Classic American West Coast Boxing

[CNorkusJr]

Roger, Not only do you paint beautifully on canvas, you also paint a pretty picture using words on your boxing experience. Your stories I read here are Great, and hopefully I will see more of them on-line or in print. Job well done. Artiste.

[dagosd2000]

The Letterman's Jacket

The thing I remember I remember most about Marty was that he liked to fight. He wasn't always that way though. Marty and my son were on Marty's dads little league team. Marty pitched and my son caught for him. Marty had red hair and was fair complected. He was built square and had strong legs and hips. Reminded me of Seaver. His delivery was smooth and could definitely bring it to the plate. He could hit anything and led the league in homers. He could steal a base anytime.

The team was going strong and then Marty's father died. It was sudden. I remember hearing the sirens going off in the neighborhood that night. It wasn't untill the next day we found out those sirens were from ambulances going to Marty's house. His dad had suffered a fatal heart attack.

Marty quit the team after that. That's when I saw him begin to change. Marty wouldn't necessarily pick a fight,but he would do something to provoke one. Like steal a kid's bike and then ride it around. The kid would get sore and call Marty out. There'd be a fight. Marty always won. Physical pain he didn't seem to mind. In fact when the fight was over Marty was elated.

Marty was good at all sports,not just baseball. In high school he finished second in the long jump at the state championships. He hardly practiced the long jump. Word was that the night before the meet he was down in Tijuana having a good time. He was the quarterback on the high school team. My son snapped the ball to him. Marty could throw the ball the length of the field and run with the ball like Herschel. But when the first grades came out Marty had flunked all his classes and was off the team. Instead of looking at a championship,the team lost the rest of their games.

Marty didn't finish school. Got expelled for too many fights on the lower field after the bell. He wouldn't have made it anyway with all the F's. My son went on with school. I got a full time teaching slot in the south bay. No one heard from Marty.

One morning I was reading the sports column and I saw Marty's name on the undercard at the coliseum. Well maybe he found his niche i thought. I didn't go downtown to watch the bout,but I read he had won. There were no more cards with his name on them after that. I didn't give it much thought.

The weather doesn't get too cold in San Diego,but I recall a spell when the temperature dipped into low 40's. Plus it was windy and rainy. On one of those days I was driving along the boulevard and saw this bum sitting at the bus stop next to the liquor store. Homeless looking. He was wearing a tee shirt full of holes and his red beard was matted with grime.He had a paper bag in his hand. It was Marty. It came up on me so fast I just kept going. But the next day I drove the same way. Marty was at the bus stop again. I pulled over and got out.
"Marty,"I yelled.
Marty looked around. He smiled right away.
"Coach."
"Marty what the hell are you doing outside in this rain?"
"I've been better,"he said.
Get inside the the liquor store and I'll buy you something to eat."
I bought him a sandwich and walked him to my car.
"Marty you need something to put on your shoulders to keep warm."
"Yeah,I know."He had both hands around that sandwich.
"I know. When Ray left for school he left behind his letterman's jacket. He doesn't wear it anymore. I'm sure he'd like you to have it."
I drove to my place and gave him my son's lettermen's jacket. Marty just wanted to go back to the bus stop. He insisted.
"Thank Ray when you see him again,He said.

One morning driving to work I saw this guy walking down the street with the jacket I had given Marty. i couldn't figure it out. Soon after that i saw Marty at the bus stop again.
"Marty."
He moved his head slowly around. His eyes weren't clear.
Marty,don't you think you should have on your jacket?"
"Oh no,"he said."That jacket is expensive. I don't wear it on the street. Some one may rob me."
There was a pause.
"Marty ,what the hell went wrong?"
"Well,I dropped out of school,"he murmered." Thought I'd try my hand at boxing so I went over to see Burke. He handled me for a while then let me go. I found work at a warehouse but got in a beef with the foreman. Belted him and that was the end of that.Soon after Sara walked away."
There was nothing I thought of to say.
"Coach,you think you could spare some money? I'm hungry."
"Here's five bucks. I'm in a rush."
I wanted to get away from him.

I put the bill in his hand and drove around the block. i saw Marty go into the liquor store. He wasn't in there a minute. He came ou with the paper bag.

A couple of weeks after that I pulled into the parking lot to get the paper at the liquor store. Wali,the owner,was behind the counter.
"Ever see Marty around?" I still thought about the kid.
"Roger,didn't you hear. He got hit by a car crossing the street. It was right out in front. The driver didn't even have time to slam the brakes."
I put my hands on the counter.
"I'll miss Marty,"said Wali."everyday he bought a fifth. I don't know how he got his money,but everyday a fifth of vodka.I thought he'd have chance with Burke,but Burke caught him stealing out of the lockers."
"Maybe you should have cut him off."
"Why,"Wali said with a laugh. "If I cut off all my customers like Marty,I'd be out of business. He was a steady customer."
I still had my hands on the counter. I was thinking of how my son and Marty got along so well. Then I heard a grunt.
"Roger,"said Wali."Would you excuse me. I've got customer waitnig behind you."

[CNorkusJr]

very emotional stuff there ,Roger

[CNorkusJr]

Norkus said, “Lefty O’Doul would be wise to advertize on the bottom of Powell’s shoes.”


(The Following Article was Posted on Boxing.Com by author Ted Sares on Dec.05,2012 and is re-printed here in its entirety with permission by the author)

http://www.boxing.com/mr._versatility_c ... owell.html


Mr. Versatility: Charlie Powell


By Ted Sares on December 5, 2012



Charlie Powell was one of those exciting, fan-friendly types like Bob Satterfield, a chill-or-be-chilled type fighter…


Note: The following is a revised and updated version of an essay that appeared in my 2007 book, “Boxing is my Sanctuary.”

“Muhammad Ali, Bill Veeck and Bobby Layne. Aside from the fact that each was a prominent figure in the world of sports, there’s nothing obvious that links these three men. One way in which they are linked, though, is through the person of Charlie Powell. Powell is almost certainly the only person who can say that he played baseball for Bill Veeck, fought Ali and sacked Layne.”—Raymond St. Martin.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Jackie Jensen, Chuck Connors, Ollie Matson, Bob Mathias, Michael Jordan, Bob Hayes, Deion Sanders, and Bo Jackson were legendary two-sport stars. There have been others, but they didn’t box, and I’m too young to remember Jim Thorpe, but I hear he was a pretty good athlete as well.

Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Mark Gastineau were great football players who became terrible boxers. Fact is, Gastineau may have been the worse professional boxer in history. So let’s eliminate them at the outset. Seth Mitchell (25-1-1) is a fine crossover linebacker from Michigan State, but a suspect chin might hamper further progress.

Now some might argue that Alonzo Highsmith, a running back out of Miami who was drafted in the first round, was the best football player turned boxer since he retired with a fine record of 27-1-2 (23 KOs). Alonzo played football for Houston, Dallas, and Tampa Bay from 1987 to 1992, but he never finished in the top ten in any major category, nor is he even in the all-time top fifty in any major category. Moreover, Alonzo’s boxing opponents were on the dreadful side. For example, Alonzo managed to beat the immortal Ed Strickland (0-30), legendary Jim Wisniewski (3-30) twice, and Terry Verners (8-26-2) twice. In fact, Alonzo’s one loss was to the hapless Verners. Alonzo then destroyed, totally exposed, and retired Gastineau in 1996 in Japan sending Mark to pass rusher dreamland.

Last I knew, Highsmith was working on getting his PGA Tour card. “When I’m not out scouting, I’m on the golf course,” he told USA TODAY’s Dennis Tuttle. In his late 30s, Highsmith was a college scout for the Green Bay Packers. He spends a lot of time mentoring and coaching young football players. And he’s still a big name to many as he enthusiastically works football camps and assists seriously ill children at hospitals.

Derrick Rossy was an exceptional defensive end with Boston College and had tryouts as a free agent with the Jets, Steelers, and Bears, but nothing came of them. Upon turning pro, the affable and articulate “Shaolin Fist” has run up a respectable 26-5 record against formidable opposition. After losing to Eddie Chambers, Kubrat Pulev, and Maurice Harris, Rossy won a UD against Livin Castillo in January and still has hopes of getting into the mix.

The Best Football Player Who Became the Best Boxer

This brings me to “Mr. Versatility,” Charlie Powell, 6’3”, 230 pounds, well-muscled, strong, and fast. He was the youngest player in the history of the National Football League, just 19 years old when he became a starting defensive end with the San Francisco 49ers in 1952, fresh out of San Diego High School. Powell was one of the few modern-day players who made it to—let alone excelled—in the NFL without playing college football. Actually, he had signed up with the St. Louis Browns pro baseball team as a power-hitting right fielder and spent the summer after high school graduation playing Class B ball in Stockton and Idaho before forsaking baseball for pro football.

Powell was one of the greatest high school athletes America has ever known. He was recruited by the Harlem Globetrotters for his basketball skills, and he hit home runs out of Balboa Stadium that reportedly made Hall of Famer Ted Williams envious. He was scouted by the NFL during high school. Remarkably, Powell accomplished this during a time that saw Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in professional baseball.

Charlie was also a barrier-breaker during this period of blatant racism. He was one of those who quietly but effectively helped pave the way for others. Big Bob Foster would later retain his title twice against South African Pierre Fourie, both by decision. Their second fight in 1973 had a major social impact because it was fought in apartheid-governed South Africa. Foster became a hero to South African blacks by beating the white Fourie in their rematch, the first boxing match in South Africa after apartheid featuring a white versus a black.

Ali

“I saw a quote in a magazine that said Ali was second only to Martin Luther King in his social influence. I said, ‘What did he do?’ I tried to figure it out. And it was nothing. He was about the Muslims and he was about himself. But this image was so imbedded in the public consciousness that he’s some sort of saint that it’s hard to disabuse people of it.”—Mark Kram (2001)

“Now, if Ali was still going around saying those things, I don’t think he would be as beloved as he is today. By the same token, this country as a whole has become much more understanding of the terrible prejudice and bigotry that existed and has come to recognize the underlying validity of Ali’s demand for racial justice and equality.”—Thomas Hauser (Thinkexist.com)

Muhammad Ali would make his sociopolitical impact during the 1960s and 1970s as well, though universal consensus on his motives is not totally positive. Many other black athletes spoke out, including Bill Russell, Jim Brown, and track and field’s Tommie Smith and John Carlos. But the mercurial “Greatest” was center stage in this volatile decade. Maybe constantly reminding everyone that “I am the greatest!” convinced people that he was, in fact, the greatest. “I am the greatest,” he chattered. “I am the prettiest. I am so pretty that I can hardly stand to look at myself.” However, there was far more to Ali than the hyperbole.

Some revere Ali as if he were a visionary or saint, but I’d prefer to treat that concept with a more balanced perspective. The myths about Ali are rarely demystified, and maybe that’s because he is perceived to walk on sacred ground. However, in “Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud Between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier,” the late Mark Kram was one of the few who challenged the legacy and legend of Ali in a reasoned and non-hagiographic manner. On the other hand, in “Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times,” the renowned boxing writer Thomas Hauser painstakingly provides the ultimate view of Muhammad Ali as an almost magical figure who remains larger than life and “the most recognizable person on earth.’” Hauser draws on over 200 sources to make his case. Both are fascinating and compelling works.

However, regardless of one’s personal views, the contributions Ali made to the African-American community were manifest, first as an attention-grabbing radical voice and much later while active on the lecture circuit. And it cannot be denied that he led the sports world in radicalism at a time when radicalism was arguably necessary. Quite simply, he was the right person to come along at the right time and, perceived or otherwise, he represented courage, individualism, conviction, and tenacity to a global fandom that became increasingly adoring and now idolizes him.

The progressive jump in athletics for blacks from the Negro Baseball League to Jackie Robinson to Doug Williams to Ali to Tiger Woods to the 2007 Super Bowl (in which both head coaches were African Americans) has been spectacular, but far too long in coming. Ali’s contributions to this evolution will remain part of his legacy.

Back to Charlie

Still, athletes like Powell helped lay the groundwork before Ali, albeit far more quietly. Charlie was one of a new breed of active and responsible African-American athletes who helped grease the skids for others in the world of sports.

During an interview with sports consultant Reggie Grant, Powell talked about his life during World War II and how, while he was in high school, pockets of integration formed and thrived. At San Diego High School whites, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics were thrown together, and they became a state powerhouse in all sports. But, according to Powell, racism and segregation was always a part of the equation. He recollected when a truck pulled up to his neighbor’s house one day, and, just like that, a Japanese family disappeared. They had been taken to a Japanese internment camp for the remainder of World War II.

As for Powell’s amazing athletic skills, he was the only baseball player folks can remember hitting balls out of Balboa Stadium on a consistent basis. This was the same baseball stadium in which Ted Williams often played. Powell was drafted by the then St. Louis Browns and the summer after high school, he played for its minor league team in Modesto, California. However, baseball did not prove to his liking, so he went home.

In basketball, Powell was a second-team all-league center in high school. He played forward and center and was a dominate player. The Harlem Globetrotters came to town and all but begged his parents to let them take him with them.

“But baseball and track were during the same season,” Powell recalled during the interview, “so I’d go to the track meet, maybe put the shot a couple of times, and then change in the car and go to play baseball…And every now then and I’d fill in and run the relays.”

In all, Charlie won 12 varsity letters. Among other things, he ran the 100-yard dash in a blazing 9.6 seconds. He high jumped 6 feet and put the shot 57 feet 9¼ inches. (That San Diego High School record still stands over fifty years later.)

His professional football career began in 1952 when San Francisco 49er Coach Buck Shaw showed up at his home in San Diego, contract in hand. Charlie’s parents had to sign the contract and he made a whopping $10,000 that first year. He was a world-class athlete long before players were fairly compensated for their skills and he credited his success as a football player and boxer to his superior conditioning. As a 19-year-old, his chance to play came during training camp when the starter was injured, and did he ever make the most of it!

In his very first game, Charlie played against the world champion Detroit Lions, a team loaded with several all-pros and future Hall of Fame players. Charlie sacked the great quarterback Bobby Layne an eye-popping 10 times for 67 yards in losses. All this before the NFL kept official stats on things like sacks. Powell quickly became an NFL star; his younger brother, Art, would eventually play in the AFL for the New York Jets. Powell and Joe “The Jet” Perry were the only black players on the 49ers, and he and the “Jet” sometimes had to stay in different hotels than their teammates.

Powell played seven full seasons in the NFL: five seasons for the 49ers (1952-53 and 1955-57) and two for the rowdy Oakland Raiders (1960-61).

The Boxer

Unlike overhyped predecessors and those who followed, Charlie Powell was the Real McCoy, a legitimate contender who fought Muhammad Ali when Ali was still Cassius Clay, and later Floyd Patterson, and achieved a high ranking among the top ten in the heavyweight division—and he did this in the football off-season!

Charlie actually started boxing at the age of 11 or 12. As a youngster, he would get up early before school and jog down to Archie Moore’s home, train with the champ, return home, shower, eat, and go to school. He earned extra food for his family during WWII by boxing at the San Diego Marine Corps and Naval bases.

Powell started off his boxing career in 1953 fighting to a draw with Fred Taylor, but then he reeled off 10 straight knockout wins. In only his fourth fight, Charlie made short work of Al Winn (29-23-1 coming in). However, as is often the case, his managers and promoters got greedy and moved him along too fast. Powell was young and naive about the sleazy elements surrounding him and he would suffer the consequences, for he would fight ad get KO’d by rugged contender Charlie “The Bayonne Bomber” Norkus in only his second year as a pro.

The highlight of Charlie’s boxing career occurred in March 1959 when he knocked out the number-two ranked boxer in the world, 6’4” Nino Valdes of Cuba. The fight was nationally-televised. Valdes was knocked down three times and Powell vaulted to fourth in the world rankings. This truly meant something back then since there was just one unified world champion in every weight class. A rematch was scheduled in Valdes’s home country of Cuba amidst the noir-like involvement of movie star and wannabe gangster George Raft as the promoter, but it never came off due to the Castro-led revolution.

Eventually, Powell would finish with a record of 25-11-3 (19 KOs). Among his opponents were such notables as Norkus (twice), Harold Carter, Floyd Patterson, Roger Rischer (twice), Mike DeJohn (in which the ripped Powell was blasted out in the early seconds of round one), Johnny Summerlin, Roy Harris, and, of course, Ali.

Powell was one of those exciting, fan-friendly types like Bob Satterfield, a chill-or-be-chilled type. The first Norkus fight in 1954 had lots of drama surrounding it and while it warrants separate and special treatment, suffice to say that while Powell got knocked out, he put the equally muscled “Bayonne Bomber:”through some early hell. A reporter asked Norkus before the fight what he thought the outcome would be with the undefeated Powell. Reportedly, Norkus replied that “Lefty O’Doul would be wise to advertize on the bottom of Powell’s shoes.” Powell won the rematch in 1958. Interestingly, Rocky Marciano was in attendance and once again shrewdly seemed to use Norkus to feel out potential title contenders.

Powell fought Ali in 1963 in Pittsburgh before 17,000 fans and like so many of Ali’s opponents, he felt the sting of biting insults. Ali predicted he would KO Powell in round three and did just that, but Powell earned $12,000 more than he’d ever been paid for an entire season as a pro football player. In 1964 Charlie was paid $10,000 to fight Floyd Patterson, but lost that one in six.

However, it was during the lead-up to the Clay bout that Powell became one of the few who prevailed over the flashy champion in the pre-fight banter that was the Clay’s trademark. Ali arrived at the weigh-in for his bout with his usual arrogance only to find himself facing a bigger and more physically intimidating man. Powell also brought along his brother, Art, who was more than willing to exchange insults with Clay. Cassius became discombobulated and put on his vest the wrong way.When Powell pointed this out, Clay/Ali stomped out only to find the door of the janitor’s closet instead of the exit. It was a rare pre-fight loss for Clay, but once in the ring, it was a different story.

Ironically, Charlie did not reach his full potential because of that which distinguished him; namely, being a two-sport man. Going back and forth between football and boxing, he would put on weight for one and lose it for the other. Had he focused on boxing, there is no telling how far he could have gone.

Charlie Powell was never really picked up by the public or the press, but I knew about him and I know him personally. He was one of the truly great all-around athletes of any era. If you are ever in San Diego, visit the Breitbart Hall of Champions and look for the Powell brothers, Art and Charlie. San Diego has produced many great world-class athletes, Hall-of-Famers, and Heisman winners, but the classy Powell is the best prep athlete ever to come out of San Diego, and one of the most respected.

Both Charlies—Norkus (2012) and Powell (2009)—have been inducted in the California Boxing Hall of Fame.

Charles “Charlie” Powell was and is all man.

Charlie Powell at 2008 California Boxing HOF event.

[CNorkusJr]

Many Thanks to my friend Ted Sares on the great piece above on Charlie Powell. My father had great praise for Powell, before and after the fight in San Francisco in 1954.
The statement to the press concerning "Lefty ODoul (Famed SF saloon owner and place where statement was made) would be wise to advertise on bottom of Charlie Powell's shoes " is correct and happened a few days prior to their match. It should be noted that there was no angst in the statement , and was part of the usual fodder usually thrown around by all boxers before their matches to generate interest and ticket sales. Though no further hype was necessary for this fight as it was seen as a " California hometown Sports hero vs contender with both fighters setting their sights on Marciano" scenario was all it needed.

My father told me that training in New York before this particular match-up vs. Powell was more tedious than other workouts he had. Facing a taller and talented fighter was going to be more exhausting because of the constant throwing of punches up above shoulders, compared to short jabs, or downward punches. My father knew that going to San Francisco was going to require most likely to be a decisive decision or knockout to come away with the victory. My father faced challenges like that before, but Powell was the real deal and the fight had momentous consequences on the immediate future for both fighters. Though my father never feared Charlie Powell (he never feared any opponent and took on all comers) he did however had the upmost respect for the young boxer. Powell trained hard and had to be dealt with cautiously. Ghee Laico and trainer, Angelo Curley, for this fight made sure my father trained with much taller sparring partners and stay close in to counter Powell's long arms and reach.
The fight video will bore this out. My father told me he needed to find an opening for his left hooks on counter punching. He found a few opportunites and prevailed.

Here is a day-after interview with my father in San Francisco (nothing but praise for his opponent). Thank You my Chicago friend Dan Hanley for this print.



In case you never saw the fight from previous pages- here is the link

http://sosoboxing.com/boxing-video-watc ... -powell-i/

[marzam]

[CNorkusJr]

Great Interview with Carlos Palomino, taken Poolside after 2012 CA Boxing HOF dinner at Sportsman's Lodge Los Angeles, CA Oct 2012 by Chicago writer, Dan Hanley.

http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/blog/?p=14576#more-14576

[Expug]

Chicago Lightweight Johnny Lira who we have talked about on this thread a few times passed away yesterday at 61. I knew Johnny a bit. Trained in the same gym in the early eighties with him. He was a very tough guy and a real throwback. You guys here would have liked him. His big win was knocking out unbeaten viscous punching Andy Gannigan in Hawaii. RIP champ.

[Expug]

Roger...Lira grew up around Grand and Ogden. Tough Italian neighborhood and he never left. A few years ago he testified as a character witness for his buddy Joey "The Clown"Lombardo who was on trial.

[dagosd2000]

Roger...Lira grew up around Grand and Ogden. Tough Italian neighborhood and he never left. A few years ago he testified as a character witness for his buddy Joey "The Clown"Lombardo who was on trial.

Brian,I don't know what it is,but fighters and gangsters are a bad mix. A "character witness" for Joey"The Clown" Lombardo. I see the irony there. Take care pal. Rog

[dagosd2000]

On Top Of The World

"You mean to say Diaz trained here?" I asked my nephew.
We were driving in his car through the back streets of my wife's hometown in Michoacan.
"Well I don't know. He left here with his family when he was little."
My nephew drove around in circles for a while trying to find the town's boxing gym. Finally he had to ask. An old man pointed him down the street. The gym was on the corner.No one was around. The gym was closed. It had that metal door so common down there. The gym had no windows.
"When does it open?"I asked.
"I think in the afternoon."
"To think a kid from Jiquilpan winning a title."
"Actually he was born in Paredones."
"That's where your aunt was born."
Imagine a little place like Paredones on top of that mountain overlooking Jiquilpan. My wife and all her brothers and sisters were born there on a ranch. The last time I went up there with her was to visit her godmother. She was 108 years old. I don't think she ever left that burg much. It couldn't of had a population of over a hundred.
"Well lets go back to the house,"I said. Maria will have breakfast ready."
I went back to our house up on the Loma. I read a while . Took a nap. Then I painted. It was scene of Paredones. A ranchita. Quiet. A road going through the center. Bright little houses. Plenty of flowers.
My wife's cousin owned the abarottes. She sold a little of this and that. Some beer on the weekend. There was a the church and the plaza. On Saturday night someone would put on the truck radio and play music while the men would drink the cahuamas.
But with the economy going bad and the robbers taking over,the town had just about dried up. Hardly a soul lived there.
After a meal of my wife's mole I went back down the hill to see if the gym was open. It was closed. There was a kid wearing a pair of sweats sitting in front of the door.
"When does the gym open?"I yelled from the car.
"At six,"he said.
It was already past seven.
I drove back to the house. I went back to the gym a few more times. The gym was always closed. I had to leave and go back to San Diego after a week. On the flight back I thought about Diaz coming from a place like that to be champion of the world.

[El Gallo]

Interesting News . . .

Ray Maynez, whom I brought aboard the California Boxing Hall of Fame as Advertising Director, has left the organization to work with me, and a new organization that will debut it's first major event in 2014. Maynez is not happy with the disrespectful nature of the CBHOF management toward boxing legends, and is grateful for the opportunity to serve the " - - - - - - - " in the future. The new organization, which will take over for both the World Boxing Hall of Fame and California Boxing Hall of Fame on the West Coast.


-Rick Farris
(The Forum name "El Gallo" was created after my Boxrec password was tampered with.)

[dagosd2000]

Interesting News . . .

Ray Maynez, whom I brought aboard the California Boxing Hall of Fame as Advertising Director, has left the organization to work with me, and a new organization that will debut it's first major event in 2014. Maynez is not happy with the disrespectful nature of the CBHOF management toward boxing legends, and is grateful for the opportunity to serve the " - - - - - - - " in the future. The new organization, which will take over for both the World Boxing Hall of Fame and California Boxing Hall of Fame on the West Coast.


-Rick Farris
(The Forum name "El Gallo" was created after my Boxrec password was tampered with.)

Rick,best of luck on your fresh endeavor. Watch out for those tamperers. Rog

[El Gallo]

Chicago Lightweight Johnny Lira who we have talked about on this thread a few times passed away yesterday at 61. I knew Johnny a bit. Trained in the same gym in the early eighties with him. He was a very tough guy and a real throwback. You guys here would have liked him. His big win was knocking out unbeaten viscous punching Andy Gannigan in Hawaii. RIP champ.

Brian, sorry to hear this. I remember you talking of Johnny Lira. RIP.

[Expug]

Thanks Rick. Best of Luck with your plan also. Hopefully we will be in LA when the NHL lockout gets settled and maybe we can get another reunion going.

[Expug]

I'm enjoying Rogs writings here. He has the magic touch. It reminds me of one of the first times I saw Johnny Lira. Ya know how things just stay with you forever? It made an impression on me. I was a kid boxing amateur and training at the CYO gym on west Jackson blvd. Lira came strutting in there a few days after knocking out Andy Gannigan. 1979 or whatever it was. Somebody asked him about the fight and I always remember what he said. "As soon as that guy wanted to turn it into a street fight,I knew I was gonna knock him out". Man I thought that was the greatest. It seems like only yesterday. It so strange how we remember so vividly things like this. Its these moments that have kept me hooked on this game. And,its never gonna change.

[El Gallo]

Thanks Rick. Best of Luck with your plan also. Hopefully we will be in LA when the NHL lockout gets settled and maybe we can get another reunion going.

Sounds good, Brian.
A reunion would be great.
You once suggested we attempt to kick this thread back in gear?
This one started to die in 2011, when we had all left.
KO Mags and photos of Aragon were posted and reposted, etc.
We can take it back where it belongs, and that's beyond the borders of LA's Eastside.
I feel like writing, and I know Rog does too.
Let's write some stories, real, almost real, fiction or fantasy.
And perhaps we can together share some ideas related to my plans for a California VBA.
What I have in mind for a Hall of Fame situation is much different than the WBHOF or CBHOF.
And it's something that must created from the foundation up, not the remenents of somebody else's work.
You know that we can all be a part of this, even if some are unable to attend the event.
Photos, films, interviews, media focus, books, art, history, collectors quality Journal, awards, etc.
I have people in the entertainment industry who are coming together to contribute.
Rog has been around the Hall of Fame events since this thread started neary five years ago. I was with the WBHOF then.
We all came together in 2008, and it was great. All of the important people attended that event.
Rog & Maria, Dan Hanley, Brian, Randy & Jeri, Monica & I, Chuck Johnston. The organization failed, but our group flurished briefly.
I've got time to contribute to this again. And now that a couple A-holes are posting elsewhere, the air feels much cleaner, like home.
Let's show them how quickly the right people can bring this back up to par!

Rick

[Expug]

Perfect Rick. You're spot on my friend. Let's get this rolling. I've got some time and it feels good to see this come together again.

[Bobbin & Weavin]

So now you have my attention...
Bruce

[dagosd2000]

Can anyone tell me how to post pictures again? I forgot how to do it. Rog

[coach greg v]

Can anyone tell me how to post pictures again? I forgot how to do it. Rog

I need help there too. Its cold up here and I have time.

[Expug]

Couple more Johnny Lira stories. Johnny was Italian but he had kinda reddish blond light hair. One time I really bruised my hand bad and sparring was hard. This is after I had a couple pro fights. So..Johnny makes like a pad out of gauze and tape for me to wear to pad the hand. I told him hey,thanks Johnny. He says,"don't worry about it Bri. Us Irishmen gotta stick together". Another time in the gym,Johnny was sparring with Louie Mateo. Louie fought Randy Shields and Pipino Cuevas. Anyway,Louie had just come off a fight with,I think Pedro Acosta in which it got out of control and both got dqd. Anyway Louie and Johnny are sparring and you hear Johnny say " you gotta learn to watch out for this" and he knees Louie right in the balls. Naturally it went up for grabs after that and everyone had to jump in and pull them apart. What a character.

[dagosd2000]

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[CNorkusJr]

This is how I upload photos here and elsewhere in Boxrec forums.

I use tinypic.comGo to tinypic.com and when page opens up it should say "upload images &videos". I never uploaded a video just image photo. Hit "Browse" button and select a photo from your computer downloaded photos. Double click on selected photo . File type should be on "image".Hit the drop down menu for "resize" selection.
I usually use "message board" and select. Yopu can get bigger images by hitting 15" or 17" selected also.
Then "UPLOAD" the picture.
Hilite the IMG code for messages boards
It should start with [IMG] http:// yayaya and end the same way [IMG]
Copy that IMG code and paste it in open response box in the forum. I hope this helps.

Hopefully when you hit forum room "submit " button, your picture will appear and not IMG code. Good luck.

[El Gallo]

This is how I upload photos here and elsewhere in Boxrec forums.

I use tinypic.comGo to tinypic.com and when page opens up it should say "upload images &videos". I never uploaded a video just image photo. Hit "Browse" button and select a photo from your computer downloaded photos. Double click on selected photo . File type should be on "image".Hit the drop down menu for "resize" selection.
I usually use "message board" and select. Yopu can get bigger images by hitting 15" or 17" selected also.
Then "UPLOAD" the picture.
Hilite the IMG code for messages boards
It should start with [IMG] http:// dadada and end the same way
Copy that IMG code and paste it in open response box in the forum. I hope this helps.

Thanks, Charlie!