This is a picture I took from the press box at Mollenkopf Field, the football stadium of Warren G. Harding High School on July 24, 1982 when Boom Boom Mancini made his first title defense, stopping Ernesto Espana in the sixth round. What a day it was for the Mahoning Valley. Boom Boom gave us all something to feel good about at a time when the Valley had the highest unemployment rate since The Depression following the collapse of the steel industry. CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT THE NEW YORK TIMES SAID ABOUT THIS UNFORGETTABLE DAY.
CHECK OUT THE FIGHT
One of the things I remember most from that day was broadcasting live from the fight and our station WNIO doing live traffic reports from an airplane! The fight was broadcast on national tv and I remember talking with Pat Summerall from CBS and if I'm not mistaken Sylvester Stallone was there too. Here are Gary Zocolo and Bob Hotchkiss from the station getting the plane ready for the traffic reports.