Sugar Ray Robinson is interviewed after arriving in Frankfurt. (Henry Toluzzi/Stars and Stripes)
Sugar Ray Robinson is interviewed after arriving in Frankfurt. (Henry Toluzzi/Stars and Stripes)
Sugar Ray Robinson and his wife, Edna Mae, step down from the train in Frankfurt, where the welterweight champ was to defend his title against Hans Stretz. At left is Robinson's manager, George Gainsford. (Henry Toluzzi/Stars and Stripes)
FRANKFURT, Dec. 24 — Nothing could have looked less like Christmas than Platform 1 of the Frankfurt railroad station at 7:51 this morning. For than an hour and one-half, cold and depressed people wandered up and down waiting for the Paris Express that was to bring Sugar Ray Robinson, world welterweight champion, for his Christmas night fight at the Messehalle here with Hans Stretz. When the train finally arrived the first person to appear was George Gainsford, Robinson's manager. Gainsford looked a waiting MP straight in the eye, and said, "Do you speak English?"
Shortly afterwards, Robinson, wearing a beige polo coat, was escorted out of the station between two more MPs. Behind him trailed his attractive young wife, Edna Mae, Gainsford, Mrs. Gainsford, French promoter Gilbert Benaim, American promoter Freddie Sommers and a large assortment of others, including a 4-foot, 4-inch mascot with a mustache. The mascot, whom Robinson befriended in Paris, is called Jimmy Kapoura.
Behind these came porters carrying some 20 pieces of sticker-plastered luggage.
A crowd of about 10,000, including several thousand Americans, was expected to be on hand for the 10-round nontitle bout which will mark the first time in history a world champion has fought in Germany. (Max Schmeling, the ex-heavyweight king, never fought here while in possession of his title.)
After a fleet of taxis had brought the crowd to the Frankfurter Hof, Robinson and his wife wearily settled down in their room for a man-sized breakfast of ham, eggs and fried potatoes — all of it covered with catsup.
Both Robinson and his manager denied that the champ would take part in the Sporthalle training exhibition that Sommers had slated for this afternoon. Instead, Robinson planned to do no training at all for his fight.
"Man, I just got through fighting nine rounds two nights ago," he said.
Sugar Ray stretched out in his easy chair and yawned mightily. He had been unable to sleep on the train, he said, and he planned to do nothing for the rest of the day.
"What about Christmas Eve?"
"I'm just going to stay right here and think about what they're doing back home," he said.
Robinson couldn't wait to get on the boat going back to America. He said that the best thing he had seen so far in Europe were the Americans who were waiting for him when he got here. The homesick champ asked what time it was, and then computed what time it was in New York.
"About 5 in the morning I guess. Everybody's still asleep."
Mrs. Robinson added, "Ray already thinks he's back home."
"If anybody had told me a year ago," the champ said, "that I'd be here in Germany ..." He didn't even finish the sentence.
Gainsford, speaking for Robinson, made the only prediction regarding the fight.
"It won't go more than 10 rounds," he said.
Meanwhile, plans for the fight went on under a full head of steam. For late ticket buyers, the box offices at the Messehalle will open at 3 pm tomorrow afternoon, and will remain open right up to the time of the first preliminary bout at 7 pm. The main event will go on at around 8 pm.
