1894-1960
Argentinian boxer Luis Ángel Firpo was born in Junin barrio of Argentina's capital city of Buenos Aires. He is an historical figure known for his boxing skills and his colorful nickname of "The Wild Bull of the Pampas." During the height of his career in the early 1920's, he appeared in two films: one a documentary and one as an actor. The first of these was a short entitled Will He Conquer Dempsey, made in 1923 and featuring him and his principle rival Jack Dempsey--though the documentary was principally about Firpo. The bout, which took place in New York on the 14th of September is the stuff boxing history is made of; Firpo almost won, but was eventually defeated by Dempsey after Firpo had literally knocked him out of the ring, sending him head first into a reporters typewriter! The second silent that he appeared in was an Argentinian short fictional film entitled La vuelta del toro salvaje released in 1924 and titled after his nickname--the film partially fictionalized his life to date. In his lifetime, he appeared as an actor in just one other film in the 1950's; also an Argentinian drama. Firpo retired from boxing in 1940, but went on to be a boxing manager; he was also a large scale rancher. He died on the 8th of August 1960 at the age of 65. He was interred at La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires, in a large customized mausoleum.
Another fascinating post! I especially liked reading about Dempsey flying out of the ring head first into a typewriter!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply! So appreciated!!
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