QUICK LOOK BACK IN TIME
Jimmy Lester
San Francisco, CA-I’m sitting here in a somewhat depressed state. The reasons are two-fold. A professional friend of mine for almost 20 years has Cancer spreading through her like fire in a skyscraper, meaning Cancer is jumping from floor to floor. Secondly Jimmy Lester, a San Francisco born prizefighter died here yesterday from a major heart attack. Because Ana Bustamante is not known to you fight fans, let me say that she is one of the most wonderful people I have ever known, and yet another example of bad Karma happening to a truly great person.
JIMMY LESTER DIED LONG AGO!
Although the death certificate will say September 9, 2006, the truth is Jimmy Lester has been all but dead for a few years now. Unable to speak, paralyzed from the waist down, Jimmy died hard. With nicknames like Bay View Bomber and Bay View Blaster as he fought out of SF’s Bay View district.
ANOTHER SAD LIFE AFTER RING WARS
Jimmy’s life after boxing was one of confusion and sadness. He had a stint with the San Francisco Police Department’s Bus division. That went south, and so did his marriage a few years later. His biggest moment came in 1965, when he KO’d Angelo Dundee’s Florentino Fernandez in 1965.
DISPATCHER SAYS SPIDERMAN IS LESTER
Before I get back to Jimmy’s ring prowess, let me tell you about an afternoon circa 1987 in the life of Pedro Fernandez the San Francisco Policeman. While working solo and in uniform in the 3 Charlie 4 sector, a call came over the radio reporting a man climbing up the side of the twin Geneva Towers apartment complex. The dispatcher stated the guy imitating Spiderman was none other than Jimmy Lester.
JIMMY NEARLY 10 FLOORS OFF GROUND!
By the time I arrived on the scene, Jimmy had made it up to about the seventh floor. He was climbing a brick facade; intent on getting to the floor his ex-wife’s apartment was on. Had it been anybody other than Jimmy Lester, with whom I sparred while under the tutelage of Don Stark at Newman’s Gym in the mid 70s, Jimmy would have gone to jail.
WHAT IF HE FALLS 10 STORIES?
With Jimmy ascending, I spoke on the Police cars public address system, “Jimmy, this is Pete Fernandez from Newman’s Gym. Climb onto the next balcony and I’ll come up and get you.”
THEN LT. CORRALES GAVE JIMMY PASS
It took a little more coaxing, but this Teddy Bear of a man, slowed by the debilitating residual effects of being a professional fighter, came in off the ledge. As the late Ring Magazine Associate Editor Christopher Coats said, Jimmy is a face-fighter in that he’d take five to try and land one.” My Lieutenant at the time, now Commander Gregory Corrales, the “pound for pound best” Policeman in history, decided to cut Jimmy loose and we both gave him some cash.
KNEW THE DAMAGE BOXING HAD DONE HIM
The most riveting memories of Jimmy that day was him in tears telling Greg how much he missed his kids, and that boxing had messed him up. I then drove Jimmy downtown and dropped him off. He was a lost soul, but a kind lost soul.
MIDDLEWEIGHT GATEKEEPER OF SORTS
Jimmy who fought Andy Heilman, Curtis Cokes, Denny Moyer, Nate Collins, Bennie Briscoe, in other words a rough bunch, had a son James Lester, a third generation boxer at heavyweight (1997-2003) who never even slightly took boxing seriously as his 7-13 record would indicate.
Pedro Fernandez
Note: Mr. Fernandez is an award-winning writer, talk show host, TV commentator, former San Francisco Policeman, and four-time Golden Gloves champion. Comments regarding the above can be left below.
Pedro Fernandez
Note: Mr. Fernandez is an award-winning writer, TV commentator, radio talk show host, former San Francisco Policeman and four-time Golden Gloves champion. Comments regarding this submission can be left below.
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JIMMY LESTER AND ANA REMEMBERED