Cocoa Kid -A Mystery No More.

If your theory is that "Louis Hardwick" (whose death certificate you reproduced) fought in Georgia and then gave his license to Cepero and Cepero became Cocoa Kid, it is an interesting one, but it isn't correct.

Did you get a chance to read parts 1 and 2 of this new series?

 

I'm familiar with that claim, but frankly, I'm not sure whether it is reliable or not. It was claimed by the Police Gazette -which was well known for sensationalizing stories.

 

What did Jersey Jones have to say?

In any event, I don't know if Cocoa Kid ended up a wino. If there is more to that story than one line in the Police Gazette, I'd be curious as to what it is.

Lewis Hardwick boxed first in Georgia, circa 1928 or 1929 and then went to Puerto Rico. Many new professionals are -or try to be- sluggers. In Atlanta, Hardwick was known for his busy hands and a good punch. That is not dissimilar from Cocoa Kid in '32 in New Haven -busy hands, good punch. He was hooked up with seasoned trainers Blondi and Brown by his sponsor -Harry Durant. His first manager in Atlanta was his uncle -E.A. Robinson, who was the manager of a sandwich shop.

Louis Hardwick, whose death certificate you reproduced here, was not Lewis Hardwick who had some fights at the Elk's Rest in Atlanta. Elk's Rest was on the black side of the city and was a "colored" establishment. Those fights were all-black fights. White fighters were not on those cards.

Now, Louis Hardwick was born in 1910 and died in Dayton, Ohio in '76.

--He was white.

 

Part 3 is up.

http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles/12253-just-watch-mah-smokeq-part-3-the-great-informer

 

Quite a few things got lost in the revamp of the site, man. I'll check with them and see what can be done about the pdf.

 

According to one clipping, he spoke three languages. According to another, he spoke six. I know for certain that he was at least bi-lingual. After that, it's more speculative than evidentiary.

You know that there was plenty of rumors and misinformation out there about Cocoa Kid. However, evidence stronger than hearsay has come to light -and it overwhelmingly supports that case that Cocoa Kid's legal name was Herbert Lewis Hardwick, that he was the son of a black American seaman and a Puerto Rican, that he was born in 1914, that he fought in Georgia, Puerto Rico, and probably Florida, before coming north to New Haven, etc.

There's plenty that won't be mentioned in the series. And some of it I wish I could have included. It has to be readable. Overwhelming the text with facts and factoids is for legal briefs, not this.

Cocoa Kid went through managers like I go through a box of Oreo cookies. Jack Portney had a manager by the name of George Sheppard -who later became Cocoa Kid's manager, and that wasn't unusual back then (that's him in the photograph of the latest installment). His first manager was his uncle, as noted, and the manifest of the Ponce has the name "Herbert L. Hardwick," as well as the name of his uncle plainly printed on it along with ages and addresses.

-That's some strong evidence as to who Cocoa Kid was.

Add that to census reports, government documents, and the draft card of Lewis Herbert Hardwick (his father) -and you have proof that outweighs hearsay, faulty human memory, and even newspaper clippings.

Don't get me wrong about newspaper clippings. They can be weighty, and I'd love to see your clippings of Hardwick in Ohio -or a reference (name of paper and date).

 

That incident just uncovered/covered may have changed the trajectory of his whole career. Cocoa Kid was going places... and suddenly he wasn't ...no matter how good he became. I couldn't state what is a suspicion as if it were fact, but the hint is there.

Part 4 is a different tilt. It touches on boxing and race in the 30s and puts you in the ring with him against Baltimore's Jack Portney.