No great skills on display. No brilliant contests. But some hopeful beginners, some still hoping, some whose hopes are long gone, and at least one guy still doing it just for the hell of it. The big low room under the grandstands at the Multnomah Greyhound Park was a pleasant, sociable situation for the couple-three hundred assembled ticket holders. A lot of visiting, and tale swapping goes on.
Toddlers clamber over the folding chairs.
Babies are passed around for relay cuddling by gauntlets of boxers, truckers, and grizzled old fight guys. The nachos and soft pretzels generate as much enthusiasm as the ring-card girls. Greg Haugen works a corner before coming out to watch the show. Ray Lampkin, Thad Spencer, and a score of other ex-pros are propping up the back wall or gossiping with pals. The crowd is knowledgeable enough, and they know where they are and what they can expect.