Yeah! I dug right in on the Marciano one. He and my cousin Big Bill Little were sparring partners and joined the Army together as I remember. If I remember right Bill said they were in tanks but Bill was actually too big but because of their partnership they let them serve together. When our family left Bristol Bay in 1953 to go out to high school we stopped to visit our relatives in Morton WA. The Loggers Jubilee was just going on and the one man misery whip worlds champion didn't have someone to compete with for some reason, cousin Bill volunteered to oppose him to give the audience satisfaction. He was one hell of a good sport and needless to say the "champion" won and took his movie camera over and took a movie of cousin Bill finishing sawing his log. It was one hell of a lot of fun! I remember when Bill took his saw over to be sharpened by a pro, he got a flat on his car, he opened his trunk, handed me a cement block and told me to put it under the frame as he picked up the car. That was his jack! He was 6'5" tall and looked like a blonde Superman to me. He was driving a fuel truck up in the mountains to refuel logging equipment at the time and took me along for one hell of a ride! He occasionally used a little Copenhagen and said if I was going to be part of the family I would have to try it. Well, the combination of the smell of the fuel oil and the tobaccy taste and old winding roads didn't quite agree with me so I politely let him know by puking on the side of his truck.
He had pictures of him and his buddy "Rocky" around the house. Bill tried to get back in to boxing around that time but had a "glass jaw" and couldn't quite make it. I saw him last in 1985 at a family reunion and he was in poor shape from logging and working in shingle factories. He was missing a couple fingers and his Knees were shot and couldn't get around very well. He was driving a school bus at the time. Yep, good ol' days! Geo
Stories from the past.
Re: Stories from the past.
Awesome!
Best post in here this week.
Keep 'em coming.
Best post in here this week.
Keep 'em coming.
Re: Stories from the past.
..fine debut....welcome to the club. 
Re: Stories from the past.
Big thanks, great story.
Re: Stories from the past.
Love your Big Bill story! I'm writing a book about Rocky Marciano and would love to chat more.
I also read that Big Bill played Paul Bunyan in the 1964 World's Fair in NY.
My email is [email protected]
I also read that Big Bill played Paul Bunyan in the 1964 World's Fair in NY.
My email is [email protected]