Crazy Times At The Olympic Auditorium

By kiki

I was at the Olympic Auditorium for this 1951 fight, and decades later, I can still hear the crowd's roar as Art Aragon was pounding Johnny Gonsalves against the rope.

                                               John Adame

My uncle John Adame, who spent all his life in a wheelchair, was one that I would go to the fights during the late '40s and early '50s. We would go with uncles Ray Gonzalez AKA Rata, and Tony Ramos. Because of his situation, John would get to sit ringside (in his wheelchair) with a general admission ticket while Tony, Rata, and I would have to sit in the nosebleed section, which I didn't mind because that was where all fun was.

                                         Ray "Rata" Gonzales

                                   

                                         Tony Ramos

I can still vividly remember those days. It was during Los Angeles' Golden Era of boxing. In those years, the Olympic Auditorium was packed to the rafters week in and week out. And parking was paramount to all. We would usually find all the close-bye parking lots full so that we would park about 3-4 blocks away, and because I was the youngest, I would get to push John in his ride. Once I had wheeled John out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk, I would push him as fast as I could, and John, while hanging on tight to his ride, would be cursing me with every cuss word he could think of.

                  The Olympic Auditorium was packed to the rafters.

The beer-guzzling sold-out crowd at the nosebleed section always sought ways to entertain themselves while waiting for the fights to start. First, they would get rolls of toilet paper from the auditorium's bathrooms and throw them around the gallery. Next, some of the fans would bring their wife's/girlfriends underwear: bras and panties, and that too would be flying around the gallery, but not to be outdone, some fans would get female Kotex pads, and some of the most daring guys would put red paint on the pads. Finally, the guys, already with a beer buzz, would throw the woman's underwear and female Kotex pads at the females in the crowd. Finally, young teenagers like myself would make paper airplanes, and we would fly them from the upper gallery down to the ring.

I will always be grateful to my uncles for giving me a chance to experience those crazy times at the Olympic Auditorium. Sadly, all three uncles are gone, but I still have those memories they left me.