Circa 1980
there was a rumor going around the boxing gyms in Southern California that I
had died. John Bayrooty, boxing writer for the now defunct Los Angeles
Herald-Examiner even ran a piece on the paper “Frank Baltazar, father of boxers
Frankie and Tony Baltazar has died” etc. etc.
It all
started as far as I know with the late Johnny Cabrera (matchmaker for Don Fraser)
Johnny told somebody that I had died from kidney failure. From there the rumor
spread.
People
started calling the house asking about funeral services. Connie or whoever
answered the phone would tell the callers that I was not dead.
My friend
Dub Huntley called, and this he told me later. He didn’t want to ask about
services, so when Connie answered the phone he asked her if I was home, Connie
told him that yes I was home but that I was asleep, Dud told her not to wake me
up, that he would call later.
Dub got on
the phone and called as many people as he could and told them “Hell! He ain’t
dead, he’s asleep”!!
When Dub
called me I asked him how the rumor had gotten started, he said that as far as
he knew it had started with Johnny Cabrera. I then called Johnny and when he
answered I said “Johnny this is Frank Baltazar” he then, in a low voice, asked
me “Frank, where are you calling me from?” “From hell”!! I replied. I hope he
was sitting down!!...LOL!!
