Nephew of boxing champ had to give and take some punches
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Success can bring some agitation. Frank Angott Jr. has bare- knuckled proof. The 82- year- old Washington County man always enjoys a good discussion about his famous uncle — Sammy “The Clutch” Angott — a 135- pound Washington, Pa., native who was the undisputed world lightweight boxing champion in 1943.
Boys being boys, Angott males including Frank regularly faced bullies seeking bragging rights by decking an Angott — any Angott.
“When he lost [ a bout], they agitated me even in grade school,” the North Strabane man said. “You know how kids agitate you?”
I know how kids agitate me, and I never had a famous relative.
The original Templeton who settled in Washington County before the Revolutionary War was a Tory with indentured servants. More notorious was the pitiable ancestor whose nose was bitten off by a horse. No one is challenging me there.
“One time, I got whipped in the fairgrounds, and I remember some other bullies,” Frank said.
A friend dating his former girlfriend challenged him to a fight for no reason. Male logic — win her heart by punching his face. But, there at the old ballyard, Frank put the guy on the ground.
“Only two or three punches and that was all for me,” he said. “Three or four buddies were there and this guy apparently was jealous, but I wasn’t messing with that girl anyway. I felt sorry for him. There was no defense on his part.”
Afterward they all hopped into an Oldsmobile, pugilists side by side in the backseat, to go get a bite to eat.
Frank’s late brother, Sammy, just 5 feet 7 inches tall, had a 6- foot- tall schoolhouse bully hit him in a restroom. Sammy proceeded to beat the living tar out of the guy. Even “the principal laughed at it,” Frank said. You deserved what you got when you challenged any Sammy Angott.
Uncle Sammy, clever in the ring, was known to land a good punch, then clutch his opponent to prevent his escape. He fought seven halloffame boxers, beating a few but losing three decisions to Sugar Ray Robinson. Notably, he blemished Willie Pep’s 62- 0 record and defeated Luther “Slugger” White in a 15- round decision in an October 1943 fight in Los Angeles to become the undisputed world lightweight champion.
As such, he joined Rocky Marciano, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini and Jake LaMotta among the famous 20th- century boxers of Italian heritage. He ended his career in 1950 with 94 wins ( 22 knockouts), 29 losses and eight draws. He was knocked out just once and that was a technical knockout.
For him, advantages often overcame agitations: Check out the famous photo of him playfully “sparring” ( flirting) with actress Rita Hayworth.
I’m sure children aspired to defeat Bill Gates’ kids in computer- coding competitions and boys someday will try fanning Andrew McCutchen’s son in Little League. Count the news stories about drunks punching boxers and other athletes in bars to prove their manhood — or lack thereof.
In the 1960s, Sammy Angott, retired and operating his own Victory Bar in Washington, Pa., tried calming down a rowdy patron, who dropped him to the floor with a sucker punch.
“There was a hullabaloo about that,” Frank said, referring to widely published news stories about the incident. “He got a lot of agitation, too.”
You can bet that No Name went home bragging about decking the champ.
Frank revels in chatting about an uncle inducted into multiple boxing halls of fame. Sammy once bought Frank a soldier outfit. Once paid Frank Sr.’ s hospital bill for a back injury. Once drove his yellow Cadillac convertible to Frank’s house with neighborhood kids chasing the car down the street.
Frank worked for Pennsylvania Transformer and retired as a carpenter, with other uncles working in area steel mills and coal mines, all of them members of an Italian family full of American accomplishments.
But few people nowadays — save for elderly men whom Frank visits at nursing homes — remember the champ, despite the Washington street named Sammy Angott Way and the occasional sports page mention.
During one celebratory event in Washington, Frank met Lenny “Boom Boom” Mancini, Ray’s father. Sammy had beaten Boom Boom Sr. in a split decision. When Frank said he was Sammy’s nephew, Mancini replied, “Anyone could say that.”
Yes, anyone could. Just another agitation to go with the punches he took and threw. But agitations must be withstood. Pride must be earned. Family success stories must be celebrated.
“I’m proud of him every day,” Frank said of Uncle Sammy. “I’m proud of all my uncles. I have strong memories of all of them.
“I’m proud every day.”