Hard Luck (Jerry Quarry)

[H2O Man]

“Hard Luck: The Triumph and Tragedy of 'Irish' Jerry Quarry”
--Steve Springer & Blake Chavez; Lyons Press; 2011

On Thursday, my younger son dropped by the house to loan me a new boxing book he had just purchased, about one of the most exciting heavyweight contenders of the 1960s and '70s, Jerry Quarry. He asked if I could finish the book by Sunday afternoon, so that he could read it next week, during the evenings after work. No problem, I said; the book is just under 300 pages, so I'd finish it by Friday morning.

My younger daughter said, “Dad, you such such a nerd.” Her sister responded, “No, he's not a nerd. It's just a book he won't put down.” She was exactly right – although the younger sister might still have had a valid point.

As I've noted in the past on this forum, work on a screenplay about Jerry is currently underway. This book probably is serving as the basis for it, much in the way that “Irish Thunder: The Hard Life & Times of Micky Ward” (Bob Halloran; Lyons Press; 2008) brought about “The Fighter.” And there are, by no coincidence, many similarities between the two Irish clanna: an emotionally unstable parent; tribal loyalties; and numerous sisters willing to do battle with “outsiders.”

Jerry Quarry happened to fight in the Golden Age of the heavyweight division. It was the era of Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Patterson, Norton, Bonavena, Lyle, and others. Actor Mickey Rourke, himself a former professional boxer, is quoted on the front cover as saying “Quarry would have been a champion in any other era.” Excepting the reign of the great Joe Louis, this is almost certainly true – although in the current era, it would be as a cruiserweight, for Jerry was best at about 185-190 pounds.

The authors did a wonderful job in producing a book that will not only interest the boxing community, but also appeal to a wide range of audiences. It is, for example, the story of a young man who enjoyed watching groups like The Doors play in LA. Quarry was the most famous athlete to attend Woodstock. He was close friends with Elvis, actually singing on stage with The King. And he went on tour with groups including Three Dog Night and Steppenwolf.

Jerry Quarry also had crossover talents, appearing in numerous popular television programs in his day. He was, in my opinion, the most talented boxing broadcaster before Teddy Atlas matured at ESPN. And where Teddy, as the heir of Cus D'Amato, is primarily appreciated by boxing insiders, Quarry spoke to the the general sports fan.

In his prime – which is the brief period where a fighter's mental and physical skills reach their peek – Quarry was only defeated by Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. In fact, he is the only boxer to fight both men twice. Jerry did have numerous other loses on his record: some came when he entered the ring with serious physical injuries, or suffering from illnesses that should have caused postponements; others came well after his prime, to fighters he had previously owned in the gym, such as Ken Norton.

Quarry, in fact, had four fights that no other top contender in the division would accept at the time. The most famous was Ali's return from exile. Four decades later, that might appear as simply a fight against a vulnerable ex-champion who had been forced in forty months of inactivity. But, in fact, he was facing the greatest heavyweight champion in the history of the sport. More, both Ali and Quarry were dealing with daily death threats at a time when assassinations were as American as apple pie.

There were three other bouts that defined Quarry's career. Mac Foster was an undefeated heavyweight prospect who had won all 24 of his bouts by knockout. At the time of his June, 1970 bout with Quarry, he was one of two powerful young giants tearing up the division. The other, George Foreman, had only 15 bouts by then, with 12 knockouts. Even the current champion, Joe Frazier, appeared in no hurry to meet the former Marine and Vietnam veteran MacArthur Foster, who was viewed as the second-coming of Charles “Sonny” Liston.

Foster's manager believed that a devastating knockout of Quarry on network television would create a demand for a shot against Frazier. And, early in the fight, it appeared to be Mac's night, as he landed powerful punches that shook Quarry. But it was not to be: by the fifth round, the tide had turned, and Jerry would knock Foster out in the sixth round.

In February, 1973, Quarry would face undefeated contender Ron Lyle, who was 19-0, with 17 knockouts. In this bout, Quarry displayed his boxing skills, winning a convincing twelve round decision. Lyle would go on to challenge Ali for the title, and had a comfortable lead on the judges' scorecards before being TKOed. Also, he would fight George Foreman in what most boxing experts consider the greatest slug-fest in heavyweight history, with both men repeatedly dropped to the canvas.

Later that year, Quarry would face one of boxing's legendary punchers, Earnie Shavers. At the time, Shavers was 46-2, and coming off of a spectacular one round knockout of Jimmy Ellis. Don King had invested heavily in Shavers, and was confident that a brutal knockout victory over Quarry would pave the way to Shavers becoming one of history's greatest champions.

Jerry Quarry and Don King despised one another. Their quarrels spilled over into the Madison Square Garden ring, and Jerry TKOed Shavers in the first round. As the book documents, King is the only person that Jerry really disliked in his entire adult life. This was due to King's constant attempts to capitalize on issues of “race” for profit. Shavers, like almost everyone Quarry fought in the ring, would have a respectful, even friendly relationship with Quarry after the final bell.

Jerry Quarry was offended by the inevitable “White Hope” business that impacted his career. By the time of the WBA tournament held to find a “replacement” for Ali, Jerry and his father insisted that promoters and journalists refer to him as “Irish” Jerry Quarry, to avoid the negative connotations associated with “White Hopes.”

One of the most important parts of the book is the foreword by George Foreman. Big George acknowledges that he purposely “ducked” Quarry. The book documents a few times when promoters attempted to get the two into the ring, and Foreman's people always nixed the bouts.

Jerry's post-boxing life was, of course, tragic. Like his talented light heavyweight brother Mike, Jerry was not able to transition smoothly into retirement. The combination of organic brain damage resulting from blows to the head, and from substance abuse, resulted in rapid “Dementia Pugilistica.” Jerry died at the age of 53.

[mmonk]

1. I had forgotten all about Quarry.

I was not aware Foreman purposely ducked Quarry.

[H2O Man]

3. My son asked me

about that. He wondered if Big George was being nice, and complimenting Quarry, much in the way he does when he says that he was afraid of Smokin' Joe before their first fight.

Styles make fights. Joe would come straight to George, and was always on Foreman's plain of power. More, Joe was hurt early by tall fighters, such as Manuel Ramos. Hence, Yank Durham always tried to avoid putting Joe in with guys with that style. Durham had Willie Reddish, former Joe Louis sparring partner then trainer of Sonny Liston, as his assistant. Hence, young Joe avoided old Sonny in the late '60s. Yank didn't want Joe defending against George -- especially after the first Ali bout .... Joe fought Terry Daniels and Ron Stander, and didn't look good. No way he stood a chance against George then.

George did best against guys who came to him. Even in his "second" career, with Michael Moorer, he had the ability to time a guy coming forward. He could also cut the ring off against anyone trying to run. But those fighters who stayed with him -- and not just Ali, but Jimmy Young and then Holyfield -- created problems. Ali, of course, had noted that, when reviewing George's fights against Perelta and Forte: slight angles gave him difficulties.

Quarry has sparred George, around the time the '68 Olympic Champion turned pro. Jerry was able to land his counter-punches relatively easily, and avoid George's extreme power. Dick Sadler didn't let George spar Jerry much, because of this. George at that time was actually fragile mentally, and Dick recognized the need to feed his ego. Even when George was much improved, Sadler saw no benefit in matching him with Quarry.

Both Mac Foster and Ron Lyle were, at the time, technically better boxers than George. Both had explosive power. Yet neither could land more than a single hard shot against Quarry, and it takes combinations to really damage guys with solid chins. Before George won the crown, I think Jerry would have defeated him. After he matured, he certainly could have taken Quarry, but Sadler backed out of at least two fights. Strange sport.

[givemebackmycountry]

2. H20

Thanks.
I was just turning into my teens in the late 60's and I remember watching Quarry fight often.
I'm from a family of brawlers, my grandpa fought under the name of Jack Brady in New York City, and he sparred with Dempsey way back when.
My Uncle Tommy, was managing fighters until he died several years ago.
I'm Irish too, and Quarry was my hero.
HE was a fucking man, and he feared NO ONE.

[H2O Man]

4. Jack Brady

may well have known my great uncle and/or grandfather. They were in the NYC/NJ region, both before and after Jack Demsey. In fact, Uncle Pat was used as a sparring partner for several of the guys who fought dempsey. More, he helped train a couple guys who fought Joe Louis.

There were intense rivalries between three ethnic groups in particular: the Italians, the Jews, and the Irish. Fair to say that each group produced some of the sports' greatest fighters in that era!

You no doubt know that boxing was "illegal" for a period in NYS. Records are not always accurate. I've been working on some outlines for a couple books on the history of that era.