Joe Hipp Update

Joe "The Boss" Hipp still has it.  The following excerpts are from the Flathead Beacon newspaper in Kalispell, Montana.  The article, entitled "UPDATE: Browning Boxing Legend Joe Hipp Returns to the Hometown Ring" by Dillon Tabish.  The photo is also from the Flathead Beacon.  The link to the entire article is below. 
By Dillion Tabish, Flathead Beacon, July 14, 2012:

Former world champion Joe Hipp returned to the boxing ring in his hometown last weekend for the first time in seven years.

Hipp won in the fifth round with a TKO against Harry Funmaker in Browning on July 14. Hipp hiked his lifetime record to 44-7 with 30 knockouts. It was his first fight since 2005. Known during his career as "The Boss," Hipp was the first Native American to fight for a world heavyweight championship and also win one. In 1995, he fought Bruce Seldon for the WBA title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. He won the WBF title in 1999. Hipp was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.

"You just never get tired of boxing," he said during weigh-ins at Burton Boxing in Kalispell on July 13. "And my grandkids wanted to see me fight."

Browning's Joe Hipp holding championship belts he won throughout his professional boxing career. - Dillon Tabish/Flathead Beacon

http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/vegas_quality_boxing_event_comes_to_browning/28771#.UGmR-uk_GMY.mailto

Joe "The Boss" Hipp

I saw heavyweight boxer Joe Hipp break Mike Cohen’s jaw in 1991. I remember Cohen bent over the canvas spitting out a tooth. I was sitting at ringside at the Executive Inn in Fife Washington as the guest of boxing promoter Brian Halquist. Hipp was 29 for that fight. Later that evening I got to meet him and shake his hand.

(That’s Halquist on the left of the black-and-white photo below. Halquist had been working on a couple of projects involving convicted triple-killer Charles Rodman Campbell and “Seattle Arsonist” Paul Keller, people I’d represented at one time).

Joe Hipp was a professional boxer between 1987 and 2005 (an 18-year career)-- although he is scheduled to come out of retirement to fight on March 7, 2009 in Billings Montana (at the age of 47). In his professional career Hipp has won 43 (29 by KO) and lost 7 (6 by KO) with no draws.

Hipp was born in Montana in 1962 and fought out of Yakima Washington. He is a member of the Blackfoot Tribe. Joe's mother was a Blackfoot and Joe was born on a reservation. Hipp began his professional career in 1987 at the age of 25. He was the first man of Native-American ancestry to box for a version of the heavyweight championship when he fought Bruce Seldon in Las Vegas in 1995.

In 1992 Joe Hipp fought Tommy Morrison (called “The Duke" because he was a grandnephew of Hollywood star John Wayne) in one of the most remembered fights of Morrison's career. Suffering from what was later discovered to be a broken hand and broken jaw, Morrison had to rally late in the fight to score a technical knockout in the ninth round. Hipp described the fight as “A great war! I lost the first 3 rounds when he was trying his best to take me out. But then I thought-- if I'm gonna lose, I'm not gonna lose backing up-- so I stood and traded with him. But the ref stopped it. It was hard fight-- I broke his jaw, he broke my cheek bone.”

Morrison was in the 1990 Movie Rocky V with Sylvester Stallone. In 1993 he fought for the WBO (World Boxing Organization) heavyweight title against legend George Foreman (who was making a comeback) and won that 12-round decision.

Hipp became a favorite and was referred to as "The Boss" by his loyal fans. In 1994 he captured the NABF (North American Boxing Federation) heavyweight title with a points win over Alex Garcia. That gave Hipp a shot at WBA (World Boxing Association) heavyweight champ Bruce Seldon.

Hipp relinquished his own NABF title (held 1994-1995) in order to challenge Bruce Seldon for the WBA title. The 1995 title bout was on the under card of the Mike Tyson v. Peter McNeeley fight, which was Tyson’s first fight after being released from prison for rape. The fight was stopped in the 10th round by the referee after Hipp had massive swelling and bleeding on his face. Hipp and others felt the Seldon fight was another bad stoppage.

Basically, if Hipp was standing upright he wanted to keep fighting. He didn’t want to be pulled out of a fight simply because his sight was being affected by swelling around his eyes. His bravery and willingness to grit his teeth and take the pain were pure Hipp.

Joe Hipp has also spent a lot of time throughout his career going around working and talking to troubled kids. He’s helped raise money for the non-profit All Nations Foundation out of Puyallup Washington. (In 2000 an anonymous arsonist burned Hipp’s Yakima house to the ground. He has no idea who deliberately torched his home. Not even his cat survived the blaze). It’s reported that in December 2005 Hipp was a FEMA worker at the Hurricane Katrina disaster. He joined other Blackfeet who were called upon due to their experience in wildfires and search and rescue missions. In 2007 Hipp was working for his former manager Ray Frye at a Seattle area sweeping company. He’s also co-owned a small construction company.

Joe Hipp is scheduled to come out of retirement to fight March 7, 2009 in Billings Montana with something called the CBA heavyweight title on the line (Carolina Boxing Association?). He’s billed as “Indian Joe.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hipp
http://www.indianz.com/board/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35738
http://www.insideboxing.com/Local_Scene/North%20Carolina/local_boxing_news_and_informatio.htm

"Seattle Arsonist" Paul Keller (in glasses) and triple-murderer Charles Rodman Campbell (in custody)--

Harry "Kid" Matthews

Beginning in 1964 my family was living in Everett. Later, I got my hands on a used 1963 Chevrolet Corvair. It had four cylinders. Well, there's not much a guy can do to "soup up" a Corvair. That is-- except maybe get louder exhaust pipes. But pipes never go on easily. A guy might have to have some modifications done by a welder. So, that's what I did. I found a welding shop in Everett.




I told my Dad about my plans and he said "That guy was a professional boxer." Huh? "Harry 'Kid' Matthews."





Sure enough, the welder said he was Harry "Kid" Matthews. He said little more than that. He simply fixed the exhaust. I paid him $10 or so. He wrote a receipt. I should have kept it.

Before WWII Matthews came from Idaho and ended up in the Seattle area, where he established himself as a respectable "main event" fighter. He was a contender in the middleweight division. Then he joined the US Army and didn't box again until 1946. Despite winning regularly after the war, Matthews was unable to make much progress with his career.

Meanwhile, Jack Hurley had managed fighters in Chicago in the 1930s, and also promoted fights for the Chicago Colesium in the 1940s. He eventually came to the Seattle area and set up a long residence at the downtown Olympic Hotel.




In 1949 Hurley discovered Harry "Kid" Matthews. Hurley refined Matthews's style and used his cunning public relation skills to build up Matthews. Matthhews appeared on the October 1951 cover of "The Ring" boxing magazine.

Hurley was known as a perfectionist and would drill his fighters to do exactly what he expected of them. As a result, knowledgable people could tell a Hurley-trained fighter from others. http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php/Harry_(Kid)_Matthews





Hurley kept Matthews busy in the Northwest in 1950 before sending him off to New York City in 1951. In July 1952, Matthews was matched against heavyweight Rocky Marciano in Yankee Stadium. After winning the first round in the eyes of most, he was knocked out by Marciano in the second round.

After that Harry "Kid" Matthews fought primarily in the Northwest. He retired in 1956 with a respectable career (1937 - 1956) record of 90 wins (KO 61), 7 losses (KO 3) and 6 draws. http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=012220&cat=boxer&pageID=1

After his boxing career ended, Matthews owned and operated a welding shop in Everett, Washington. He also began training Everett Heavyweight Ibar Arrington 1978. Born in 1922, he died in Everett in 2003 at age 81.

Gerry Lindgren

Gerry Lindren was born in Spokane, Washington in 1946, and he may still be considered as having been the best high school long distance runner in the United States of all time.

In 1964, when he was a senior at Spokane's Rogers High School, Lindgren ran 5000 meters in 13:44 (min:sec), setting a US high school record that remained unbroken for 40 years. Another record he established was his time of 8:40 for an indoor 2-mile race, which remains the fastest US 2-mile time ever run indoors .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Lindgren

The City of Spokane was especially proud of Gerry Lindgren.

On July 25, 1964, when he was 18, Gerry Lindgren outran two experienced Russian runners to win the 10,000 meter event in the US-USSR Track Meet in Los Angeles, California. I remember sitting in the family car at the side of the road listening to the race over the car radio with my folks. What a thrill it was that Spokane's Gerry Lindgren had beaten the Russians! It's been reported that Senator Robert Kennedy was in the stands that day.

Lindgren later attended Washington State University in Pullman Washington, majoring in political science. While at WSU Lindgren won 11 NCAA Championships.

The following information is gleaned from an interesting and detailed November 27, 2005 article by Greg Bishop, Seattle Times staff reporter, titled "The Longest Run: The Story of Gerry Lindgren," which may be found at--

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002648977_lindgren27.html

It seems that Lindgren had obstacles to overcome as a child-- he was small and bullied in school; Gerry saw himself as a skinny "whimp" with a high squeaky voice; his alcoholic father was physically abusive to the entire family; and Gerry had once entertained thoughts of suicide.

Gerry also had obstacles to overcome as a runner and as an Olympic competitor-- a sprained ankle in 1964; an inflamed Achilles tendon in 1968; a car that hit him while training for the 1972 Olympics in Munich; and even a police bullet which he claims creased his head.

Strangely and without explanation, Lindgren's wife woke up one day in 1980 and found a note on the kitchen table which simply said "Get a divorce. Sell the business." Gerry moved to Hawaii where he still lives and coaches runners. He's written a book about his life and running, but the book doesn't mention his three children he never got to know-- the three kids he never calls when he returns to the Puget Sound area. Rather, Lindgren "has told reporters they don't exist."

Gerry Lindgren, who held national high school records in the 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters, mile, 2 miles and 3 miles-- the skinny underdog who beat he powerful Russians-- was truly Spokane's favorite son.

A guy can only wonder and hope it all works out in the end.

Coach Dean Hebert has posted that when Lindgren left in 1980, it was actually the second time he ran. "He appears to be a tortured soul. [But] in any event there is no doubt that runners such as he, Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Jim Ryun and others ushered in the running boom of the 1970s." http://coachdeanhebert.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/gerry-lindgrens-book-on-running/

Benny "Kid" Paret

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, millions watched The Friday Night Fights on "Gillette's Cavalcade of Sports."

The black-and-white television show started with the theme song "To Look Sharp." It had all the right ingredients for a father-and-son "guy's night out" in the living room watching the fights together-- dads, sons, boxing, shaving products and techniques for future shavers . . .



. . . and (for future reference) beer. Beer companies were major sponsors. These images look vaguely familiar.



Then came the last of three championship fights in about a year between Benny "Kid" Paret (shown below) and Emile Griffith. Each fighter had beaten the other once before. Paret became the welterweight champ in 1960, but soon lost the title when Emile Griffith knocked him out in their first fight. Half a year later in their second fight, Paret then defeated Griffith with a split decision to recapture the championship. The "rubber match" was scheduled for March 24, 1962 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was to be televised live on "Gillette's Cavalcade of Sports."



In the twelfth round of the fight, Griffith trapped Paret in the coroner and hit him twenty-nine times in a row when Paret was unconscious against the ropes. The referee came under criticism for not stopping the fight sooner. Paret went into a coma after the fight, and died nine days later in a hospital bed. He had just turned 25 a couple of weeks before the fight. Paret had a lifetime record of 36-12-3 (with 10 KO).



I remember watching the fight with my Dad, and remember him jumping up and yelling something about "getting caught in the corner." I remember more about my Dad's seriousness and concern than much about the images on the television set. I imagine something changed about watching the fights after that, particularly after learning that Benny "Kid" Paret had died a few days later. My Dad told me.

(It was the first time something like that happened on television-- the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby wasn't far behind-- and some results were that boxing wouldn't be seen on television for more than ten years. Reforms were also enacted-- bouts were shortened to less than 15 rounds, and referees began to stop fights more quickly).

I didn't know the following at the time I watched the fight, and only learned of it recently when researching this post, but it's now been reported that at the weigh-in before the fight, Paret called Griffith a "queer" in Spanish. (They were both from the Caribbean). In the sixth round, Paret knocked Griffith down, who was saved by the bell. Paret blew him a kiss as he walked back to his corner. I don't know if that was a major factor in the fight or not.

These are excellent sources for where most of this information comes from:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/17600/ring-of-fire-the-emile-griffith-story/
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/arts/television/16cart.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
http://profiles.incredible-people.com/benny-paret/

These tragic stores just sort of stick with a guy over the years, but I also think they've served to make a guy more careful and appreciative along the way.

Levi McCormack

This baseball was autographed by Levi McCormack in 1952, and was sold on eBay in January 2009 for about $70. The auction stated the signature is authentic because the seller’s dad worked for the Spokane Indians in the 1950s and Levi gave him the ball at that time.

As a young boy, I’d met Levi McCormack a couple of times in the late 1950s. He was working for the US Postal Service as a mail carrier in Spokane, Washington. Our home on the south side was on his delivery route.

My neighborhood buddies and I were still in elementary school, but we knew McCormack had played with the Spokane Indians-- a minor league professional baseball team. We’d run or ride up on our bikes to say “Hi” to Levi McCormack. We were probably pests.

Yet, one day he showed us how to hold and throw a baseball. Another time we watched him flag down a milk truck and buy a quart of whole buttermilk and drink it down because it soothed his stomach. We’d never heard of buttermilk-- the most daring of our guys got a sip of it from Levi.

We didn’t know much more about Levi McCormack except that he was also Native American. But, somehow I also sensed he’d had his share of troubles.

From time to time over the years, I’ve wondered about Levi McCormack. I assumed he was in fact a Spokane Indian-- a member of the Spokane Tribe-- but only recently learned that he was Nez Perce. Most of the following information was gathered and gleaned from the internet. There’s probably more information about him out there. If you know of it, could you please post a comment or something. Thanks.

Levi McCormack was born in 1913 and died in 1974. He was 61 years old.

"McCormack was a star high school athlete growing up in Clarkston [Washington], excelling in baseball, basketball and football, and at Washington State College, where he once caught a 90-yard touchdown pass in the 1935 season against the University of Southern California at the Los Angeles Coliseum." (See the link to article by Dylan Kitzan, below, from which this information comes).

Newspaper articles from archives at Washington State University report an annual Nez Perce ceremony in 1937 at Lapwai, Idaho, where Levi McCormack and the Nez Perce were honoring the Dean of then Washington State College, located at nearby Pullman, Washington. Levi is listed as a 1935 WSC “Cougar” letterman, and an article describes him as a “former WSC football star.”

Articles: http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=any&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/clipping&CISOBOX1=Levi

These clippings recognize the Nez Perce as establishing the Lolo Trail during buffalo trips into Montana, which opened the way for the Lewis and Clark expedition to reach the Pacific. They also confirm that Levi’s great uncle was a prominent and heroic chief with the Nez Perce who fought with Chief Joseph during the War of 1877. The present Nez Perce Reservation is located at Lapwai Idaho near Lewiston, not far from Washington's southeast border.




Levi McCormack is the smiling young man in the headdress in the far right of this picture.
http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/loc&CISOPTR=775&CISOBOX=1&REC=5




Levi started out as a baseball star with the Lewiston Indians of the Idaho-Washington minor league, and was later acquired by the Seattle Indians of the Pacific Coast League. He was also a member of the Spokane Hawkes (later, the Indians) of the Western International League, which later became the Northwest League. He played in other leagues and for other teams, including Portland, and it looks like the Seattle Rainiers. He played left field.

There are a number of good blog sites detailing the various minor baseball leagues, teams and stats of those players, that time and region. I’m not sure I’ve gotten these leagues correct.

Here is an excellent essay about Levi McCormack by Dylan Kitzan, from which much of the information here comes: http://http//htsports.org/spokane-sensation#more-101

The Spokane Indians are now affiliated with the Pacific Coast League. "Created in 2007, the Rim of Honor celebrates individuals who have contributed to the Spokane Indians through their excellence on and off the field during the team’s 105-year history. McCormack was an all-star left fielder and helped lead Spokane to its Western International League title in 1941. He led the league with 191 hits that year. The four permanent members of the Rim of Honor are former Spokane Indians players Levi McCormack, Maury Wills, Dwight Aden, and former Spokane Indians manager Tommy Lasorda." That’s pretty good company, and tells of the caliber of McCormack’s talent. http://www.spokaneindiansbaseball.com/news/stories/index.html?article_id=294

With World War II under way, many of the league's top players had entered military service by the time the 1942 season rolled around. After 1942, the WIL, and many other minor leagues, shut down for the duration of the war. Levi McCormack served in the US Navy during WWII.

Play resumed in 1946. The Spokane Indians were a farm club of the Pacific Coast League's Oakland club. McCormack was 31 years old, and as a former Washington State footballer and veteran Western International League ballplayer, he was the team's most popular personality, known affectionately as "Chief."

On June 24, 1946, a bus carrying Spokane’s manager and fifteen players was traveling over Snoqualmie Pass to Bremerton, headed down the western slope. When the bus driver saw a car coming up the pass crowding the center line, the driver steered right and slipped off the pavement’s edge. When he tried to correct back onto the asphalt, the bus struck the concrete posts and cables which served as a railing. The bus broke through and tumbled more than 300 feet down the ravine, bursting into flames as it went. At the bottom of the ravine, the injured — some of them still afire — scrambled out of the shattered windows or were unable to move and were burned to death. Only the charred framework of the wreck remained. Rescue squads led by state highway patrolmen were forced to slide down a rope to reach the scene of the flaming pyre.

Here are the detailed articles upon which the grisly information about the wreck is based:
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1005952/1/index.htm
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/indians/century/storytemplate.asp?ID=oralhistory2
http://wilbaseball.blogspot.com/2007/06/spokane-indians-bus-crash.html

The accident remains the worst in the history of American professional sports. Six men died at the scene and three more died within the next 48 hours. Levi McCormack was one of the few survivors.

"I saw the headlights coming toward us on the wrong side of the road," Levi McCormack, 33-year-old Spokane outfielder, told newsmen at Harborview county hospital. "The road was slippery. Our driver applied his brakes. We swerved across the road into the guardrail. We went through. We went down. I've never heard such hell. I don't know why we didn't smash the other driver. It might have been better." (From wilbaseball.blogspot.com, below).

I am the shadow sinister called Fate.... I am the Master Umpire and I call the plays the way I see them. I have raised my arm, and nine grand boys are out. —SPOKANE INDIANS' MEMORIAL PROGRAM July 8, 1946. (From the Sports Illustrated article).

Eight of the nine victims had lived through the worst war in history, only to die on that bus. The Spokane Indians reassembled the team, relying largely on players called in from other teams. The Indians did not resume play until the Fourth of July, 10 days after the crash. Of the original team, only three were able to play again that season, and it does not appear that McCormack played again that season. Of the six survivors (not counting the driver, who also lived), all were seriously injured. Levi reportedly suffered head injuries. Only a few would ever play again, but not for very long. 1947 was Levi's last season.

Levi McCormack ran for Spokane County Coroner two years after he retired from baseball, running as a Democrat. He lost in the general election by a margin of two-to-one. It was his first election. I don’t know what exact year that was, nor whether or not it was his last election. http://wilbaseball50.blogspot.com/2007/09/mccormack-scores-at-ballot-box.html

I'd like to hear that he enjoyed the rest of his life.