Pittsburgh the best fight city ever?

Maybe not fighters AND trainers. But fighters alone I would say that Pittsburgh in the 30s-40s, a time when they could claim more top fighters than just about any other city, was number one (or pretty darn close).

Conn, Yarosz, Zivic, Wilson, Soose, Angott, Marino, Burley....even John Henry Lewis moved his operations there. So did Holman Williams for a time(under Gus Greenlee).

 

Frazier, Hopkins, Briscoe, Jack O'Brien, Giardello, Qawi(from across the bridge in Camden but trained out of Philly) Ivan Robinson, Matthew Saad Muhammed, Jimmy Young, Meldrick Taylor, Cunningham ,Chambers.

To be honest Pittsburgh isn't even the best in its state.

 

Surf,one guy I saw in the 1940s was a terrific left-hooking Lee Sala from Donora, Pa . Home also of the great Stan Musial...Wasn't Donora a part of Pittsburgh ?

 

Not exactly Burt, but only about 25 miles out. Who did you see Sala fight? Would you say he was top notch, meaning in the same league as the best of the time?

 

Greb, Conn, Burley, Klaus, Angott, Teddy Yarosz, Tommy Yarosz, Zivic, Wilson, Davies, Soose

Compare the best of my list to the best of yours. No contest

 

Congratulations on the book. I look forward to it.

Chip was still "living" in the coal fields around Madison in 1910 but travelled back and forth to train with Dime at his southside gym, while he was still being managed by a guy in Madison. He spent a lot of time in New Castle though, apparently living there at least part time.

In May 1910 he was listed as having been in New Castle "for some time." And again this was said about him in July, so a large block of the spring/summer 1910 he was living in New Castle at least fairly steadily.

Chip moved to New Castle in late 1910 or early 1911 when Dime took him on full time and for a time I think he even lived in Dimes gym.

Dime was one of the first trainers to utilize a modern sized heavy bag, not the smaller sawdust bags that had been used up until the mid to late 1920s.

He had been operating a gym and working with fighters out of New Castle since at least 1905 or so.


McMahon I dont know much about. I know he lived in New Castle as early as 1912. I had never seen him called the Pittsburgh Bearcat in any Ohio or Pennsylvania newspapers but Ive only seen him in reference to the Chip brothers and Dime. Ive always seen him called the Bearcat, or the New Castle Bearcat, or being listed as from Kewanee or Spring Valley.

A lot of the Dime stable were sometimes listed as being from Pittsburgh by outside papers like New York and others but that wasnt accurate because they tended to lump all western Penn under the Pittsburgh banner.

Patsy Brannigan did not live in New Castle for most of his career. He trained there but he lived in Pittsburgh. Tony Ross lived in New Castle for a time but I think he moved to Youngstown and travelled back and forth. Tommy Jones did this as well.


It seems like the Dime stable was fighting in Pittsburgh often but it was really only once or twice a month at most per fighter. Thats really not a lot when you consider Pitts is only an hour away. I drive more than that every day for work.

The beauty of being a matchmaker is that you dont have to be on site. Dime was also a matchmaker and promoter at the same time for his own New Castle Athletic Club, as well as various shows in Youngstown. Essentially he sent his fighters down to Pitts to fight locals and occasionally used his connections to bring in an outside talent. There was not much he needed to do in Pitts. until fight night when he was working his fighters corners.

 

Yeah, I think even people from McKees Rocks would say they are from Pittsburgh, or least lie and say they were so you wouldnt know they came from McKees Rocks.

 

Hya C...I saw Lee Sala twice fighting Norman Hayes and Garth Panter at Eastern Pkwy Arena, NY in 1953..Sala was at the end of his career by then, but still could hit koing 48 opponents in 76 wins...Sala's best win was a ko of the feared puncher Joey DeJohn...I recall Lee was a handsome guy...
He was a step below top notch as there were so many damn good MWs in the late 1940s and 1950s...I recall Joey Giambra, Rocky castellani, Willie Troy, Carl Bobo Olson, Randy Turpin and some chap by the name of Ray Robinson...And your dad did very well in those competitive days, Charley Zivic...Cheers C...
P.S. I lived about 2 blocks away from Eastern Pkwy Arena, aptly called
{the house of upsets] ...:hi:

 

Just ignorant with a dislike of yinz in the burgh. Philly has a lot of suburban areas that fall under its population though. Either way Primanti Bros is awful.