January 2014: Available now from Amazon worldwide, the story of the Marciano/Ali bout as told by Ferdie Pacheco and John Cameron.
News: (This page, like the site, to be updated constantly as the project moves along...)
26/03/13: The second edition of Volume One is now available via Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Redemption-Life-Death-Rocky-Marciano/dp/148396020X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364327638&sr=1-3 7/01/13: The first volume of Redemption has sold so well in paperback (despite one rather vitriolic review) that a second edition seems a certainty, with this further edition the aim is to sort out the proofing errors that led to a little criticism and detracted from the content. There is also hope that images will be able to be included which will really bring the first volume to life. 04/01/13: Received my first royalty check from Amazon, finally I am a professional author. 01/09/12: Redemption V. 1 is now available in paperback from Amazon sites worldwide. 27/08/12: The first volume of the Marciano project is finally available as an e-reader on Amazon sites world wide, now the hard work really begins. 13/07/12: Received a message from Ferdie Pacheco concerning the reworked manuscript that I completed for him and which I titled 'Ghosts in the Machine': Dear John: At 2:00 P.M I received your manuscript Ghosts in the Machine: Ali vs MarcianoI LOVED THE TITLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I readand read till I finished this slam-bang book!!! NOW IT IS A NICE BOXING BOOK!! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT. IT KEPT ME ENTHRALLED!! To boxing fans it is a Treasure Trove; it is what was needed. A Million Thanks to you. You can write that is for sure. Your friend in Florida, Ferdie. 07/06/12:I have decided to pull the plug on Untreed Reads involvement in the Marciano project this will allow me to improve and complete without the time restraints of publishers at this time. 09/05/12: Have been invited to rework a manuscript by Ferdie Pacheco concerning the fictitious computer bout between Marciano and Muhammad Ali. 10/04/12: Received material concerning Marciano's early career as covered in the Brockton Press courtesy of Bob Yalen, some incredible contents is contained within. 15/02/12: The manuscript returned to intended publishers, time to let it go and move on to the next, still a few loose ends that need to be tied but they will have to be taken care off in subsequent volumes now... 02/02/12: Intended publishers Untreed Reads contacted asking for idea's for front cover of the first volume for the project, slowly but surely we move forward. 01/02/12: Angelo Dundee, the great trainer and friend of Marciano's passed away today aged 90, I am so proud to have known him, albeit divided by an ocean, and honoured that he saw such potential in this project to both share with me some memories and compose a short forward, Thank you Angelo for everything may you rest easy now... 15/01/12: Recalled manuscript for one last reworking... 13/12/11: Have made tentative contact with Louis Marciano the nephew of the eponymous hero of the biography, he has thrown out a possible link to connect with his father Louis "Sonny" Marciano the brother of Rocky who witnessed his ascension to the heavyweight championship and events thereafter. This is of prime importance to the project, I just hope that contact is made before the first volume is released sometime in the first quarter of next year (Amend;18/02/12:Louis has fallen silent over the last few months, a shame, hopefully the release of the first volume will elicit some,hopefully favourable, response from the Marciano family and assure them of my honest intentions). 15/11/11: Finally heard some news from the intended publishers Untreed Reads: "It's taking a lot longer than we thought to go through this (the manuscript). As this is the first pass-through, it takes a lot of time to make sure that everything is in its correct order, follows a timeline, quotes belong where they should be, etc.. I didn't anticipate it taking this long, but my hope is that the work ends up even better as a result." 28/10/11: Received an official endorsement by Rocco Marchegiano Jr. the son of the eponymous hero of the project (see Comments & Reviews for quote). This is priceless in as much as having a member of the family so firmly behind the work especially as Marchegiano Jr. has viewed a draft of volume one and knows its contents. 04/09/11: Interviewed on The Ringside Boxing Show, great experience and hopefully will lead to some further responses see the link page to listen to the full interview. 09/08/11: Message from intended publishers Untreed Reads: Realistically release into the ebook market is probably going to be September at the earliest. I'll have a better idea...around August 26th. 30/07/11: Under some very trusted advisement I have decided to remove the prologue from the project, this chapter covered in detail the computer tournament of 1967 and was intended as an overview of the history of the heavyweight championship and Marciano's place within it. This chapter hopfully will not be lost however for it is included in a projected book by Dr. Ferdie Pacheco that looks in detail into the Ali-Marciano computer bout from 1969. 22/07/11: The revised draft as proofed by John Raspanti has been returned to Untreed Reads, the next few weeks are crucial. 06/06/11: I am so glad that I approached someone I can trust to look over the project, he has pointed out a looseness in the writing style which needs tightening up - Some people can be very very picky. I don't want someone to pick apart your project based on the grammar and not the content! (which is good). Got your back my friend. Have now begun the task of picking through entire manuscript and polishing accordingly, which is great because I am reminding myself of what I have chronicled and approaching it with a fresh set of eyes. 05/06/11: The manuscript for Volume One is in the hands of someone who is helping to iron out any grammatical errors and polish the non-Marciano historical aspects, hopefully all being well they will like it enough to take up my invite of penning a new introduction. 03/06/11: Sadly Mary Ann Marciano, daughter of Rocky, passed away today (see the following for more details http://www.enterprisenews.com/ourtowns/x1009130688/Daughter-of-Brockton-boxer-Rocky-Marciano-dies#ixzz1OwDjljNK). Another link to the past has gone, R.I.P... 31/05/11: Untreed Reads reacted shakily to the news that a certain member of the Marciano family has distanced himself from the project, however, after sweating it out they later assured me thus:I'm definitely not pulling the plug, I just wanted to know xxxx's reasons for not wanting to be associated with the project. If it was that we were publishing some less-than-factual information or making the work gossipy, then I could understand. However, if the facts bear out then I agree that a biography can't and shouldn't be whitewashed. Rest assured, you still have my full support on the project. 30/05/11: Boxing historian and author of 'Inside The Ropes' Phil Guarnieri has composed a truly wonderful afterward to the first volume. 29/05/11: Unfortunately a certain member of the Marciano family has pulled their support from the project, they are upset that extant evidence from Rocky's military career is being chronicled in the biography. It is however my job as a biographer to tell the story from the evidence presented, I can do nothing with the evidence withheld (the extant records that verify the conclusions drawn will be posted upon the archive page shortly after the first volume is released) ... 28/05/11: Breaking news, Untreed Reads have contacted me and announced that the project has been tentatively scheduled for release in late July early August 27/05/11: A small trailer interview by John Raspanti on Doghouse boxing...http://www.doghouseboxing.com/John/Raspanti052611.htm 20/05/11: An interview with Boxrec correspondent Altaf mubarik, nice piece...http://news.boxrec.com/news/2011/redemption-life-death-rocky-marciano 24/04/11: Finally finished amending draft for Volume 1 and returned to prospective publisher, now it is in their hands. 30/03/11: Due to a remarkable amount of fresh material that has come my way I have requested more time from the hopeful publishers in order to amend the draft for volume one. 11/02/11: Received official endorsement by Angelo Dundee, along with the forward, succinct and to the point. 7/02/11: Angelo Dundee confirmed that he will compose a short forward to Volume One, a great endorsement. 5/02/11: Began sending polished Material out to Untreed Reads. 20/01/11: Finished rough draft for volume one, final polishing and amendments needed... 22/11/10: Message from Untreed Reads, "I wanted to let you know that your signed contract arrived 11/19/10 safe and sound...We're really looking forward to this one." 09/11/10: After ironing out a few wrinkles in the contract from Untreed Reads I have finally signed, now I have four months to deliver the manuscript for the first volume, the journey moves on... 22/10/10: Received the contract from Untreed Reeds stipulating that I have 120-days from date of signature in which to produce a completed manuscript that will comprise the first volume. The publishers reserve the right to decline the project at any time so I have my work cut out, still, this is a golden opportunity. 10/09/10: I am currentely in negotiations with Untreed Reads, an e-book publisher based in America, regarding the release of this project in no less that three seperate volumes, by circumventing the traditional paper route and jumping aboard the increasingly popular e-book format will allow me to expand the works rather than be forced to cull them, thus allowing me to create something on the epic scale I initially envisaged, more details to follow:..............
Article published in two parts in the Lowell Sun (Massachusetts) paper 19/08/2010-20/08/2010
A champion for the ages is born in Lowell
The Lowell Sun Updated: 08/19/2010 09:16:14 AM EDT The following are excerpts from a forthcoming biography entitled: "Redemption: The Life & Death of Rocky Marciano" by John Cameron.
It deals with the story of one Rocco Marchegiano in 1948 at the Lowell Sun Charities' Golden Gloves Tournament. Later that year, at the behest of his agent, he reluctantly agreed to change his name to Rocky Marciano. "When I fought there I was just another fighter ... I guess I owe all that followed to that place." -- Rocky Marciano The championships in Lowell were extravagant affairs with preliminaries having begun on December 30th and due to reach their conclusion on February 9th, 1948. The main aim of this competition was to find the eight boxers who would represent Massachusetts in the New England finals later that same month. The venue itself, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, seemed a fitting site, for the building had been constructed in the 1930's and was dedicated to the American Veterans who served their country. Decorating the exterior walls were the names of famous generals and battles in which America made her mark. One can only imagine how the combatants in boxing skirmishes within felt as they entered the building surrounded by the carved names of such famous modern warriors. The show's organizers, wishing to cement the popularity of this event which was only in its second year, had pulled out all the stops in the hopes of filling the 4,000 capacity auditorium. Against them though
this year they had the weather to contend with, for the county was locked in a bitter winter resplendent with heavy snow and temperatures in the evening touching freezing. To everyone's relief, however, the shows proved to be a roaring success. On the 19th of January, Bob Girard found himself the favorite to win the Lowell heavyweight championship. He had competed there the previous year, making it all the way to the final where he had lost to one Joe Browne. Now this year high expectations were laid upon his broad shoulders, perhaps this proved to be too much for him for, surprisingly, he was unceremoniously knocked out of the competition by Dan Solomont in the opening stages. Whilst Girard slunk home his conqueror, by a strange quirk, would have to get past Marchegiano himself if he wished to progress any further. Rocco's inclusion in the tournament was entirely due to one man, Jim McMullen, who in his role as the director of boxing for the Golden Gloves was the key voice in who did, and conversely did not, make it into the championship. There was one fighter though who definitely would make it, his name was Charlie Mortimer and he was the protégé of none other than McMullen himself. Through the practice of a form of nepotism, Mortimer would not be amongst those in the preliminaries but instead would be entered straight into the last four. It would be up to the rest of the boys to earn their shot at him. Due to the complexities of the competition there would be only three heavyweights who could make it through to the finals. McMullen needed a fourth or his fighter would be excluded. To this end the tournament director found himself in Lynn, Mass., sometime in January, to watch an unnamed heavyweight compete with the singular intention of getting this man to take part in the closing stages of the Gloves. "This heavyweight, a big redhead, had a pretty good reputation and the word was that he was knocking guys into the parquet seats. So I went down to Lynn to get a look at him," McMullen told Frank Dyer of The Sun years later. "He ends up fighting a tough looking kid from Brockton and for about two rounds this redhead caught more bombs than you could imagine. Finally, the kid from Brockton caught him with a right and lifted him about a foot off the canvas. Knocked him cold. After the fight I got the kid from Brockton to box in the Golden Gloves." Thus it was that on the wintry evening of Monday, February 2nd, Rocco made his debut in Lowell. The late Frank Sargent, who covered the show for The Sun, described his initial appearance thus: "Up from Brockton came Rocco Marckegiano (sic), a heavyweight with a lot of dynamite in his right glove. This boy slugged it out with Dan Solomont of Seekonk, R.I., in the first two minutes of the initial chapter and then caught his foe with a right to the jaw which caused the Rhode Islander to go into a lengthy slumber." The compelling photograph which accompanied the article shows the hapless Solomont falling forward with arms spread wide as if in worship, all around him is emptiness, Rocco had already walked away as if he knew his foe was never going to rise before the count reached 10. Yet despite this conclusive victory, Rocco was not the star of the show, for that honor belonged to the aforementioned Charlie "Chuck" Mortimer, a clean shaven, 19-year-old from Lowell who looked more like a movie star or model than a fighter. McMullen's protégé seemed, at least on the surface, to have the potential to win the tourney, especially with Girard out of the way. The publicity machine turned quick for Mortimer thanks in no small part to his victory that same evening, when he scored his own first-round victory over an unfortunate Joe West, therefore being hailed as the "hitter" of the tournament. "Chuck Mortimer, who simply can't wait for the call to come out fighting, will finally get his chance. He'll positively appear against ... Rocco Markegiano (sic) ... when the heavyweight open contenders close the card. Practically every sports fan in greater-Lowell is anxious to ascertain how hard this highly-touted boy can hit," wrote Sargent. So far the script had run to plan, ensuring a local boy was in the final the following Monday, but for McMullen, the local press, and the almost 4,000 spectators who crammed into the Memorial Auditorium, they would have to wait just a little while longer to see if their "highly-touted boy" could blast out this unknown Brockton fighter, who was also able to hit a bit himself.
* Tomorrow: Championship bout
The Lowell Sun
Updated: 08/20/2010 06:35:22 AM EDT
This is the second and final installment detailing Rocky Marciano's appearance in the 1948 Golden Gloves Tournament in Lowell. It is excerpted from a forthcoming biography entitled: "Redemption: The Life & Death of Rocky Marciano" by John Cameron.
The night of February 9th was buzzing, a palpable sense of excitement surrounding the Lowell Memorial Auditorium as a capacity crowd was on hand to witness an enthralling bout between their home-town boy and the upstart who was trying to deny him a place in the forthcoming N.E. Tournament of Champions against champions from Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
From there, a berth would be available for the All-East Golden Gloves Tournament in New York in March.
For the first two rounds the southpaw style of Charlie Mortimer ruled the day as he peppered the slightly heavier Rocco Marchegiano with shots from every angle (Rocco weighed in at his heaviest official weight for this bout, 192 lbs.) but to the surprise of the crowd this Brockton boy would not go down.
Either Mortimer had lost his fabled power or his opponent was far tougher than they had initially given him credit for. At least, most agreed, they were getting their money's worth this evening.
In the opening stages of the closing third round the Brocktonian seemed to wilt and was forced back against the ropes, then, to the astonishment of all present, as recorded in the Lowell Sun, "He came to life with startling suddenness in 1:20 of the
third, stepping inside Mortimer's guard whilst coming off the ropes to deliver a roof-raising right uppercut that put Mortimer face down until his seconds hustled in to roll him over."
Rocco was the champion. The swiftness of Rocco's destructive power could no longer be denied. Those observers that evening would one day rate his right uppercut as the hardest punch ever thrown in a Lowell ring.
Thus it was this Brockton heavyweight who carried the hopes of Massachusetts into the New England finals. Mortimer's local fans, however, viewed Marchegiano as a detestable character who had broken every rule in the ring and, in the words of columnist Frank Sargent, "...used everything but his teeth on his foes, for he has appeared in two fights and both times his opponent has wound up on the horizontal end of a haymaker. The crowd boos his apparent use of elbows, thumbs and head."
This disparaging of the victor included tourney director Jim McMullen, who was left with a bitter taste in his mouth over the defeat of his boy, leading him to comment later: "I didn't think too much of (Marchegiano). He seemed a little too cute. You'd hit him and he'd fake getting hurt. Then you'd relax and he'd slam you."
The vitriol continued, as recorded by Sargent again: "Although Rocco (whose name sounds more like an opera star than a pugilist) will carry the colors of the state into battle against Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, next week there will be a lot of Lowell fans rooting for his opponent -- any opponent."
It would only be a matter of time however before the feelings of both the boxing public and those who reported it would be changed in his favor.
Within weeks the fighter with an opera star's name found himself back in Lowell, this time in an attempt to lay claim to the New England title and with it a place in New York.
It is a matter of conjecture as to what permeated through his mind as he stood once again in the magnificent Memorial Auditorium and gazed at the two-tier seating that seemed to stretch forever upwards, dissected by a vast banner which read 'Lowell Sun Charities New England Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions' and stretched halfway around the venue. Nobody could read his mindset as he stepped foot again in that roped arena which he would later describe as "the best ring I ever fought in," especially as he knew that the majority of those present had come to see him lose.
It was Lowell sports columnist John F. Kenney who would voice his opinion in Rocco's favor, recognizing that he was more puncher than boxer. Kenney would become one of Marchegiano's most vociferous supporters in the early years.
On that first night of competition, February 17th, the crowd would not get their wish. Prior to the scheduled bout it was announced that his opponent in the semifinals, Ralph Piscope, winner of the Maine heavyweight championship, had forfeited the bout, leading Marchegiano to be declared the winner by default. The reason would never be satisfactorily explained. Thus a bemused Rocco, wishing to believe that it was fear which directed his opponent to abandon the fight, disrobed and ventured into the crowd to watch the remaining bouts in order to see who he would be pitted against in the final scheduled for the following day.
The other semifinal was between Dave Hinkley, the champion of Vermont and the pre-tournament favorite who moved with the speed of a light-heavyweight, and New Hampshire champion George McGinnis. The bout was over in a little over a minute with Hinkley being counted out after seemingly stepping into a right hook. It set up a mouth-watering prospect once again with two punchers squaring off in a final in the Lowell ring.
Once again the next night the Auditorium rang to the voices of a capacity crowd, ranging from the working man eager to witness a good bout, to civic dignitaries eager only to be seen. The applause meted out to both McGinnis and Marchegiano was equally respectable, everyone believed this one would not go the distance, yet nobody knew who would win. The man with the easiest job that evening was the referee, Joe Zapustas. "As long as he could count to 10 he would do okay," said McMullen.
At the outset they tore into each other with savage abandon, McGinnis because he was fueled by his earlier stoppage victory, Rocco because he knew no other way. For a full two minutes the carnage reigned, then suddenly a big left hook from Marchegiano landed on the right side of George's face, in an instant his eyebrow seemed to explode, sending a shower of blood geysering out onto spectators seated at ringside.
Referee Zapustas had no option but to stop the action and inspect the injury, it was horrific, and he did not hesitate to call a halt to the fight then and there. Nobody in the crowd complained -- particularly those in the front row.
Now the boy from Brockton had added the New England heavyweight championship to his resumé. He was presented with a resplendent sash belt and miniature golden glove to honor his achievements, the latter of which he promptly gave to Barbara upon his return home as an engagement gift after finally proposing to her after his victory over Mortimer.
Rocco Francis Marchegiano had announced to the world beyond his beloved Brockton that finally he was on his way.
And for the next decade there would be no stopping Rocky Marciano. Editor's note: Marchegiano lost in the finals of the All-East Tournament in New York to Coley Wallace. The Brockton native changed his name to Rocky Marciano for promotional purposes later that year and fought 24 times as a pro in 1948 and '49, He would retire as heavyweight champion of the world in 1956, at the age of 32, with a spotless record of 49-0 and 43 knockouts. He died in a plane crash in Iowa in 1969.
If you're a fan of one of the most famous fighters ever to put on a pair of gloves, Rocky Marciano, the name John Cameron might become a familiar one to you soon.
Cameron is a British author who is, in his own words "currently heavily involved in composing a biography on the former world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano" and wants to alert fight fans to his website which is, like the book, a 'work in progress'.
In the introduction to his website, he writes: "My name is John Cameron, an author from the United Kingdom who is currently heavily involved in researching and composing the (hopfully) definitive biography of Rocky Marciano, the former undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion.
"Marciano reigned from 1952 until his retirement in 1956, ending his career with forty-nine victories in forty-nine starts, not bad for someone who was told to forget all about boxing when he started his professional career at the rather advanced age of twenty-four in 1948, all he had, they said, was a punch, and that punch flattened some forty-three opponents, leaving Marciano with the best stoppage percentage in all of boxing.
"I was not even born when Marciano died in 1969, my birth came three-years later and I was to grow up at the tail end of the impossible Ali, and rise of the incredible 'Marvelous' Marvin Hagler. I had no conception of Marciano, to me he was no more than a black-and-white image in fading photographs, that is until my father began to fill my young impressionable head with stories of this remarkable man, from then on, aged about eleven, I was hooked, I attempted to copy his style when I donned the gloves in my youth, I was lucky I didn't get killed as I learned the hard way that no one can copy his "style"!
"However I did survive, although my face will forever be worn as a souvenir of my naivety, and over the years my hero worship of the man never waned as I collected all I could, I wanted to know everything about Marciano, what made him tick, how the hell did he fight the way he did, everything, yet as my collection grew I was left with the empty feeling that the whole story was not being told (and in my research I have proven to myself that I was right, a first!), thus I have resolved to put it right.
"This site is more a homage to the journey of putting the project together more than it is the tale of Marciano, that is all being revealed in the book itself, however I will keep dropping in some excerpts from the book from time to time just to keep you the reader interested and remind myself of the almost impossible task I have set for myself. But, taking a leaf from the man himself, I will not allow the impossible to hold me back!"
Cameron's website is a very interesting idea. He offers readers sample chapters, a synopsis and other insights into what is obviously an consuming labour of love for the author.
Contributor to new book by Dr. Ferdie Pacheco. July/August 2010.
Have had the honour of being invited to amend and contribute some original work to a new book by author Dr. Ferdie Pacheco. The book he is working on documents the mythic computer bout between Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano filmed in 1969, just weeks prior to Marciano's death.
Having been privy to the working draft of his forthcoming book I can tell you it is a cracker, my contributions only helped to flesh it out, they wern't really needed, but being an opportunist I had to take the chance whilst it was there and thankfully it paid off, and how!
The chapters I contributed regarding a history of the radio serialized computer tournament that led to the later filmed bout, plus a chapter dealing with the immediate aftermath of the bout have both been enthusiastically accepted, leading Ferdie Pacheco to claim that the materials "...are Gold...You are a hell of a good writer."
The finished draft of the book by Ferdie featuring my contributions has gone to the publisher who commissioned the work (University Press, Florida). 12/08/10
"Your Chapter (actually it is two chapters) is good for the book. Thanks for the help and good luck with your own biography of Marciano." Ferdie Pacheco
— An entire ocean separates John Cameron from the hometown of Rocky Marciano, but that isn’t stopping him from chronicling the late boxing legend’s life.
Cameron, 38, who resides in Kingsteignton, a small town in Devon, England, about 185 miles southwest of London, is writing a biography of Marciano, whom he calls his “undeniable hero.” He has titled the work “Redemption: The Life & Death of Rocky Marciano.”
“Marciano, my hero, deserves to have his story told in the most definitive way possible, not focusing merely on the moments that shine but on the whole of his remarkable life,” Cameron said in an e-mail to The Enterprise.
Cameron, a married father of three and grandfather of three, said he does not have a publisher yet.
He said he has spoken with Marciano’s son, Rocky Marciano Jr. of Florida, and he hopes to speak to more people who knew Marciano for his book.
“The aim of this work is to plant Marciano firmly back into the mind of the modern world by presenting his life as it was, no angles, no gimmicks, just the plain truth,” he said.
Marciano died in a plane crash in 1969 at the age of 45. He is the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated.
Angelo Dundee: The famed trainer (most notably of Muhammad Ali) who knew Marciano from the fighters earliest years as a professional and who before he passed away helped me understand this lost era (and has endorsed the first volume with a forward).
Phil Guarnieri: Boxing writer and historian who has penned a remarkable afterword to the first volume and contributed some remarkable tales on Marciano.
Bob Yalen: Researcher who has contributed precious archive material which has helped to bring a greater understanding of both Marciano and those who opposed him.
Bobby Bearden: Creator of the seminal Marciano website and unofficial godfather of my own project who has metaphorically passed on the torch.
Peter Marciano: Youngest brother of Rocky who initially assisted me in amending and polishing some of the earliest chapters from the book, to have his own handwritten notes on my work is an honour... Amended email: "...I believe you have a talent to write, I hope you understand that because you are writing about my brother I tend to be critical...(Peter has now distanced himself from the project but still wishes good luck)"
Betty Fitzgerald: A researcher at the Providence Library, who has, without want of anything, furnished me with some stunning archive material from Marciano's earliest days in the ring...
John Raspanti: Boxing historian and owner of Doghouse Boxing for proofing the first volume and his constant support.
Tania Grossinger: An established author who, despite concentrating on her own career has been a rock to mine...
Terry Robinson: Terry was a friend and confidante of the late Mario Lanza who was close to Marciano during the fifties, now he is sharing some remarkable stories of the pair with me that have never seen the light of day...
Rocky Marchegiano Jr: For his public support for the project on his father.
Hank Cisco: Former middleweight boxer who was managed by Al Weill and trained by Charley Goldman, his contributions with recollections of those who shaped Marciano's career is priceless.
Tracey Mogard (& her husband Ken White): Daughter of the late Don Mogard who in 1949 became the first professional to last the full ten rounds against Marciano, and whose contributions of some remarkable material on her father have illuminated several passages in the work.
Maria Popadopoulas: Award winning journalist from The Brockton Enterprise who has shown faith in what I am doing (see above)...
Richard Mahoney: Brockton resident, who has furnished me with some rare footage of Marciano...
Ferdie Pacheco: Who has given me more than money can buy, credibility!!!... Amended email: "I was so happy to get a page of edit suggestions from the author of the Marciano biography, John Cameron... I know and admire his work. The trouble with us we are dyed in the wool fans... John is close to Rocky, if anyone could be close to Rocky, a shy quiet man, John's part of this book HAD to be overwhelming for Rocky, Had to be!!"
Dennis Whitton: Editor of The Lowell Sun for his faith in the project.
Clare Benfield: For her continuous support.
And the numerous others whose names I have not mentioned but have all contributed in their own ways with support, stories and material, thank you...