Malcolm 'Flash' Gordon

Of course,

Anyone who discredits the incorruptible ring magazine is one who's credibility is to be instantly banished through the gates of hell....

 

Flash was a woody Allen type....a good guy, not a pot head. A very knowlegable guy who was respected by most of the inside circle in boxing. I used to sit outside the forum or the garden and some of the guys that used to hang out there were Freddie Brown, Russel Petz( spectrum promoter) Eddie Cool writer for the Austrailian Boxing Mag. Harold Letterman, a lot of fighters and trainers and Flash's partner Johhnny Bos who became a fight promoter ( he would toke a bit) he was a brilliant fight expert and he was high on Walcott...rated him UP there. He loved the game but I think King sent a few guys after him and he was kind of abused for helping to expose Ort and King with the Holmes ratings.

 

I was a Flash guy big time, loved em and hung on his every word. He adored Archie Moore his fav all time fighter i do believe. Matter of fact I just now recall asking Flash about Ausse Harding winning the Lt Hv title from Andreies and he had a bit of a s--- fit about how horrible a thing that this so and so gets to put his name up with Archie Moore.

Another memory, Flash dissed old timers BIG TIME!! I showed em Benny Leonard vs Tendler. He was polite about voicing Carlos Orties-Ike Williams-Roberto Duran would kick Bennys ass, Flash was a NYer of jewish heritage and took s--- for this, he could care less. All this was at the main NY lib on 42 st. Flash was there allot 94-95-96-ish working on some boxing comeback publication.
It never saw daylight. Last of the great N.Y.C. characters no doubt!

 

Flash Gordon was a charactor, he was boxing nut, extreme fan. I wonder if he goes on internet? He was around in 1980's, I never met him, heard he was Woody Allen type looking dude. He would sit at fights with small entourage. Matchmaker Johnny Bos broke in after hanging around Flash, the two were no longer frieds after Bos became matchmaker, because Flash got mad about stiffs Bos was setting up for Madison Square garden fighters.

Flash Gordon has annual ratings book, plus anewsletter he publishe dhimself. He'd call Don King and Bob Arum criminals, he did not give a****.

His annal ratings book was classic. He'd have all fighters active listed. with their records. Here's good part--if guy was a stiff, he'd put up a funny picture. Like a guy was 3-27, ko'd 10 times, he had photo of a bum in street along guys name. For anohter dive-taker he put up picture of Richard Pryor makng funy face.

 

This really brings me back some. I knew "Flash" for years, as I use to talk to him at many of the boxing events, including the "Ice World." I still have 100's of his programs. THe last one I have is "Issue Number 502," November 30th 1984. In it it has the following:

TONIGHT'S BOXING PROGRAM AND WEEKLY NEWSLETTER-
As Advertised Over Fred Wymore's C.B.S. T.V. "Sports People" Program Of October 27th, 1984;

" ... THAT FLASH GORDON IS GARBAGE ... A SLANDER SHEET!"

AS QUOTED BY DON KING, convicted murderer, Cleveland organized crime figure, extortionist, tax evader, and all around great guy.


Malcolm (Flash) Gordon was the publisher and writer of a boxing journal named "Tonight's Boxing Program and Weekly Newsletter," which he published out of his apartment in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s.

Gordon could usually be found outside of Madison Square Garden on fight night, selling his program, which was highly regarded in the trade. Gordon resourcefully bought out-of-town papers for the results and news, maintained records, and covered the sport in a muckraking style, intent upon uncovering the corruption and other ills surrounding boxing. One of his most important stories was helping to uncover the Ring Magazine Scandal.

Gordon quit publishing his newsletter during the mid-1980s. He has kept a low-profile since then, and his whereabouts are largely unknown.


Ring Magazine Scandal

From Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia

In 1976 The Ring magazine fabricated records of selected boxers, to elevate them, thereby securing them lucrative fights on the American ABC television network, as part of the United States Championship Tournament.

The United States Championship Tournament was a promotional effort by promoter Don King to capitalize on the patriotism surrounding the United States Bicentennial and the American amateur success at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. King's "hope" was to defeat the non-American boxers who held the vast majority of world titles below the Heavyweight division. Keeping in line with the patriotic theme of the promotion, King held shows at "patriotic" locales--such as the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as well as on an aircraft carrier stationed off Pensacola, Florida.

Despite the above, the 1977 Ring Record Book contained the fictitious additions to the records of the boxers in question, and were never taken out of their records of the boxers. Those dubious bouts would continue to appear in subsequent Ring Record Book editions.

This Ring Record Magazine scandal was uncovered by boxing writer Flash Gordon and ABC staffer Alex Wallau. After Gordon and Wallau's evidence was presented to ABC executives the United States Championship tournament was cancelled.

Boxers involved

Boxers who participated in the tournament and given inflated records were:

• Donald (Biff) Cline - given five first round knockouts in 1976
• Mike Colbert - given three wins in 1976
• Ike Fluellen - given two wins in Mexico in 1976
• Anthony House
• Hilbert Stevenson - given five wins, and a draw with House in 1976

 

If I remember correctly they also bostered Tom Prators record to give Larry Holmes a boast by beating him and some of the other fighters were elavated

 

Colbert's number one rating at middleweight in The Ring was laughable. I think he's was pretty high even before the 'Johnny Bought' fiasco (maybe even #1 already).

 

Good post 'H', especially this.

What impressed me most about Flash is that even his enemies knew he was the goods and wanted to read his work. The man simply tried to bring some integrity into boxing.

 

He was a great source of information back in the day. Boxing people HAD to read flash. He was like Drudge is today.

 

Interesting character,I believe he no follows boxing .think I read that somewhere.

 

It's important to understand that Flash didn't really expose the King-ABC boxing scandal. In truth, everyone already knew that the tournament was absurd. I remember the editors at Boxing Illustrated and World/International Boxing saying so even before Flash got involved.

Flash deserves credit for taking the scandal to a higher, more outrageous level by exposing the fake records maintained by Ring Magazine.

 

I knew John Ort, he was a nice guy. He was Nat Loubets Son-in- Law, who was Nat Fliechers brother in law....but he sold out the Ring for $$$$ ( KING corrupted him) but Nat F. was already semi retired...and Loubet had handled the Wrestling for the most part so Ort had control over the boxing. All the writers at that time were 100+ years old...they could tell you about the old guys and favored them. I once asked Flecher what he thought of Ken Buchanan ( who I thought was an excellent fighter just short of great) and Nat said' He is a very good fighter but in honesty was no match for Benny Leonard or some of his opponents. Nat felt Ali would have been KO'd by Louis and beaten by Johnson and Dempsey and Jeffires...he loved Sam Langford, Ketchel, Walker, Ross, Canzonari, Pep, SSR,Armstrong, Kid Chocolate, Joe Choniski and Beeny Leonard also Abe Attel

 

I think you have it correct.

 

I'm curious, what did Ort do for a living? I don't imagine that he could support himself off of his Ring Magazine activities alone. Also, what became of Ort after the 1977 scandal? He was never heard from again.

 

While Ort rated Buchanan very highly and amongst the very best he'd ever seen.