By David Martinez / dmboxing.com
The date – July 6, 1974 … Gary Ballin and I presented some of the greatest fights from the past on film, all from Gary’s collection, at the Eagles Lodge in Santa Barbara, California. I actually met Gary in 1967 through a mutual friend when we were both actively serving our country; he was in the Army, myself in the Navy, and we instantly bonded with our mutual love for boxing. Gary and I remained friends from then on, and years after in the 1990’s, we both served as Board of Directors and Boxing Historians with the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
The night was truly an event to remember with some of the fights we viewed true classics from the past. We also answered questions for a huge and enthusiastic boxing crowd
The bouts we watched, just to name a few were, Fitzsimmons vs. Corbett, Dempsey vs. Tunney, Marciano vs. Walcott, Frazier vs. Ali, Johnson vs. Jeffries, Louis vs. Conn, Patterson vs. Johansson, Foreman vs. Frazier, and footage of the first fight recorded on film, Corbett vs. Courtney in 1894.
Admission was free for the show, with the Eagles Lodge providing concessions with snacks, soft drinks and bar service at fair prices.
I must say the fans were well behaved during our three and a half hour event which ran straight through until about midnight. It was such a delight to promote, and something that I wanted to provide for those people in our area that love the sport of boxing.
One thing that got my attention was that a few of the old timers in the crowd actually had seen during their lifetime fighters such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Max Baer, Sonny Liston, Enrique Bolanos, and Ike Williams. That was surely educational for me as a young man who was only 26 years old at the time.
It’s moments in time like July 6, 1974 that make my journey in boxing what it has become today, and I truly feel blessed!