Frankie Terranova seemed to have a thing for guys named Greb. In addition to Larry, he took on Joey and Mickey?
?I don?t want to die without any scars.??Fight Club
Not younger brother Phil Terranova?the very good indeed NBA featherweight champ who beat such worthies as Lulu Costantino, as well as the legendary Sandy Saddler?but Frankie Terranova, a tough lightweight who really didn?t beat anyone at all.
Five feet of muscle and with a face that commanded respect if not necessarily envy, ?Terror? was described as ?formidable? by the Chicago Tribune shortly before his fight with Larry Greb, who won on points at the Majestic Theater in Chicago on April 16, 1937. He certainly looked formidable, but Terranova, who fought out of New York City from 1931 to 1941, wound up with a remarkably unimpressive record of 32 wins, nine by knockout, 75 losses, 18 by knockout, and eight draws. Still, ?with an overpowering desire to fight,? as described by The New York Times, 115 fights over 10 years, an average of more than 11 a year, is something to write home about.
Frankie seemed to have a thing for guys named Greb. In addition to Larry, he took on Joey and Mickey, outpointed by the former at the Jamaica Arena in Jamaica, Queens, on March 6, 1933, and by the latter at the New York Coliseum in the Bronx on February 18, 1936.
He also once fought little-remembered but intriguing Julie Katz, outpointing him at New York City?s Star Casino on March 25, 1936. On the one hand, not one of Katz?s 22 wins came by way of knockout; on the other, neither did any of his 15 losses.
One of his last opponents was a guy who had the gall to take the name of Trader Horn (0-1-1). Frankie stopped him by second-round TKO at Carlin?s Park in Baltimore on January 6, 1941.
Terror, who once fought with a fractured right arm, almost always lost when he took on names. ?The St. Louis Bearcat,? Joe Ghnouly, outpointed him at the Dyckman Oval in New York City (home of the New York Cubans) on August 13, 1937; ?The Bronx Spider,? Mike Belloise, outpointed him at New York City?s St. Nicholas Arena on February 14, 1938; cement-chinned Julie Kogon stopped him by fifth-round TKO at Queen?s Boulevard Arena in Elmhurst, Queens, on March 7, 1939; never-stopped Willie Joyce outpointed him at Fort Hamilton Arena in Brooklyn that September 28; ?The Ripper,? Ralph Zannelli, outpointed him at the Casino in Fall River, Massachusetts, on April 11, 1940; and Hall of Famer Chalky Wright stopped him by sixth-round TKO in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1941.
And there were others. Tony Chavez, for instance, who once stopped Mike Belloise and even beat Henry Armstrong (if only by disqualification), outpointed Frankie at Madison Square Garden on July 29, 1937, one of only two fights Frankie had at that famed venue; in the other, that September 9, he drew against Nick Peters. And there was Bobby ?Poison? Ivy, who beat guys like Sal Bartolo, Joey Archibald (twice), and Harry Jeffra, and was the only man to stop Baby Yack. He, too, won on points, at Foot Guard Hall in Hartford, Connecticut, on March 28, 1939.
Yes, Terranova stopped the stunningly feather-fisted but nevertheless impressive Lew Feldman by fifth-round TKO at Henderson?s Arena in Brooklyn on January 29, 1937, but lost to him on points at Ridgewood Grove in Brooklyn that October 16. He also outpointed Al Reid at St. Nicholas Arena that March 5, but Reid had already outpointed him twice, on June 29 and September 28, 1936, both times at St. Nick?s. However feather-fisted, and however forgotten today, Reid was among the better featherweights of his time.
In short, a club fighter. And proud of it. I recently came across a photo of Terranova that ?promotes? him with admirable if misguided honesty as ?New York?s Greatest Club Fighter.? I?ve never seen that before. Since when is ?club fighter? a positive? Why not ?New York?s Greatest Palooka?? I don?t know who promoted, managed, or trained Frankie, but the chutzpah brings a smile to the face, and I?m proud to include him in my Pantheon of Forgotten Fighters.
Terranova retired from the ring following his loss to Herman Carey, who won by second-round TKO at Newfield Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on July 9, 1941. He last won on February 17 that year, outpointing Marty Shapiro at Bridgeport?s Pyramid Mosque.
Born on March 15, 1912, we can safely assume that Frankie?s no longer with us. In fact, someone only identified as Howard posted online in 2008, ?I was friends w/him 15-20 years ago when he was living out his last few years in the apartment building I worked in. A great guy and fine story teller, even in his dotage (which was probably accelerated by the many beatings he took in the ring).?
Gone, but at least exhumed from the potter?s field of unknown and unsung club fighters.
