Cape Breton's Magazine

stop till you come to that fi? nal bump at the end of the road. And then she's all over, and there ain't no smelling roses. Then everybody else is smelling your roses! But that's pretty much my life. And there's nothing I haven't done or tried.... Who I feel sorry for is young children, anywhere from 7 or 8--any child-- up till maybe their teens, that never had a chance in life, and never experi? enced anything iri the world. To them, I feel really bad for, you know what I mean. But me, I've I've fulfilled my doesn't want me up keeping me down he done everything and doesn't want me. And I've got too many life. But see. He people around here I want to see yet be- there yet, and He's fore I go. So nobody wants me, so they're re. And the devil keeping me around.... LOOKING THROUGH GORDIE'S SCRAPBOOKS: And I fought that Jerry Fraser. (They called you the "South Bar sen? sation." And you lost. "MacDougall loses.") Yeah, that's the first time I fought him. (Jeny Fraser) • the hardest fighter I ever fought. I fought him 4 times.... ("Fraser decisions MacDougall.") That was our third fight.... ("They started slowly, then Fraser began to find the range. At the end of 4 rounds, Jerry had a sizable margin in points. Then MacDougall started to come on. In the 8th, with a decision very much on the line, Fraser out-punched his rival and dropped the Cape Bretoner with two bomb shots. MacDougall went to his haunches, came to his feet, but took the mandatory 8 counts. He was staggered again before the de? cision ended. Both men were badly marked at the finish. MacDougall had a cut over his right eye and bled from the nose from the third round on. Fraser had a bad cut and cut under his right eye, and his nose was bulby." (So he took the decision from you. That's your third fight with him.) A month before • a month to the day • I knocked him at 5 rounds. It wasn't till about a year later that we fought our fourth fight. I knocked him in 6 the next time. (Knocked him out.) Yeah.... Our thanks to John Cochrane, who did the primary work on this article. A student in journalism at King's College, Halifax, John served his intern period working with Cape Breton's Magazine. Throughout this article are photographs of only a few of the many boxers who have contributed to the sport in Cape Breton. Our thanks for photographs and information to Gordon "Gramps" Kiley, Art MacVicar, Tyrone Gardiner, Rudy Plichie, Ernie "Champ" Hannigan, Benny Deiorenzo, Mitch Krszwda, and Martin MacKinnon. And our thanks to Rose Curtis Burton for suggesting we talk to Shirley and Gordie MacDougall. MABOU GARDENS Grand Lake Road SYDNEY. 562-6000 Complete Flower Shop & Wire Service Locally Owned • OPEN 12 MONTHS A YEAR! Buy All Your Garden & Gift Needs Cape Breton's Largest Full-Service Qarden Centre ' /ICIT ''. 104 A COMMITMENT TO CAPE BRETON