Detroit evening times., 1945-06-20
BRIGHTER
SIDE
By Damon
Runyon

during her reign as queen Of
the New York night life during
the great -Prohi period.
She was putting on her show
before crowd OF the cafe
society of the era when in came
a not so young. stocky chap
fiourishing a pistol and crying
yip-yip-yippee like COW prod
der in a western movie.
He walked up to Texas an
she sat in her familiar posture
on the back of a chair on the
dance floor. stuck out his free
hand and shouted:
Hello, Mary. Do you re-
member me:
Just for a fleeting moment
was Tex off balance. Just for
q moment her eyes flashed rage.
Then she motioned back her
guardsmen who had recovered
from their astonishment. and
were dvancing for the
heave-ho. Tex shook the ex-
tended hand and said:
why sure. Billy. How are
you:"
Then she turned TO the Won
derlng crowd and announced:
Ladies and gentlemen, an
old friend Of mine from my girl
hood days In Waco, Texas, Billy
Lyons"
Used to button up her pant
les for her when she was n
little teensy Kid" yelled Billy
Lyons at the audience. Re
member, Mary
BY this time. Tex brother,
Tommy, reached the scene and
cajoled Billy away. leaving Miss
-Gulnan,s- ,s-faee- fused WITH
bushes of strength that they
could be discerned meath her
makeup. which was powerful
blushing, boys!
WILLIAM C., or Billy. Lyons
w came TO the attention of the
metropolitan sports writer's
some 80 years ago. He must
have been 53 years old then II
he was SO as reported his
death the other day. | thought
he was much older.
In any event, at SO he was A
clothing salesman and a most
successful one al that. with an
income OF SIS. 900 year IN his
big years, and he had DEVELOPED
streak Of pxnIDTtTOnTSm mat
IN the beginning was strictly
for publicity purposes but that
finally became somewhat of an
obSesSlon.
Lyons discovered through as
soclation with the fight mob
that the sports writers deemed
HIM good copy and he tried 10
make himself better copy for
them that he might show the
clippings 10 his customers IN the
small towns
LIS role was always the Wild
IL and woolly westerner. He
packed a gun. One gun, al first.
then two. / believe he was dis
iantly related 10 New York
magistrate who used TO get him
the police permits for his guns
He usually wore some touch OF
the West such as hat with a
rattlesnake skin for band and
occasionally cowboy boots.
His pockets were crammed
with membership and courtesy
cards Of all kinds from organl-
cations all over the United
States. He wore two watches.
one given 10 him by Jack
Dempsey, the other by Freddie
Welsh, both diamond studded.
I YONS wore lapel buttons
IL and badges and always car
RED a cane. sometimes a sword
cane His lethal weapons were
strictly for show. He never
harmed anyone with them. He
was game old fellow and
would try 10 fight wSh his fists
when aroused and he was easily
aroused. He never purposely
harmed anyone that l know OF
and / knew him many years. /
knew him when he had GER
tain political Importance in
Colorado which was before he
became regarded as an eccen-
trio by the sports writer's.
But he encouraged them 10
write about him. He showed up
in fight training camps for that
purpose. He was a great off-day
subject for the late w. .:
McGeehan. Lyons did not mind
what was said of him. He re-
joiced in the title Wild Bill"
He wore toupee. black
streaked with gray at all times.
-HeLwas -the-eftiy man ever
knew who could sneeze at will
and very loud. and he often
obliged me in snooty night clubs
with one volley after another
just 10 upset the shoots.
TT WAS the general impress
i sion that Billy Lyons was
appointed 10 a well paying job
in the postmaster generals
department more as an act OF
charity than anything else, but
] am sure that Farley, fair
man, will tell you that Billy had
certain definite claims 10 con-
sideration from him, certainly
more than lot of others.
In 1882. when Farley went
westward cunning for delegates
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