1-Who was toughest in neighborhood? 2-My Balabam story
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:39 pm
Thanks to Marion in helping me input new posts. If you have a problem please note:
1-click Message board
2-click on Archer st Sign
3-Click on Stratton sign under where it says Message Area
4-Then you see a sign "new topic" and click it
Here are 2 posts one already i put in under "Doubt".
1/16/09
This is a story about neighborhood lore.
Who was the toughest guy in the old neighborhood? To me it was Gerry Jackson.
Gerry was not a big man: about 5' 9” and weighted ~175 lps. But he was very strong( a neck like a bull, deep chest and bulging arm muscles) and very fast.
And he was a spectacular athlete. He was on the Holy Cross College football team, and for a few years he held the long jump record in college.He was a fireman and worked out a lot at his fire station with weights etc.
My story was about his famous fight he had with Bill Hickey who was a big construction worker.
One day in Cotters Gerry came in when Hickey was there. I understand there was bad blood between them about a girl. At any rate Hickey started to give Gerry a hard time. Gerry told him to knock it off and if not he would take care of him. I recall Hickey laughed and started to give Gerry a harder time. Then Gerry said he will be back in 5 minutes. Gerry went to his car and took from out from the trunk a pair of dungarees and sneakers. He went into to bathroom and changed his clothes and called Hickey to a fight outside Cotters.
The next thing they started to fight but it was a fast one as Dickey threw a right hand but Gerry tucked under it and at the same time rushed to Hickey’s legs and lifted him off the floor and threw him against a car and he went down on his back and I recall he knocked him out with a few punches. Now this Hickey guy was a very big man and he was strong but he was slow.
Prior to this fight I knew that Gerry had a reputation of a tough guy but once I saw in action I knew it and made sure of not getting on the wrong side of him. And I know many who were in Cotters that day (mid 1960’s) learned how tough he was. Now over the years many guys said they were there to see the fight. However there were not guys around that day but as with neighborhood lore this happens. People are sure that were there. I know I was there.
Now there were a lot of tough guys around the neighborhood. I remember a fight between Mike M. and Fitz also outside Cotter’s. It was not much of a fight as Mike was big, strong and fast so the fight was over quickly. There is an old axiom that said that a good big man will beat a good smaller man but I wonder how a fight between Gerry and Mike would end up. In my mind it would be close.
Me I preferred to wish I was a lover and a poet but unfortunately not achieving either, but I read a lot of books and I played a lot of ball.
Who recalled being there seeing those fights? Who would get your vote as “the toughest guy in the neighborhood”?
12/15/09 stories
A year or two there were some posts written about Balabam. I have to admit that I was one of his tormentors who enjoyed h is reactions of our tormenting of him. This is one of my stories about him.
The time frames was in early 1950’s and I was in 6th or 7th class at St Anthony’s. The picture on website of bus stopped by candy store and Sylvania’s Bike store on Tremont reminded me of Joe M and I being off school on a snowy Tuesday afternoon for religious instruction for public school kids. We were building an arsenal of snow balls on roof facing Tremont to throw at buses and scare the passengers which usually resulted in some good laughs. Then we saw Balabam’s electrical truck coming toward us from Theriot Ave. and couldn’t resist, bombarded him. However being hit by snowballs, he slammed on brakes and saw us and turned around his truck and started to go to Beach Ave. We ran across the roof and jumped on to big ledge and started to run down the hill to street but he was already pulling up in front of lots and getting out of car. We panicked and ran to back of lots but there nowhere to go as there was high wall and only the dead end small alley in back. We decided to go in alley and hide. Next thing we saw him in front of alley, when I think we peed in our pants when we realized that we were trapped. All we could do was yell as he grabbed both of us and stared to carry us out to the lots. Lucky he slipped on snowy ground and we bolted down the hill and out on to Beach and made a beeline to our apartments on Taylor. Meanwhile he got back in his truck and was following us as we went down Guerlain St. We looked back at Taylor Ave and we saw him gaining on us. Joe got to 1535 first. I was alone as he pulled up to 1523 as I bolted up the stairs to our 2nd floor apartment. As I crashed through door and saw my mother in kitchen and told her that there was a “crazy man” chasing me, as I ran through the foyer/living room and into the bedroom and hid under the big bed. Next thing I know Balabam was telling my mother that what we did almost causing an accident on Tremont. Meanwhile I was yelling to my mother that “don’t let him in the house, he is crazy.” However, my mother was taking him through the living room and she wanted me to apologize him. She would not listen “that the man was crazy” and insisted that I apologize. Of course I had to do what my mother said and I apologized.
Balabam seemed to be a nice man as he talked to my mother. Was it possible that he was not crazy and maybe he was not that bad? I had a hard time to accept that since all the stories I heard and many I participated in tormenting this poor man. In retrospect he may been off center a bit and I understand he saw a lot of action in the first war.
1-click Message board
2-click on Archer st Sign
3-Click on Stratton sign under where it says Message Area
4-Then you see a sign "new topic" and click it
Here are 2 posts one already i put in under "Doubt".
1/16/09
This is a story about neighborhood lore.
Who was the toughest guy in the old neighborhood? To me it was Gerry Jackson.
Gerry was not a big man: about 5' 9” and weighted ~175 lps. But he was very strong( a neck like a bull, deep chest and bulging arm muscles) and very fast.
And he was a spectacular athlete. He was on the Holy Cross College football team, and for a few years he held the long jump record in college.He was a fireman and worked out a lot at his fire station with weights etc.
My story was about his famous fight he had with Bill Hickey who was a big construction worker.
One day in Cotters Gerry came in when Hickey was there. I understand there was bad blood between them about a girl. At any rate Hickey started to give Gerry a hard time. Gerry told him to knock it off and if not he would take care of him. I recall Hickey laughed and started to give Gerry a harder time. Then Gerry said he will be back in 5 minutes. Gerry went to his car and took from out from the trunk a pair of dungarees and sneakers. He went into to bathroom and changed his clothes and called Hickey to a fight outside Cotters.
The next thing they started to fight but it was a fast one as Dickey threw a right hand but Gerry tucked under it and at the same time rushed to Hickey’s legs and lifted him off the floor and threw him against a car and he went down on his back and I recall he knocked him out with a few punches. Now this Hickey guy was a very big man and he was strong but he was slow.
Prior to this fight I knew that Gerry had a reputation of a tough guy but once I saw in action I knew it and made sure of not getting on the wrong side of him. And I know many who were in Cotters that day (mid 1960’s) learned how tough he was. Now over the years many guys said they were there to see the fight. However there were not guys around that day but as with neighborhood lore this happens. People are sure that were there. I know I was there.
Now there were a lot of tough guys around the neighborhood. I remember a fight between Mike M. and Fitz also outside Cotter’s. It was not much of a fight as Mike was big, strong and fast so the fight was over quickly. There is an old axiom that said that a good big man will beat a good smaller man but I wonder how a fight between Gerry and Mike would end up. In my mind it would be close.
Me I preferred to wish I was a lover and a poet but unfortunately not achieving either, but I read a lot of books and I played a lot of ball.
Who recalled being there seeing those fights? Who would get your vote as “the toughest guy in the neighborhood”?
12/15/09 stories
A year or two there were some posts written about Balabam. I have to admit that I was one of his tormentors who enjoyed h is reactions of our tormenting of him. This is one of my stories about him.
The time frames was in early 1950’s and I was in 6th or 7th class at St Anthony’s. The picture on website of bus stopped by candy store and Sylvania’s Bike store on Tremont reminded me of Joe M and I being off school on a snowy Tuesday afternoon for religious instruction for public school kids. We were building an arsenal of snow balls on roof facing Tremont to throw at buses and scare the passengers which usually resulted in some good laughs. Then we saw Balabam’s electrical truck coming toward us from Theriot Ave. and couldn’t resist, bombarded him. However being hit by snowballs, he slammed on brakes and saw us and turned around his truck and started to go to Beach Ave. We ran across the roof and jumped on to big ledge and started to run down the hill to street but he was already pulling up in front of lots and getting out of car. We panicked and ran to back of lots but there nowhere to go as there was high wall and only the dead end small alley in back. We decided to go in alley and hide. Next thing we saw him in front of alley, when I think we peed in our pants when we realized that we were trapped. All we could do was yell as he grabbed both of us and stared to carry us out to the lots. Lucky he slipped on snowy ground and we bolted down the hill and out on to Beach and made a beeline to our apartments on Taylor. Meanwhile he got back in his truck and was following us as we went down Guerlain St. We looked back at Taylor Ave and we saw him gaining on us. Joe got to 1535 first. I was alone as he pulled up to 1523 as I bolted up the stairs to our 2nd floor apartment. As I crashed through door and saw my mother in kitchen and told her that there was a “crazy man” chasing me, as I ran through the foyer/living room and into the bedroom and hid under the big bed. Next thing I know Balabam was telling my mother that what we did almost causing an accident on Tremont. Meanwhile I was yelling to my mother that “don’t let him in the house, he is crazy.” However, my mother was taking him through the living room and she wanted me to apologize him. She would not listen “that the man was crazy” and insisted that I apologize. Of course I had to do what my mother said and I apologized.
Balabam seemed to be a nice man as he talked to my mother. Was it possible that he was not crazy and maybe he was not that bad? I had a hard time to accept that since all the stories I heard and many I participated in tormenting this poor man. In retrospect he may been off center a bit and I understand he saw a lot of action in the first war.