One reason why I rate Jim Jeffries verry highly among the great heavyweights.

A blow to the Jack Finnegan nut-huggers, he lost a 20 round decision to John(Jack)Cavanaugh in Pittsburg on Jan.16 1899-my birthdate but not quite my birthday!

 

Cheers, Burt. Any of us who have been around for any length of time knows just what a dreadful fountain of misinformation boxwreck can be. I just checked Bobby's entry on boxwreck, and he is now correctly identified as an orthodox boxer, so kudos to you and your first hand recollection as the party most responsible for initiating that much needed correction.

Burt, do you recall any of the preliminary matches listed on that Velodrome card recorded as the 13th and last venue entry for that busy date on the following link, either:
Bobby Rosado W6 Danny Womber
Jimmy Cerello W6 Ronnie Hopp
Gene Robnett W4 Abdoul Ali
Angel Martinez KO4 Wayne Eckhardt
(Do any of those names ring a bell from what you witnessed there?)

http://boxrec.com/date_search.php?yyyy=1950&mm=09&dd=04

Beyond that, I am of course very much interested in your evaluation of what Robby showed on the Dykes footage you just watched. This was SRR's first official outing after Bobo Olson I, which your fellow sage ESB oracle John Garfield has indicated to be one of Robinson's finest showings. Like JG, you saw a peak Robby in action with your own eyes. Like others here, I'm sitting at your feet, eager for you to share your comments.

Here's the link including the Robinson-Dykes Chicago card (again, the final venue at the bottom listed for that date):
Robinson W MD10 Dykes
Danny Womber W8 Buddy Smith
Chuck Davey KO3 Rusty Cleek

http://boxrec.com/date_search.php?yyyy=1950&mm=11&mm=11&dd=08

 

Lobotomy,No it couldn't have been theNov,8,1950 bout between Robinson/Dykes, because, the fight I SAW was in the outdoors, and the Coney Island Velodrome was only operating in the warm season in Coney Island, N.Y. Danny Womber was a sparring/stablemate of Ray Robinson, at that time...My intuition tells me somehow that Robinson and Dykes fought before, the fight I saw in Coney Island,was probably there second bout together ...Most likely in 1951-1952...I know what I saw,and how did I know that Bobby Dykes was orthodox,even though boxrec had him listed as a Southpaw ?The mystery continues.....I'll try other avenues of info as this has been bugging me for years...B.B.

 

My 1957 edition of the Ring Record Book mentions nothing of any other meeting between Robinson and Dykes on either of their records. Exhibition, perhaps? At this stage, perhaps your best bet to uncover something more would be to delve into archival microfilm of any newspaper covering events held there.

Wikipedia states that an Old Timer's reunion and bicycle race was the final event held there on September 4, 1950, after which it was torn down to make room for high rise housing. (As Robinson and Brown are recorded as having squared off there on the same date, the closing of that Velodrome must have been an eventful happening.)

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coney_Island_Velodrome[/ame]

 

Any chance of gettng back on topic

 

Mcvey,lets get back to our topic as you suggest...
I'll tackle my Twilight Zone privately...B.B.

 

Lobotomy,

Do you have the first few editions of the the Ring Record Book? Jeffreis has wins in there that seem to be tough to verify and track down in modern times. Yet they are listed. The Ring Record book has its share of mistakes, but for the most part its very accurate.

 

This is a little off topic,

but Burt, I was wondering if you can recall any fight you've seen a long time ago, where you can compare what you saw that night to the fight film that exists today.

Is it true, that old fight films take a lot away from how the actual fight was? Can you provide details? A penny for your thoughts, good sir!

 

I've only the one Ring Record book, and a tattered paperback boxing record book (Everlast?) tucked away somewhere that was published in 1933.

It does appear that Fleischer's compilation of Jeff's career was the primary source for the boxwreck information.

 

reznick,There are two films of fights that I have seen live, that are now on youtube....During the 1940s,and 1950s most fight cards in the boxing arenas around NY,didn't film the main event bouts then, that I know of...But there are two famous fights I saw ringside, that many years later,I discovered on film and youtube..One was the Ike Williams/Beau Jack fight that I saw in Philly, in 1948...I remember that night so vividly, and the near fatal beating that Beau Jack took in the 6th round stoppage..We, the crowd were then screaming for the ref to stop the brutal beating to the helpless brave Beau Jack, which he eventually did...You can see the brutal 6th round stoppage now on youtube, as I and the audience, saw 62 long years ago....Another fight I saw live was the second Ray Robinson/ RandyTurpin fight Sept,12, 1951 at the old Polo Grounds, NY..Robinson very badly cut, pulled out all stops and ko'd Turpin in the 10th round....We were screaming like madmen for Ray to ko tough Randy Turpin, which he did...Every now and then I watch the great Robinson's volley of punches that stopped Turpin...I still get that thrill, watching the10th round on youtube...Hope I answered some of your questions ,reznick....B.B.

 

Awesome burt.

Thank you for posting that. I just saw the Beau fight the other day as Williams was inducted to the boxing hall of fame. That was quite a brutal finish. Thats amazing that you were there for that fight.

Thanks again!

 

Nothing personal Burt, I think your mystery might merit a seperate thread ,it would also add to our knowledge if it gets solved.:good

 

I thought the Ring Record Book came out in the early 1940's. Can you dig yours up and list Jeffries career. Thanks.

 

Yes, you're right.
The Finnegan bout doesn't appear in several books I have from the 70s and 80s that list the heavyweight championship bouts.
And in two books I have there is a list of quickest heavyweight championship bouts, and again it does not qualify.

 

mcvey,thanks for the suggestion of a seperate thread for my 'twilight zone" mystery...I was correct so far, and am confident I did see Robinson,Dykes in Coney Island...B.B.