Pappy fought someone actually named Yogi O?Bera, knocking him out in the sixth at Textile Hall in Greenville, South Carolina, on July 16, 1953?
?If you asked a hundred people about my dad, 99 of them would have nothing bad to say. The other one probably didn?t know him.??Billy Gault
Born on February 8, 1929, bantamweight William Henry ?Pappy? Gault fought out of Spartanburg, South Carolina, from 1948 to 1959, ending up with a record of 68 wins, 25 by knockout, 26 losses, five by knockout, and two draws. Winner of his first 32 fights, he ultimately lost to Frankie Sodano, who beat him by unanimous decision at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York, on October 10, 1950.
Although he fought mainly in the Carolinas, Gault also had bouts in Florida, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, Missouri, Colorado, California, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and DC, as well as Cuba, Canada, France, Australia, Thailand, South Africa, and Mexico.
Pappy, whose motto was, ?Never cause any trouble and never back down from any,? faced some names, twice taking on Willie Pep, losing both times by unanimous decision, first at Valley Arena in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on September 27, 1955, then at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory, in Tampa, Florida, that November 29. And there was Angelo Dundee-trained Bill Bossio, who twice won on points, first at the Auditorium in Miami Beach on January 19, 1951, then at Laurel Garden in Newark that April 2; Chris Dundee-promoted Pupi Garcia, who twice won by stoppage, both times in Havana, first by eighth-round KO on August 30, 1952, then by third-round TKO that September 29; Robert Cohen, who?d go on to win the vacant World bantamweight title in 1954, who won on points at Palais des Sports in Paris on April 15, 1953; Willie Toweel, who won on points at Rand Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on October 2, 1954; never-stopped Paul Jorgensen, who won by unanimous decision in Houston on July 12, 1955; and the amazing Ricardo ?El Pajarito? Moreno (59 of 60 wins by way of knockout; one by disqualification), who won by third-round KO in Tijuana on August 15, 1956. Pappy also fought someone actually named Yogi O?Bera, knocking him out in the sixth at Textile Hall in Greenville, South Carolina, on July 16, 1953.
?I can?t remember him ever telling me about a fight he won,? writes Spartanburg Herald-Journal Sports Editor Leslie Timms. ?The only things I remember Pappy telling me about his ring career were the losses, the times he was knocked down, the times he made a mistake and it wound up hurting him. But make no mistake about it, Pappy Gault was one of the finest athletes to come out of South Carolina.?
Ranked ninth by The Ring in 1952 and fifth in 1953, Gault won the North American bantamweight title on October 27, 1952, by beating Fernando Gagnon via unanimous decision in Quebec. Upon returning to his hometown on Halloween, Mayor Thomas W. Whiteside proudly proclaimed ?Pappy Gault Day,? with Pappy, wife, and young son riding through the city streets in an open convertible. ?I owe this sport much more than I?ll ever be able to repay,? said Pappy, who lost the title to Billy Peacock by split decision at Eastern Parkway Arena in Brooklyn on August 17, 1953. Three months later, on November 13, Gault faced Jimmy Carruthers at Sydney Sports Ground in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, for the Bantamweight Championship of the World, losing by unanimous decision. Losing, but ?I guess that was the greatest thrill I ever experienced,? said Gault, ?fighting for the world title.? Regardless of the loss, Gault showed plenty of guts fighting ?the entire bout with a broken hand,? reports Herald-Journal sportswriter Luther Gaillard. ?He was that kind of man.? Pappy himself downplayed the pain, ?The hand didn?t hurt me once during the fight, but I couldn?t forget that it was hurt and I didn?t use it as effectively as I could have,? he said. ?But Carruthers was a mighty tough boy. He?s probably the toughest I ever fought.? Though Carruthers returned the compliment, saying that ?Hitting Gault was like hitting a brick wall,? Pappy had the last word, ?He beat me at everything.?
Pappy made up for his loss to Carruthers, sort of, by winning the United States bantamweight title on February 16, 1956, beating Bobby Singleton via unanimous decision at the Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg.
Gault last won on April 11, 1957, beating Johnny Hand by unanimous decision at the Memorial Auditorium for the Southern bantamweight title. After losing seven fights in a row, he hung ?em up following his loss to Ross Calvin, who outpointed him in Memphis on January 1, 1959.
?The Brick Wall from Spartanburg? had worked in the mailroom of the Herald-Journal since 1946. Lou Parris, who eventually became the paper?s city editor, had been trained by Gault when a child. ?Pappy took me through, showed me how to box,? recalls Parris. ?I was the smallest and the youngest there at the time. I was so short, he didn?t have anybody else my size, so he made guys get on their knees to train with me.?
Typical of the man, only 5?3? himself, according to those who knew and loved him. ?Inside the ring, Pappy Gault was fiercely passionate,? writes Herald-Journal sportswriter Forrest White. ?Outside, he was tenderly compassionate. He didn?t want people to go without. When he bundled newspapers for boys to sell on the street, he would always sneak in a couple extra copies. If you?re selling papers on the street, he figured, there had to be a need. Two extra newspapers sold meant an extra 20 cents in the pocket.?
Pappy Gault was murdered on December 30, 1971. He was 42.
In addition to training Parris and other local boys, such as middleweights Bruce Cantrell and ?Irish? Mike Baker, Pappy loved his job as mailroom foreman, sometimes working ?seven days a week, two shifts each day,? writes White. ?If he didn?t think you were working hard enough, he?d say, ?You?re putting the gloves on with me after work,?? recalls colleague Bobby Hart. ?He?d spar with you in the parking lot. He?d never go for your head, but he?d tear your kidneys up.? But he also liked to gamble. ?He ran with people who gambled,? says son Billy. ?I can?t say if that?s bad or good. It?s just unfortunate that he was at a particular game the night he ran into the person who shot him.?
Gault stopped off at a gambling den the night he was killed, leaving shortly thereafter with a man named Douglas Chesney. The two were about to drive off to get something to eat when Allen Carroll Pruitt came up. Both men were later found in Gault?s car, shot to death.
Escaping the death penalty because of the jury?s inexplicable recommendation for mercy, Pruitt was sentenced to life in prison. Denied parole 12 times, he died in 2002. Married to a 15-year-old at the time of the killings, it?s unknown if his wife claimed the body for burial or if it?s moldering in the prison graveyard. Speaking of wives, Pappy?s widow, Frances, outlived her husband?s killer, dying in 2003.
Pappy is buried in Spartanburg?s Greenlawn Memorial Gardens. Nice plaque, too.
