The Washington times., 1938-07-15
LOSSES.
FAIL TO DAMPEN. .
AHEARN'S HOPES.
BY BOB ADDIE


Comfortably ensconced in his
new headquarters, where you've
got to go out into the hall to take
a deep breath, Matchmaker Goldie
Ahearn today saw a silver lining
in the dark clouds that have beset
his every promotorial venture and
predicted the Pete Scalza-Tony Du.
pre- bout at Griffith Stadium next
Monday night would give him a
hitch.hike out Of the red.
There was hope in his eyes and
eagerneSs in his speech as he re-
lated the merits of both young
athletes. "Scalzo is a great fighter
but Dupre is tough boy, too
. That little Petey is a sweet
heart of a boxer and can he hit
But Tony is no slouch, either
:. He's been licking some mighty
good boys, but he hasn't had the
publicity a lot of those other fight
ers have"
BUILDING THE SHOW
Goldie was trying to build up his
show. Scalzo is great, you know,
but Dupre is great, too." 1t will
be a hard fight. A real champion
should come out Of this feather
weight elimination SERIES"
II spoke to Scalzo this morn
ing" Goldie continued. Hes at
Madame Bey'S in Summit, New
Jersey-you know about that
camp-anyway he's in marvel
GUS condition. And Dupre is at
Stillman's in New York. And is
he hitting those sparring part
ners. He told me, 'Goldie,' he
said, I want to thank you for
the chance to meet Scalzo. I'll
lick him. Now wasn't that nice
Of the kid.
And have I got Semi-wind.
up! Now, listen to this. Steve
Mamakos against Emil Calcagni.
You know Mamakos, the dur
able Greek? Well, wait until
you see this other kid. What {
natural! Calcagni'S last three
bouts ended in kayoeS-for him.
Boy, will this be a fight! And
not forgetting the Dupre-Scalzo
bout. What a cardI I'll give
them a show, eh?"
But it wasn't the fighters that
impressed you. It was the spirit
and good nature of Ahearn. Here's
a man who has lost his business
Ahearn has been a fighter himself
and a good one. They say Of
him he never took a dishonest
dollar and that he once chased
some gamblers, who had offered
him 5000 to throw a fight, right
out Of his dressing room. Goldie
lost, anyway. but that isn't the
point.
MAN AND A DREAM
He fought to make boxing take
hold in the District. He operated
the old Riding and Hunt Cluk
and took many a financial loss
With his faithful wife, Helene,
they rode the breakers together
sacrificing, saving, skimping to
put over a dream they had in
their hearts.
Ahearn has been made virtually
an illiterate in many Of our local
papers. We're all guilty. We've
all Joined in kidding him and
putting wisecracks and words in
his mouth. But he didn't care.
He still doesn't. The point is
that he's been through enough to
lick an ordinary man, but he
won't give up. His heart is in
boxing and he may be a proud,
strange and foolish man with a
dream that will never be, but he
won't quit.
He looks at YOU and tells you
Of his fighterS-as lovingly as an
artist speaks Of his painting or
a writer Of a well-turned phrase.
He looks at you and you see hope.
You don't listen to the same old
ballyhoo about fighters. You
think of Goldie Ahearn. And you
want to shake his hand because
he has courage and believes in
because he considers him
self too young for memories and
yet not too old for dreams, and
because he is real guy.