Johnny Lucas

JOHNNY LUCAS, “the pride of Whitman Park,” was another of the fine crop of lightweight and welterweight boxers to come out of Camden in the 1920s and 1930s. Boxing records show he was born January 1, 1912. This at present is unconfirmed.

Johnny Lucas’ finest moment in the ring may have been on February 3, 1933 when he fought world junior-welterweight champion Johnny Jadick to a 10 round draw in Philadelphia. Jadick, who had a record of 68 wins, 17 losses and 1 draw coming into the Lucas fight, was never the same fighter, winning only 18 more fights, against 32 losses and six draws.

Unfortunately for Johnny Lucas, he never really got a shot at another big-time fight. He fought future champion Maxie Berger late in his career, split a pair of bouts with Holman Williams, and fought the Cocoa Kid no less than five times. He also fought Wesley Ramey, a well known junior welterweight in his day, who Berger defeated for the title belt in July of 1939. Most of his fights were in the northeast, although he did relocate to Miami Florida late in 1933, and fought seven bouts there before returning to the Camden area in mid-1935.

Johnny Lucas last won a fight in June of 1938. After four straight losses, including the Berger fight and a loss to Canadian contender Jordan “Sonny” Jones, he hung up his gloves, coming back once in 1942 for a six round match in Fall River MA, which he lost to little-known Danny Nobrega, and in 1945 to lose to Lou Duva in Miami.

Johnny Lucas remained in South Jersey after his boxing career ended. He was active in Ring No. 6 of the Veterans Boxing Association as late as 1958.

Won 64 (5 KOs) — Lost 34 — Drawn 15 — Total 113 bouts

St. Joan of Arc Church Bouts Furnish Plenty of Action Throughout

Fifteen sizzling amateur boxing bouts, together with nine acts of vaudeville, were presented to a capacity crowd in the St. Joan of Arc Church gym, Fairview. The proceeds derived from the affair will go toward the church building fund.

In the feature bout, Bob Zimmerman, of Fairview, unintentionally fouled Eddie O’Tell of South Camden, in the first round and Referee Joe Bonnell immediately stopped the fuss. Zimmerman was in the lead when O’Tell, in attempting to avoid a left hook to the body, leaped into the air with the result that the punch landed low.

Zimmerman, in order not to disappoint the crowd went three rounds with Mickey Murtha. Battling Mack and Pee Wee Ross staged a clown act, while Johnny Lucas met Billy De Lue; Tommy Lyons clashed with Jack Stanley; “Peaches” Gray tackled Terrible Pine; Joe Colon faced Billy Osborne, and George Anderson encountered Milton Bamford. All bouts were limited to three rounds.

Deputy Boxing Commissioner Edward A. Welsh attended the affair, and when introduced by Announcer Bill Kennedy received an ovation that lasted fully five minutes. Mrs. Mary Walsh Kobus, a member of the city board of censors also was present.

Sergeant Ray Smith assisted Bonnell in refereeing, while John McGraw was timekeeper. It was one of the most successful affairs ever conducted by the church athletic association.

Camden Boxer May Find Kensington Star Hard to Defeat Tonight

Millville, June 5. Teddy Berman, shifty Kensington slugger, and Johnny Lucas, fair-haired Camden puncher, will feature the eight-round windup attraction at the Taubel Arena here tonight. Five bouts are on the program as arranged by the Millville Athletic Club.

Berman, who made a name for himself at various Philadelphia fight clubs, is given at least an even chance to stop the rising Camden lightweight, although local fans who have seen Lucas in action many times and seldom when the latter has been on the losing end, are pulling for him to get by the Kensington threat.

A pair of hard hitters, Kid Rose, of Atlantic City, and Freddy Kid Wilson, of Chester, are down for the semi-windup number of six sessions or less. Both are noted for their ability to stop their rivals in short order and it is doubtful if this affair will go the limit.

Three other bouts are on the program. Billy Cranmer, a local puncher and favorite, meets Frankie Burns of Clayton, in the main preliminary. In the other scraps, Jack Sharkey, of Vineland, opposes Marty Moore, of Woodbine, while Solly Blair, of Chester, tangles with Al Daley, of Camden, in the opening number.

Johnny Lucas, of Whitman Park, continued his rise in the boxing game by handing Frankie Rapp, also of Camden, an eight-round lacing at the Cambria Club, Philadelphia, last night.

Lucas had Rapp down for a count of three in the third round, and opened a cut over his rival’s right eye in the fourth.

In the windup, Jimmy Mack, of Kensington, outpointed Marty Gold, also of Kensington, in eight rounds.

Whitman Park Boxer Meets Junior Welterweight Champ at Cambria Tonight

Johnny Lucas, pride of Whitman Park will be given his first big opportunity of crashing into the select circle of boxers tonight when he meets Johnny Jadick, junior welterweight champion of Philadelphia in a 10-round bout at the Cambria.

Jadick, who stopped Lew Raymond of Baltimore, in his last fight, will be tackling one of the best junior welterweight prospects around these parts in young Lucas. In his last appearance in the ring the Camden boxer defeated the veteran Pat Igo in impressive style.

Lucas showed plenty of boxing skill and a good punch in the Igo bout, and is expected to give the champion plenty of trouble. However, Jadick’s title will not be at stake, for the king of welters will enter the ring over weight.

Another South Jersey boy will be given a big chance to go places provided he comes through tonight. He is Johnny Duca, the hard-punching Paulsboro youth, who will meet Pat Haley in an eight-round semi-final.

The feature six-rounder will bring together Soib Styer, Lancaster knockout artist, and Frankie Little, of North Philadelphia. In the other six-rounders Pete O’Hara of Southwark, is scheduled to take on Mike Loughran, of South Philadelphia, while Norman Rahn, of Mayfair, battles Frank Spina, of Juniata.

A regularly featured column, written by Charley Humes

OKAY, ELLIS PARKER, DENY THESE!

That Charley Lafferty of Atlantic City will succeed Edward L. Sturgess as Collector of Internal Revenue with offices in the local Federal Building … And that that’ll be denied by more persons than Ellis Parker too (All right then, you pick Harry L. Maloney, I’ll stick to Mrs. Lafferty’s boy, Sharlie) …

That certain investigators for the State Emergency Relief are refusing food orders to families with life insurance policies … The chumps making the poor folks turn in their policies for cash and live off that ’til gone … May they bury all such punk investigators in Potter’s Field (where they forget to put American flags on graves on Decoration Day) …

That a Dame downtown who operates One of Those Places refused recently to testify for a lad accused of a holdup because she thought she might have to close her joint (when her testimony would have saved the kid from a long stretch in the Pen, which my friends tell me he didn’t have coming) …

That that member of a suburban school board who recently said certain school was too good for a certain section because everybody living there were swamp dwellers, is knertz … And that maybe he’ll be singing a different chune following election, the umpchay …

That there’s hoss racin’ joints open in at least two political clubs (but that’s not half as what they’re doing in another political club—but you’ll have to go on from there cause I can’t tell anymore) …

That Bill Schultz, local copper, recently plugged a silver half dollar three shots out of three at a distance of skeen-teen feet (much to the dismay of a certain elevator operator who donated the coin) …

That Philly Sport scribes who recently Okay’d that draw verdict between Johnny Jadick and Johnny Lucas sure had sand in their eyes because Johnny kick’d the daylights out of the reputed Junior Welter Champ (But then a Philly draw is as good as a win anyhow, especially when you’re fighting Jadick up in the Cambria. . .

That I might as well end this column with Ellis Parker—and tell you that he will deny he has a good clue in the Bradway Brown murder but that he really has a clue and it’ll be a honey if it turns out.

Whitman Park Lightweight Meets Old Rival in Feature Bout Here Friday

Lew McFarland, matchmaker for the newly organized Camden Sporting Club has arranged another attractive card for this Friday night’s show at Grip’s Pennsauken township open-air Arena.

Johnny Lucas, Whitman Park lightweight, has signed to meet Tommy Bashara, of Norfolk, Va., in the feature bout of eight rounds. The two youngsters have met in a couple previous bouts, Bashara winning the last encounter at Wilmington, Del., by a hairline decision.

Harry Serody, clever Philadelphian is scheduled to clash with the tough Marty Haley, of Kensington, in the eight-round semi-final. Joey Allen, of South Camden, takes on Mike Palmer, of Philadelphia, in the main preliminary of six rounds; Terry McGovern, of the U. S. Marine Corps, faces Lou Heineman, of Lindenwold, in the second six-rounder; and Davey Taylor, of Camden, collides with Mickey Shannon, of Camden.

McFarland staged his first show last Friday night and it proved a decided success. In the windup, Roxie Allen, downtown Italian, out-pointed Johnny Pepe, of Philadelphia while the four other contests resulted in clear-cut knockouts.

Whitman Parker Has Yet to Win Decision Over Two Norfolk, Va. Brothers

SERODY MEETS HALEY

Another home town boxing product gets an opportunity to establish himself as a favorite with the fans tomorrow night at Grip’s Pennsauken township open-air arena.

Johnny Lucas, Whitman Park junior welterweight, is the boxer in question. Lucas is scheduled to clash with Tommy Bashara, of Norfolk, Va., in the feature 10-rounder on the Camden Sporting Club’s second weekly show. An eight-round semi-final and three six-rounders complete the card.

The main event is expected to attract a larger crowd than attended last week’s show, as there are strained feelings between the principals, who engaged in an eight-round draw at Norfolk about a year ago. In addition, Bashara’s brother, “Toots” twice was awarded decisions over Lucas in recent months, with the result that Lucas will be in a killing mood when he again encounters Tommy.

According to Anthony Georgette, Lucas’ manager, Johnny is in prime physical fettle and is determined to make his first impression on the Bashara family.

“Perhaps I’m partial to Lucas, but I was not alone in thinking that Johnny should have been given the decision over ‘Toots’ in their last fight at Wilmington, Delaware,” Georgette said today.

“Almost the entire crowd thought Lucas had won as he dropped Bashara twice, still the judges gave Bashara the best of it,” Georgette continued. “I guess the judges failed to take into consideration the two knockdowns otherwise, Bashara never had a chance to win.”

“Anyway, Lucas lost the decision and still is ‘peeved’ about the result. He is in perfect shape for this fight and expects to win decisively over Tommy despite the fact that the latter gave him a great fight last year.”

“Lucas is in as good shape for this fight as he was when he surprised everybody by getting a draw with Johnny Jadick. I was ‘ribbed’ unmercifully for taking the fight, but I knew that Lucas had improved greatly and also that he was ‘in the pink.’”

“Johnny still is ‘hot’ about his last bout with ‘Toots’ Bashara and plans to get a measure of revenge by handing Tommy a good licking. Lucas will make a fight of it and if Tommy also is willing to stand and fight it out, he’s likely to be on his back long before the 10th round rolls around,” Georgette concluded.

That’s how Lucas’ skipper feels about the forthcoming scrap and if Bashara, who is fast and a good puncher, elects to stand and trade punches the fuss should be an exciting brawl and Lucas also is clever and packs a stiff punch in both hands.

Harry Serody, agile Philadelphian, is billed to meet Martin Haley, of Kensington, in the eight-round semi-final.

Joey Allen, South Camden Italian, faces Mike Palmer, of Philadelphia, in the main preliminary of six rounds. In the other two six-rounders, Lou Heineman, of Lindenwold, takes on Terry McGovern of the United States Marine Corps, and Davey Taylor, of South Camden, clashes with Mickey Shannon, another local product.

Strong Finish Factor in Camden Youth’s Win

Lucas Cops Five of Ten Rounds, Divides One With Norfolk Ring Foe

SERODY STOPS HALEY

LOCAL FIGHT RESULTS

Johnny Lucas, 139, Camden, outpointed Tommy Bashara, 140, Norfolk, Va., in 10 rounds. Referee — Gus Waldron, Trenton.

Harry Serody, 135, Philadelphia, stopped Marty Haley, 139, Kensington, in fifth round.

Joey Allen, 127, Camden, won decision over Mike Palmer, 128, Philadelphia, in six rounds.

Terry McGovern, 138, U. S. Marine Corps, knocked out Louis Heinsman, 146, Lindenwold, in fourth round. Time — 1 minute 44 seconds.

Davey Taylor, 115½, Camden, defeated Mickey Shannon, 114½, Camden, in six rounds.

By TOM RYAN
Courier-Post Sports Editor

A rally in the last two rounds enabled Johnny Lucas, blond Whitman Park junior welterweight, to gain the referee’s decision over Tommy Bashara, of Norfolk, Va., in the feature 10-rounder at Grip’s Pennsauken township open-air Arena last night.

About 1000 of the faithful turned out to witness the encounter.

Lucas was credited with five rounds, Bashara won four, while one was even. However, Lucas won the ninth round by a wide margin and also won the final round with plenty to spare. Johnny also shaded Bashara in the second, third and sixth, while the Virginian showed to advantage in the first, fourth, fifth and eighth rounds, with the seventh being even.

Lucas’ best round was the ninth in which he belabored Bashara with volleys of rights and lefts to both the head and body, forcing Tommy to try to hold during the session. Several rights to the jaw spun Tommy on his heels and he appeared tired at the end of the round.

The Whitman Parker took up where he left off at the start of the tenth and also won the round by a clear cut margin. He smothered the stubby Norfolk youngster under a body attack, and a right cross also drew the claret from Bashara’s nose.

Bashara’s best round was the fourth in which he cuffed Lucas about the head with a flurry of punches and also got home a number of hard rights to the body.

The last two rounds made the fight, as both boys were guilty of holding in the earlier rounds. Both tied each other’s right up in the clinches and Referee Gus Waldron experienced difficulty in breaking them. Bashara had the better of the going when they fought “inside” in the early rounds, but Johnny more than overcame Tommy’s advantage in the last two rounds, making Bashara hold when they came to close quarters.

Serody Stops Haley

Harry Serody, 135, of Philadelphia, scored a technical knockout over Marty Haley, 139, of Kensington, in the fifth round of the scheduled eight-round semi-final bout. Referee Gus Waldron stopped the bout after Haley went down twice from body blows.

Haley was no match for the clever Serody, who won as he pleased. Serody scored nine-count knockdowns in the fourth and fifth rounds, before Waldron stopped the bout after Haley again went down for a count of two.

When Haley arose he complained of pains in the left kidney and Waldron halted the scrap.

Allen Beats Palmer

Joey Allen, 127, of Camden, easily outpointed Mike Palmer, 128, of Philadelphia, in the main preliminary of six rounds.

Allen won every round by wide margins and forced the fight throughout. The Camden Italian staggered Palmer in the first, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, but could not bring him to the mat. Palmer bled from the nose from the second round on.

Although he spotted Lou Heinsman, 146, of Lindenwold, six pounds Terry McGovern, 138, of the U.S. Marine Corps, knocked out the Lindenwold mauler in one minute and 44 seconds of the fourth round of the second fight.

Heinsman missed a terrific right to the jaw and McGovern crossed his right to the same spot to flatten Lou for the full count. Heinsman won the first round, but McGovern carried the second and third.

Davey Taylor, 115½, of Camden, outpunched Mickey Shannon, 114½, also of Camden, in the opening match of six rounds. Taylor won every round, centering his attack on Shannon’s body.

Local Lightweight Takes on Outstanding Fighter at Olympia

Johnny Lucas, Whitman Park lightweight, will stack up against one of the outstanding contenders for the championship now held by Tony Canzoneri when he tackles Wesley Ramey, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the feature 10-round bout tonight at the Olympia in Philadelphia.

In his last time at bat Ramey, ranked as No. 2 challenger for Tony Canzoneri’s title, trounced our Eddie Cool in Brooklyn shortly more than a week ago.

Particularly noteworthy was Ramey’s score, because the Tacony youth had been displaying in recent starts the best battles he ever took into the fight shops. Ramey, who once drew with Cool at the Philadelphia Arena, has a remarkable record, however. He has beaten Canzoneri (in a non-title go), Harry Dublinsky, Steve Halaiko, Tony Herrera, Benny Bass, Johnny Jadick, Bobby Pacho and plenty more.

Lucas, rough and rugged, with endeavor to match blow for blow with the invader, but that will be a difficult task.

Stumpy Jacobs, Norfolk, Va., lightweight, and Jackie Willis, lanky Philadelphia negro body-whacker, are to clash in the eight-round semi-final.

Johnny Marcellini will be pitted against Danny O’Donnell, another former simon pure, for the main six-rounder.

Tommy Forte, district flyweight champ, will engage in his first cash-for-clout number when he opposes Nip McCann, an erstwhile all-for-glory lad, in a sixer. Frankie Mills and Calvin Reed, lightweights, are to go in the first six.

Michigan Lightweight Gains 8 of 10 Rounds in Olympia Battle

Wesley Ramey, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, who is being given a wide berth by the outstanding lightweights, punched out a clear-cut decision in 10 rounds over Johnny Lucas, of South Camden, at the Olympia in Philadelphia last night.

Ramey won eight rounds, dropping the third and eighth sessions to the Camden slugger. It was a rough battle all the way, although no knockdowns were scored.

Both came in at 140 lbs.

Other results were: Frankie Mills, 141, Southwark, won the decision over Calvin Reed, 137, Philadelphia; Tommy Forte, 112, Southwark, won on a technical knockout in the second round over Nip McCann, 112, Southwark; Johnny Marcellini 116, Southwark, won on a T. K. O. in the third round over Danny O’Donnell, 115, Southwark, and Jackie Willis, 137, Philadelphia, won the decision over Stumpy Jacobs, 139, Norfolk.