October 1 - 15 , 2017 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY 29
Thrilla-Animosity
‘ Smokin ’ Joe Frazier must have , indeed , forgiven arch-rival Muhammad Ali for the latter ’ s continued verbal assault on his person , but he certainly , hadn ’ t forgotten .
Thirty-six years after the final chapter of their historic trilogy and up until his death on November 7 , 2011 , Joe never showed sign of not forgetting the insults and humiliations Ali thrown his way in the course of their historic but bitter and brutal rivalry .
“ Smokin ” Joe and the “ Greatest ” fought each other for third and final time in Manila on October 1 , 1975 in a showdown called “ Thrilla In Manila ” and “ Super fight III , and since then the former slaughter house hand in his hometown Philadelphia never ceased slugging it out off the ring .
The animosity between the t2o , who actually were friends before , actually started five years earlier on March 8 , 1971 when the two greatest heavyweights of their era fought at the Madison Square Garden in New York where
Sixty-one years ago today , the New York Yankees returned to the World Series throne , beating the Brooklyn Dodgers , 4-3 , in Game 5 of the two teams ’ best of seven championship series at the Yankee Stadium .
October 8 , 1956 , was the day , too , the Dodgers played carrying the Brooklyn colors for the last time before transferring to Los Angeles .
Most significantly , it was the day that saw “ Big Boy ” Don Larsen rose to baseball ’ s immortality by pitching the World Series ’ first and only perfect no-hit , no-run , no-error game .
The series was tied at 2- win apiece and on that Sunday , Larsen and the Yankees were looking for a go-ahead victory that would turn out to be the first of a three-game run on the way to the Crown Jewel .
In that pivotal fifth game , the Dodgers went to Aging Bal Maglie opposite Larsen , the Yankees ’ 27-year-old righthander , who , in Game 2 surrendered four runs in the first of a two-inning relief job that resulted in New York ’ s 8-13 loss .
This time though , Larsen was in control , retiring
the title-defending Frazier knocked Ali down for the first time in his career on the way to scoring a 15-round unanimous decision victory .
From then , the “ Louisville Lip ” continuously humiliated , enraged , isolated Frazier from the rest of the world , referring him as a shuffling and mumbling “ Uncle Tom ,” an ugly and ignorant errand boy of white America and calling him a “ gorilla .”
But while Ali seemed to have mellowed down and owned all the insults he hurled at Frazier ’ s direction by asking for forgiveness , it was the latter who had been on the attacking mood the longest until his demise , which all of the boxing world and the entire international sports community will commemorate next month .
Right after he won via a technical knockout when Frazier ’ s manager-trainer Eddie Futch threw in the towel after the bloody , brutal 14th round , Ali called the challenger ’ s son Marvis into his dressing room and told him that he did not meant everything he said about his father , which were all , he added , in the interest of hyping up all their three fights , including Chapter II on January 28 1974 .
When informed by the young Marvis , Frazier told his son ,” you ain ’ t me , son . why isn ’ t he apologizing to me .”
One time in Philadelphia , Joe ’ s adopted home and where he operated a boxing gym , and at a time when both had long retired , Frazier , as reported by SPORTS ILLUS- TRATED , was approached by a 10-year-old girl accompanied by her mother , who told the former champ , “ she ( her daughter ) wants to know if you ever beat Ali .”
For a long moment , Frazier sat still , his eyes rolled wildly from side to side and after reassembling his scattered faculties , he looked at the two and said ,” We locked up three times , he ( Ali ) officially won two and I won one . But look at him now , I think I won all three .”
In one other occasion , in New York City , Ali , who
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had been suffering from Parkinson ’ s syndrome ( a set of symptoms that include tremors and masklike face ), was screening a documentary celebrating his life , a production entitled “ Muhammad Ali , ?? The Whole Story ,” when a man nearby said to him : I saw Joe Frazier in Philly last week .”
To which , Ali retorted : Joe Fraysha ? You seen the the gorilla ? From Manila ?”
During the opening ceremony of the centennial celebration of the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 where Ali lit the Olympic torch , Frazier told everyone in sight that he should have been doing the honor as an Olympian and gold medalist , too , at that .
He was even heard as saying : “ They should have thrown him in ( cauldron ).”
Indeed , since the saga of the Thrilla In Manila , every time the two appeared separately in public and even when Frazier was gone , the memories of that final encounter remain in everyone ’ s minds -- Manila , the Philippines , the
A perfect day for New York hurler Don Larsen
each and every Dodgers that crossed his path in -2-3 orders inning after inning although in the second frame , Yankee third baseman knocked down Jackie Robinson ’ s shot and shortstop Gil McDougald recovered the ball in time to throw the speedy Dodger runner out .
At the bottom fifth , centerfielder Micky Mantle , who had homered an inning earlier for the first of the Yankees ’ two runs , ran down Gil Hodges ’ long drive , snaring it with a spectacular backhand catch in left-centerfield .
A couple more challenges , one each in the seventh and eighth , but thanks to teammates MaDougald and Carey ’ brilliant defensive support , Larsen survived and returned to the mound three outs away from his rendezvous with destiny .
Three outs to go , always the toughest job to accomplish like what Bill Bevens experienced in 1947 in is bid for a no-hitter in Brooklyn that was ruined by a double with two downs in the ninth .
Larsen ’ s opportunity was more than a no-hitter . A walk , an error or a hit by pitched would destroy that chance to join baseball ’ s immortals . He had already faced 24 Dodgers a the plate and none succeeded stepping on the bases .
Carl Furille led-off and flied out . Roy Campanella followed to the shower after bouncing out to short as fans of 64,519 roared in approval . Dale Mitchell , pinch hitting for Maglie was he 27th Dodger batter Larsen was to face enroute to etching his name in history .
The crowd moaned as Larsen ’ s first pitch went wild . Don came back with a slider and Babe Pinelli , working his last World Series game behind the plate called a strike . Mitchell swung at Don ’ s fastball and missed , bringing to1-ball , 2- strike the count .
Another fastball fouled off . It was Larsen ’ s 96th pitch of the game and by then the crowd screamed at every pitch he delivered . Catcher Yogi Berra signalled for another fastball a Larsen mumbled a prayer to himself : “ Please get me through this ,” then delivered .
It was an outside corner and Mitchell cocked his bat and hesitatingly held up . Pinelli thrust his arm through the air in a strike motion to end the game and the series giving Larsen the victory no one had achieved before and none , perhaps , would duplicate owing to the present stage of the game when very few pitchers last the full nine-inning distance .
Mitchell ran after Pinelli complaining that the call should
By : Julian Ray Fortaleza
Answers from last week ’ s issue
1 . Maidana landed 128 punches in the second fight against Mayweather . 2 . The longest reigning UFC champion is now Demetrius “ Mighty Mouse ” Johnson 3 . Shaq has 4 championship rings
New Questions
Filipinos and their world-renowned hospitality that endeared the whole nation to all people on earth .
Thrill in Manila . “ The fight of the Year ”. “ The fight of the Century .” “ The Greatest Fight of All Time ” cemented for Ali the honor the “ The Greatest Heavyweight of the Millennium . “
For Frazier , who dealt Greatest the first of his only four losses in a 61-fight , 20- year career , it was the occasion where he earned his in the list as one of boxing ’ s immortals in the company of hi arch-rival himself , Johnny L . Sullivan and the “ Brown Bomber ” Joe Louis .
And for the Philippines , it was the time to , once again , showcase to the entire universe its capability to host successfully a sporting event as big and of such magnitude as the Ali-Frazier world heavyweight championship showdown .
It needed a much-maligned President Marcos , the dictator , and his entire government to prove that .
be ball but the plate umpire was already heading to the dugout , he did not hear him . Neither was Berra who raced toward the mound hurling himself to Larsen ’ s arms . And certainly not Larsen who had climbed the heights he never dreamt he would achieve .
1 . Who won the fight between Roberto Duran and Tommy Hearns ? 2 . Who is the longest reigning boxing world champion of all time ? 3 . Who is the younger player : Mike Trout or Aaron Judge ?