb into the ring in 1983.

Now 37, and training for his latest comeback, he was visited by a Sports Illustrated reporter who was researching an article about health problems among retired boxers. Although Quarry appeared to be in good health, his performance on several simple cognitive tests was shockingly poor.[1] This was the harbinger for the mental decline that destroyed the last part of his life - dementia pugilistica, the atrophy of the brain from repeated blows to the head, eventually leading to an Alzheimer's-like state.

1990s
Quarry had two wins in 1983, but the fights appeared to accelerate his mental decline. He was inactive as a boxer from 1984 to 1992, but continued to decline physically and mentally. His $5-million dollar fortune evaporated and by 1990 Quarry was on social security. Denied a boxing license in most states because of his condition, Quarry found a loophole in Colorado that allowed him to schedule an October 30, 1992 bout with Ron Cramner, a cruiserweight 16 years Quarry's junior. The six round contest was Jerry's last fight and an ignominious defeat on points, although the former heavyweight contender stayed on his feet throughout.

Physical and mental decline
Within a few years, Quarry was unable to feed or dress himself and had to be cared for by relatives, mainly his brother James - the only one of the four Quarry brothers not to box professionally. Jerry's brother, Mike, who had contended for the light-heavyweight championship, was himself disabled by pugilistic dementia in later life and died as a result on June 11, 2006. Another brother, Bobby, suffers from Parkinson's disease, believed to be the result of his own, less-heralded heavyweight boxing career.
Hall of fame and death
Jerry Quarry was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995. His professional record was 53-9-4 with 32 KOs. His brothers Mike Quarry (deceased) and Bobby Quarry also were pro boxers. Mike lost to Bob Foster by knockout for the world light heavyweight title in 1972, but defeated several top light-heavyweights including Mike Rossman. Bobby fought 23 times as a professional heavyweight, once losing to contender Tommy Morrison, a fighter who had appeared in Rocky V (with Sylvester Stallone) and defeated George Foreman in Foreman's second career.

Quarry was hospitalized with pneumonia on December 28, 1998 and then suffered cardiac arrest. He never regained consciousness and died on January 3, 1999. He is interred at Shafter Cemetery in Shafter, California. A foundation was established in his honor to battle boxing-related dementia, a condition that has afflicted many boxers and brought Quarry's life to an early end. But Quarry still has a lasting legacy.

(Courtesy Wikipedia)

Chuck1052 wrote:As I recall, Jerry Quarry was a boxing commentator on CBS, not ABC.

Yes, Joe Louis didn't have control of the situation while refereeing the second bout between Joe Frazier and Jerry Quarry. For one thing, the bout should have been stopped much sooner because Frazier was punishing Quarry at will for what seemed to be an eternity. It appeared Frazier was trying to persuade Louis to stop the bout.

- Chuck Johnston

bennie wrote:Things are quiet with Amir Khan. The WBA light-welterweight champion from Bolton is working hard in Los Angeles as he prepares for his crunch defence against Argentina's Marcos Maidana, the mandatory challenger. Based in the States and trained by Freddie Roach, Khan faces his first true puncher since Colombia's Breidis Prescott annihilated him in 54 seconds in Manchester in September 2008, dropping him twice.
Khan came back well, beating Marco Antonio Barrera at lightweight before moving up to light-welterweight last year and winning the WBA crown with a sharp display of boxing against solid Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik, whom he unanimously outpointed. This is interesting because Kotelnik had outscored Maidana a fight earlier. It was close, a split decision for Kotelnik, but it tells you that Khan has the edge going into their December 11 match in Las Vegas.
Nevertheless, Maidana can punch, he can really punch. His record of 29-1 (27), and Kotelnik is the only man to beat him, tells you that. Khan whacks a bit himself and he is much the better boxer of the two, much the quicker, but he looked shockingly vulnerable in the Prescott fight, the only man to beat him in turn. Khan crumbled to the canvas as soon as Prescott tagged him, and while he showed bravery to beat the count, one knew that he was never going to survive.
Since then, Khan has been steered away from anyone remotely resembling a puncher but Maidana secured his mandatory status some time ago and could not be avoided forever, although Roach was giving it a damn good try. To remind you, Khan looked shockingly vulnerable against Prescott, who has done nothing since. If Khan gets past Maidana without any wobbles and with the win, we will view Prescott as older boxing fans view George Chuvalo against Jerry Quarry.
If...

kikibalt wrote:

Bobbin & Weavin wrote:

kikibalt wrote:While at Bobby's visiting Tony I found the book, 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, and damn, I can't put it down, seen the movie more then once, its a classic, but it don't compare to the book. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961....

Frank,
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite movies too. There are a lot of interesting things surrounding the book and the movie, for instance Harper Lee was childhood friends with Truman Capote and modeled the character Dill after Capote as a young boy. Lee was working as Capote’s assistant for his book “In Cold Blood” (another good one) when her book was published and Capote was quite upset over her success. If you haven’t seen the movie "Capote" staring Philip Seymore Hoffman as Capote, do; this is depicted in the movie, also read in "Cold Blood" and then see that movie if you haven’t… good stuff. If you rent the DVD of To Kill a Mockingbird the special features part tells all about these things plus some good interviews with the writer and the actors. To do it in order, after you finish reading "To Kill", see the movie again, then read "In Cold Blood" then see that movie and then see the movie Capote...after all you're a "kept man and have the time". D
Bruce

Bruce, thanks for all he info on Lee and Capote, stuff that I didn't know. "In cold Blood", the movie I seen a number of times, have never read the book, I'll look for it. "Capote" I seen the movie, but to be honest; I don't remember much about it. I have a hard time watching any movie on TV, get bored easy, but give me a book, and if its good I have a hard time putting it down. I order "To Kill A Mockingbird" from Oldies.com yesterday, now that I read the book I think I'll be able to pay close attention to the movie, more so then before.

"Looka Yonder!"

CNorkusJr wrote:

kikibalt wrote:

Bobbin & Weavin wrote: Frank,
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite movies too. There are a lot of interesting things surrounding the book and the movie, for instance Harper Lee was childhood friends with Truman Capote and modeled the character Dill after Capote as a young boy. Lee was working as Capote’s assistant for his book “In Cold Blood” (another good one) when her book was published and Capote was quite upset over her success. If you haven’t seen the movie "Capote" staring Philip Seymore Hoffman as Capote, do; this is depicted in the movie, also read in "Cold Blood" and then see that movie if you haven’t… good stuff. If you rent the DVD of To Kill a Mockingbird the special features part tells all about these things plus some good interviews with the writer and the actors. To do it in order, after you finish reading "To Kill", see the movie again, then read "In Cold Blood" then see that movie and then see the movie Capote...after all you're a "kept man and have the time". D
Bruce

Bruce, thanks for all he info on Lee and Capote, stuff that I didn't know. "In cold Blood", the movie I seen a number of times, have never read the book, I'll look for it. "Capote" I seen the movie, but to be honest; I don't remember much about it. I have a hard time watching any movie on TV, get bored easy, but give me a book, and if its good I have a hard time putting it down. I order "To Kill A Mockingbird" from Oldies.com yesterday, now that I read the book I think I'll be able to pay close attention to the movie, more so then before.

"Looka Yonder!"

Gregory Peck was a great actor. One of my all-time favorites.
"Looka Yonder, Thar she Blows, The Great White Whale"
as Capt. Ahab- Moby Dick.

You dont think Frank, that maybe you dont appreciate the TV movies anymore because of todays lighting techniques. Maybe all those criss-crossing shadows in each scene. Hmmm.......... I wonder .....

CNorkusJr wrote:Is Rick laughing ? I hope.

raylawpc wrote:I suppose cinematic quality is like beauty; it's all in the eye of the beholder. My sons and daughter-in-law tell me that like that kind of shaky camera work. (How else do you describe it?) Me? I'm with you, Rick.