Orange Armory
The son of Irish immigrants from Greenwich
Village in New York City, then one of the rougher neighborhoods on a crowded
Manhattan island, Gene Tunney began boxing about town before the American entry
into the 1st World War. With his
enlistment in the Marine Corps in 1918, Tunney shipped out to France but only
saw action in the regulated ring, eventually claiming the light heavyweight
championship of the Expeditionary Forces (Anglo-American-British Imperial troops).
Returning to civilian life in southern New Jersey, Tunney developed a
fine unbeaten record as a light heavyweight, eventually earning the “American
Light Heavyweight” title with a win over Battlin Levinsky in January of
1922. A series of five contests with
Harry Greb provided Tunney’s 1st taste of defeat, then retribution
over the next 3 years, then Tunney moved up to the largest division. As the current heavyweight champion of the
world following his surprising defeat of the popular Jack Dempsey in
Philadelphia in late September, Tunney was present at this fine reception for a
Catholic charity building fund in Orange, New Jersey, that also featured the
popular jazz orchestra led by Paul Specht.
The Pennsylvania native bandleader, a violist with classical training, was
known for upbeat numbers played with jazz style by a young group of talented
musicians, with hits on both sides of the Atlantic .
YouTube links to hits by Paul Specht :
“Honey Bunch” (1924) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLLzf88SxTc
(1925 w/ vocal chorus) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8GVT72ZP6M
“Hot Feet” (1927) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YCR4clXyJ8 |
