Young Griffo's Pall Bearers

bobby, that's terrible, if true, but-
My elderly neighbor was just arrested on charges of assault with a dead weapon.!

 

The quote was from wire report. 1927-12-12 Springfield (MO) Daily Republican (page 8)

 

Very good Bobby, but i work alone!:yep:yep:yep

 

Bobby, I had a "straight man", but he developed a hunchback. Had to get rid of him !

 

:thumbsup Very nice. Once again thanks mate.



This is an article i found a while back about the move to bring Griffo back to Oz amid rumours he was destitute. Interesting read if nothing else...

 

WHY GRIFFO DID NOT RETURN TO AUSTRALIA

By JACK MUNRO - 31st August 1946

A correspondent has recalled to me a move made in 1922 to bring that famous Australian gloveman, Young Griffo-claimed by many to have been the cleverest boxer the world has known-back from the United States to the Commonwealth to spend the twilight of his days in comfort and peace. My correspondent asks why the move failed. I remember the proposal well. The move did not fail-it was, simply abandoned. For reasons that I shall detail, I helped to cause that abandonment.

Australian sportsmen were some- what agitated in 1922 when rumours became current that Griffo-bom Albert Griffiths, at Sofala, N.S.W., in 1871-was living in New York in squalor and penury. This it was considered was no credit to Australian sportsmanship, or to the Australian ring.
Eventually Messrs. Frank Underwood. Wally Weekes, and E. S. Marks, among others, convened a meeting to help the famous but reportedly destitute gloveman.

The basic idea was, if memory serves me well, that Griffo could be given vaudeville and similar "public appearance" engagements here, and so improve his finances. It was believed that the very magic of his name would bring him enough to make the rest of his days pleasant, or at least, enough to tide him over until his thousands of friends could arrange a settled future for him.

From the first I was a little doubtful about the wisdom of bringing him
back. I had in mind what had happened in this country to other boxers of high fame, and I was not so optimistic about the great Griffo's prospects in this country. Moreover, I was some what sceptical about the reports of his destitution in the United States, as 1 had heard stories that did not march with those tales.

Then I could not help thinking about men like Billy McCarthy one of the best of our middleweights, one of our most respected ringmen and one of our boxers who "invaded" the United States successfully. Billy carne back with enough capital and enough fame, to establish himself in a gymnasium in George Street, opposite Anthony Horderns. He was a great boom for a few weeks, and everybody made a great fuss of him. After that, the bubble of his success burst, and Billy was left almost alone. He closed his gymnasium and took up a shoeblack's stand outside the Cambridge (Garratt's) Hotel, at the corner of Market and Castlereagh Streets. He could not stand up to it. though, and he passed on to selling newspapers, and eked out his earnings with bounties from a few of us who remembered. Billy, however was a lover of in- dependence. I lost sight of him then, and his name was soon half-forgotten. Some time later, on one of my then periodic visits to the Old Men's Home at Lidcombe, I discovered Billy again better off than he had been since the decline of his gymnasium, living in his memories, entertaining eager audiences of his fellows with his tales of the ring. With the thought of Billy and others clear in my mind; I believed it would be better to postpone a decision about Griffo until I had seen him myself, as I was then about to leave for the U.S.A. I promised the meeting to report after I had discussed affairs with the once great Australian fighter.

New York Meeting

Two months later I did meet him near Times Square, New York, the home of the great fight managers and promoters. Jack Britton, former world champion welterweight, piloted me to the rear door of a theatre about 100 yards from the Square. There, reclining on the doorstep, was he who had been "Young" Griffo -rosy, cheerful, neatly dressed, and obviously carefree. We talked for a while, discussed great fights of other days, and strolled. A few yards off was a fruit stall, its proprietor an Italian. As we
neared it. Britton nudged me "Watch this." he said. Griffo spoke to the Italian. "Hullo, Giuseppe," he said. "Put 'em up!"
The Italian immediately sprang into something like boxing position.
Griffo feinted with his left to the Italian's face, and the stallkeeper smothered up. As the Italian had his eyes covered, Griffo's left diverted like lightning toward a pile of sun ripe pippins, came back with one firmly gripped.

We continued our walk with Griffo munching at the fruit. This was the Griffo whose speed was still great-he could, even then, catch a fly in flight in his lightning like hand. Well, it turned out that Grifto. far from being destitute, was relatively well off. He was the unofficial pensioner of a score of American businessmen, professional men, fight managers, journalists, and others who had in another day been his admirers.They had established the custom of seeing that he was given at least $2 a day; out-of-town visitors would call on him, and insist on leaving a gratuity as a pledge of their admiration. Griffo was not keen on this practice in the beginning. Britton told me, but gradually he had been persuaded that these were not "charity" payments, that they were in reality proofs of a fairly won esteem.

Future Assured

I visited Griffo's lodgings, found them good, homely, comfortable, I discovered he had a bank balance and that his future seemed assured.
His actual condition was so far from that which had been the subject of rumour in Sydney that I decided to wait until I returned home to advise Griffo's Australian friends to leave the boxer in his comfort and security in America. This, eventually, they did. America, that did not forget the i living Griffo, paid tribute to him when he died. His funeral-Griffo died at the age of 56-was marked by the presence of hundreds of notable businessmen and sportsmen and many more hundreds of admirers who paid their homage to the memory of a great boxer.

 

He was arested for gross indecency with a young boy.

The case was never tried because the judge ruled that the details were too sordid to put before a jury.

Of course we don't know the details.

 

bugger, thanks for this long forgotten article.Young Griffo was a wonder.
Unlike the later Willie Pep, who was always in tip top condition, Griffo
was a drinker, not the best condition for a featherweight,but he was one of a kind.As I posted my dad in his work, saw this roly poly man sitting on theatre steps. P.S., I wonder if the author Jack Munroe, was the fighter who James J Jeffries ko'd in 1904 ? Good work B...:good

 

No worries Burt, glad you enjoyed it.

Got a good chuckle out of the story Bobby posted about Griffo taunting McAuliffe. Griffo was apparently well sloshed before their bout and continued drinking beer between rounds, despite this was still able to give McAuliffe a one sided beating. I love reading stories on Griffo, i tend to get a good laugh if nothing else. Your certainly right to say he was one of a kind.

Wow, I didnt know Munro trained Richards. I've heard he was a fantastic promoter and at one time was general manager of Sydney Stadium. He was also meant to be quite a handy boxer and wrestler in his youth. I've come across a few of Munro's articles and they all are quite enjoyable reads, he certainly was a Dave Sands fan. I may be wrong but the impression i have gotten of him is that he was very respected and that his opinion carried alot of weight in the boxing community, but thats just an impression i dont know all that much about him.

Bobby, you mention Jack Read in one of your earlier posts, have you read his book on Griffo?