When Billy Conn Fought Fritzie Zivic by John Stupp
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When Billy Conn Fought Fritzie Zivic tells the story of boxing in its pre-television days between the First and Second World Wars and into the 1950s through poetry. Men like Harry Greb, Billy Conn, and Fritzie Zivic, and the steel city of Pittsburgh come alive in these pages. Poetry is as much history and deeds, as truth and beauty. Remember when Pittsburgh was a tough town? This is it.
“I read it in one sitting. Exceedingly good.... (Stupp) masterfully captures the grit and street-level history of Pittsburgh, a city whose spirit has dirty fingernails.”
-Springs Toledo, author of Smokestack Lightning: Harry Greb, 1919; Murderers’ Row and Cheap Seats. Contributor to Boxing News; The Ring, HBO and The Sweet Science.
Check out one of the great poems from the chapbook!
The Pittsburgh Windmill
Harry Greb
The Pittsburgh Windmill
the newspapers said
liked running
jump rope and cigars
he liked hitting the small bag
and the heavy bag all power and sweat
the immortal Harry Greb
Odysseus with one eye
never forget his footwork
Pittsburgh taught him
the size of a man doesn’t matter
heavyweight middleweight
Gene Tunney or Tiger Flowers
boxer or puncher
a couple of rounds is all he needed
after Kid Norfolk cut his eye
no one knew he couldn’t see
and that before a fight
he had the eye chart memorized for the doc
or that sometimes he had to find his way in the ring
hair slicked back muscles hard
had to feel a man close up in the dark
before dropping him in a puddle of blood
the sportswriters put it all down
so many great fights the Pittsburgh way
his punches like mill accidents
like mine explosions
like pig iron
like Bessemer
the stuff of poetry
plus the fact he died young
Product Details:
Copyright: John Stupp (Standard Copyright License)
Publisher: Red Flag Poetry
Published: January 2020
Language: English
Pages: 36
Binding: Saddle Stitched
Interior Ink: Black & white text
Dimensions (inches): 8.5x5.5
“I read it in one sitting. Exceedingly good.... (Stupp) masterfully captures the grit and street-level history of Pittsburgh, a city whose spirit has dirty fingernails.”
-Springs Toledo, author of Smokestack Lightning: Harry Greb, 1919; Murderers’ Row and Cheap Seats. Contributor to Boxing News; The Ring, HBO and The Sweet Science.
Check out one of the great poems from the chapbook!
The Pittsburgh Windmill
Harry Greb
The Pittsburgh Windmill
the newspapers said
liked running
jump rope and cigars
he liked hitting the small bag
and the heavy bag all power and sweat
the immortal Harry Greb
Odysseus with one eye
never forget his footwork
Pittsburgh taught him
the size of a man doesn’t matter
heavyweight middleweight
Gene Tunney or Tiger Flowers
boxer or puncher
a couple of rounds is all he needed
after Kid Norfolk cut his eye
no one knew he couldn’t see
and that before a fight
he had the eye chart memorized for the doc
or that sometimes he had to find his way in the ring
hair slicked back muscles hard
had to feel a man close up in the dark
before dropping him in a puddle of blood
the sportswriters put it all down
so many great fights the Pittsburgh way
his punches like mill accidents
like mine explosions
like pig iron
like Bessemer
the stuff of poetry
plus the fact he died young
Product Details:
Copyright: John Stupp (Standard Copyright License)
Publisher: Red Flag Poetry
Published: January 2020
Language: English
Pages: 36
Binding: Saddle Stitched
Interior Ink: Black & white text
Dimensions (inches): 8.5x5.5
