.
CHECK OUT MY MANY  NEWSPAPER  PAGES ON THIS SUBJECT OR IN MY STORE.These are just a small portion of my large inventory. I only put one photo on Items so I have more time to put more pages on eBay. Please do not request additional photos. THANKS! There are many great bargains in this auction and sale as price is very low. Black marks on pages are on the lamination and will be removed before shipping. I ship within 24 hours after payment but USPS 1st Class is very slow and sometimes takes up to 2 weeks or more..    Item is a single (SHEET) page........  Most of my pages are approximately 17" X 23" in size. Page is from bound volume and is considered as USED. ALL MY PAGES ARE GUARANTEED TO BE ORIGINAL (NOT Copies or Reproductions) Have had 100% FEEDBACK for 20 years. . Shipping, U.S.A. I combine SHIPPING with $0.50 for each additional Item. ...... On INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS $16.95. I COMBINE SHIPPING FOR EACH ADDITIONAL ITEM $2.50 for INTERNATIONAL. .......Shipments to CANADA  $9.75.

THIS SELLER HAS PERSONAL BOXING STORY LISTED BELOW:


GROWING UP WITH A FUTURE SPORTS LEGEND in ARKANSAS:
Coach of Century (Billy Bock) spars with Athlete of Century (Ali)


Billy Bock became an Arkansas Sports Legend. Billy boxed/sparred with Cassius Clay/Mohamed Ali ( Nicknamed "The Greatest", widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time named Athlete of Century by USA Today)

What dad gives his kids boxing gloves for Christmas? Dad was not as big as most kids his age.  Perhaps he was bullied by bigger kids growing up. Brother Leon and I were small for our age. Maybe dad wanted us to be more prepared to defend ourselves and fight back. Being able to box would help.


I went through Holy Redeemer Catholic grade school with Billy Bock. He was a grade behind me and had a reputation of "pooping" in his pants. One day while in the 2nd or 3rd grade during recess, we were on the playground wrestling. He got the better of me and sat on my head. He had done it again and it sure did stink. You remember things like that.

Our school was one room with grades 1 through 8 and heated with a coal stove in winter. When you wanted to go to toilet, you raised your hand and held out one finger or two (you know what that means) and Sister would give you permission. You had to go outside to the rear corner of building and there was a tiny boy and girl toilet  that only had a commode in it.

Around the end of grade school Billy Bock and I joined the Clarksville Boxing Club coached by the famous O.D. Hightower (He later moved to El Paso and coached at YMCA which was named after him when he died).  Clarksville had one of the best boxing clubs in the state. My big brother and I had boxing gloves and boxed each other in our back yard on Thompson street.  When Dad saw him knock me down a couple of times, he took the gloves away from us and did not use them again against each other.

Sometime later Billy, who lived a few blocks away, came to our home on Louise street and we used them to box in the basement of our house on a hill.  One time he had me backed up against the door. Every time he jabbed me, the back of my head would hit the door. Got a double whammy.  Billy and I usually worked out together at the Club in basement of the large Presbyterian church near us. I was more of his punching bag as he was very athletic. He used to criticize me for clinching or holding too much. Did this to keep from getting hit too much. This went on for a short time until I developed a serious case of Acne, which lasted for about 4 years, and had to quit. If I been able to train longer with Billy, he probably would have helped me to become a pretty good boxer. This was the end of my sports participation for the next several decades (Tennessee State Bicycle champion in 1988 and ran my 1st & last Marathon at age 69 in the1st Memphis/St. Jude Marathon 2002).


. Billy went on too much greater things. After grade school, he enrolled at the Subicaco Academy (Several years later another kid, Billy Dave Wofford, attended the same two schools and became a Major General and head of the Arkansas Army National Guard. His parents were our very best friends) for the next 4 years.  In boxing and many other sports, Billy was a five-time State Golden Gloves Champion, Mid-South Champion, AAU Champion, He sparred with Mohamed Ali when he was Casius Clay. Billy probably taught Ali many skills since he was older and had had many Championship bouts on his resume. He was a four-year letterman in football, basketball, baseball, track, golf and tennis and five years in boxing. He was named Arkansas High School Coaches Association (AHSCA) Baseball Coach of the Year nine times (1967, 1974, 1983–85, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995) and District Coach of the Year 18 times.  He was Head Coach of USA Olympic Festival in 1986 at Houston winning Gold for the South Team.  was nationally recognized as well. Collegiate Baseball and USA Today named him Coach of the Decade for the 1980s and then Coach of the Century by Collegiate Magazine. As a coach for 44 years. he never had a losing season. He was honored twice by the Arkansas Legislature and twice had a "Billy Bock Day" in Arkansas proclaimed by then Governor Bill Clinton. Check Wikipedia for his many other awards and accomplishments.

Billy's son, Kirk, followed him as a super successful coach. As a baseball coach, he won over 600 games and many Championships.  Was named National Coach of the Year in 2005.  Kirk's son, Garrett, is now a high school head coach in Hot Springs Lakeside, AR. His father expect Garrett to be a better coach than he or his grandfather.



Billy died of cancer in 2003 at age 68. Funeral services were held in Pine Bluff, AR and is buried in the Holy Redeemer Catholic cemetery in Clarksville, AR located next to U.S. Highway 64.There is a spot there reserved for me next to my Mom & Dad. . All they will get is ashes. Billy's grave is several rows up on the right.


P.S. After Billy died, I told his pretty and super nice wife, Jo Ann West Bock,  about his " pooping" at an old class reunion. She laughed and said "Oh, I wish I had known about that."
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July 2020 & 1943 Photo brothers still fighting. (me with no hair)

I ALSO HAVE A STORY ON MY TITANIC SHIP PAGES and WOMAN SUFFRAGE.