Frankie and the Las Vegas Golden Gloves

By kiki

Paul Caruso, seen here with Art “Golden Boy” Aragon once did some fixin’ for us.

Frankie, having gone to Golden Gloves National's in 1975 with the L.A. team was not able to fight in the 1976 L.A tourney because of a broken ankle. We figure that by the time Las Vegas held their tournament (Vegas held their tourney a few weeks after L.A.’s) that Frankie’s ankle would be heal and that he could fight there. So I called Bill Miller L.V. tournament director and told him I was taking Frankie to fight on the L.V tourney, he told me not to bother, that Frankie would not be allowed to fight because he had fought on the Olympic Auditorium’s pro/am card against AAU rules. A few days later I was in Aileen Eaton’s office and I told her what Miller had said, she told me “go see Paul Caruso and he’ll fix it for you with one phone call, tell him I send you” Frankie and I went to see Caruso in his Beverly Hills office, when we were ushered into his office I said to him “Aileen Eaton said to talk you and that you could fix our problem with one phone call” He smiled and said “Aileen gives me too much credit” I then explain our situation to him “Las Vegas, huh?” he mutter, more to himself than us. He picked up the phone and dialed a number and after a conversation that lasted less than five minutes he hung up and told Frankie, "it fix, you’re fighting in the Vegas Golden Gloves. I think the dude was connected!!

Frankie lost his first fight in the Vegas tourney. But no matter, we got there!!