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Connections:
Willie Pep

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January 27, 2003:
The Two Faces of Willie Pep

In the mid 50's, Cleveland Williams was considered one of the hardest hitting heavyweights in the world...and a MONSTER.

And, none of that did him justice. The only thing he was missing was the big red"S" on his chest.

He was a walking anatomy chart, and we're talking here when he was at his best, before he got shot.

Willie Pep was in the waning days of his career, but still had more than enough in his tank to run rings around most anybody. But he was only doing it now for the "walking around money."

Willie was "Peck's bad boy", with a twinkle in his eye and no muscle tone at all. Most fighters look bigger in trunks; he looked smaller.

The 5th St. Gym in Miami was not a large place, so Williams and Pep had to train and do their floor exercises pretty near each other.

The gym rats kept trying to stoke Willie's ego:

"Willie, You could kill that big bum! He'd never touch you."

"You'd make him look like a jerk, Willie" And, it went on and on like that for weeks.

There was no way that Williams didn't hear it.... And he was 9 feet tall, so it started to get under his skin.

One day when all those guys were really egging Pep on:

"You could kick his ass, Willie"

"You'd make him look like fool, Willie!"

Pep just turned to them and said: "All I can tell you is: I'd hate to have him hang his hammer on me!"

And Williams exploded with laughter.

* * * * *

Just thinking of Willie Pep brings a smile to my face; he was a party every place he went.

He wanted to laugh and he wanted to make everyone else laugh. He always had all of us in stitches in the gym. He'd rib us like he was just one of the guys.

When Pep was at Stillman's, you could count on practical jokes and a furious Lou Stillman. But, he could do all of that because he was a dream in the ring. It was almost a religious experience watching him.

But, he took nothing serious. NOTHING. He came to the gym mostly, I think, to have a good time.

Pep never learned anything in the gym; it was all natural with him. He invented moves.

And, that 's the Pep I'd always seen at the height of his career.

After he hung up the gloves, briefly, he tried his hand at training.

I was once in the 5th St.Gym in Miami and Pep was in the corner of a big, beefy heavyweight. Pep was screaming at the heavyweight from the ring apron, and getting red in the face. This wasn't stand-up comic Willie: this was more like Vince Lombardi or Mike Ditka.

When the round ended, Pep went berserk and attacked his own fighter. He was screaming at him, punching him, pistol-whipping him with his pork-pie hat, kicking him in the shins... He had to be dragged off him.

He was telling him what to do: " WHY COULDN'T HE DO IT?!" was written all over Pep's face.

The dancing master that dazzled everyone at Stillman's...that was never off-stage, is the way I prefer to remember Willie.

- John Garfield