The brand new gravestone for Irish-American boxer Eddie Cool and his brother.
True to his word, local boxing maven John DeSanto has made sure that Philadelphia Irish-American boxer Eddie Cool, the “Tacony Flash,” will no longer be forgotten. Recently, DeSanto placed a marker on the previously unmarked grave shared by Eddie and his brother, Jimmy, also a boxer, in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Cool, who died in 1947 at the age of 35 of liver problems related to alcoholism, compiled an amazing ring record to 95-29-15 with 15 KOs “against the very best fighters in one of the true golden eras of the sport,” says DiSanto, who has placed stones on the graves of three other Philly boxers of different eras whose final resting places weren’t marked. DiSanto is the founder of the website, phillyboxinghistory.com and the Philly Boxing History Gravestone Fund.
John DiSanto is serious about honoring the Philadelphia boxing fraternity. Over the past two years, he guided the project that placed a statue of former middleweight champion Joey Giardello in South Philadelphia. The bronze tribute to Giardello also honors 70 other South Philly boxers as well as a list of long lost gyms and arenas. It was dedicated in May.
“My job is to remember these guys, and to remind people of their stories,” DiSanto said. “There are so many Philly boxers in unmarked graves. I still have a lot of work to do.”
Read the story of our visit to Eddie Cool’s grave with DiSanto in September.
Piping His Thanks
After a serious heart attack three years ago, Philadelphia Emerald Society piper Joe Tobin could barely breathe, let alone squeak out a recognizable version of “Minstrel Boy” on the pipes.
But the heart team at Penn Medicine’s Heart and Vascular Center helped bring him back from the brink of a transplant and Tobin is back playing he heart out of “Amazing Grace” and “Garryowen.” In fact, there’s no place Irish you can go in the month of March without seeing him in his kilt, bagpipe under his arm.
So how does a piper say thanks? Last month, Tobin went back to Penn and serenaded his former heart team with seasonal music on his bagpipes. Way to blow, Joe!
An Appropriate Honor for Commodore Barry
Today, workmen will be installing the arch over the new “Barry Gate,” a pedestrian gate at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Funded by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Commodore John Barry Memorial—named for the Wexford-born Commodore John Barry, founder of the US Navy, who made his home in Philadelphia—will also include a Barry Memorial and a Barry Plaza on the Annapolis grounds.
The AOH approached the Naval Academy with the proposal in 2008, and it was approved last May.
John Barry, who is buried in the graveyard of Old St. Mary Church in Philadelphia, a few blocks from his statue behind Independence Hall, was the first commanding officer of the US Navy, serving under Presidents George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Named Captain of the ship Lexington in 1776, he captured 20 British ships, was seriously wounded, and fought in the last naval battle of the Revolutionary War in 1783.
You can donate to the project by making out a check to “Hibernian Charity Barry Project” and sending it to Hibernian Charity c/o Frank Kearney, Secretary, PO Box 391, Meriden, CT 06450.
Aon Sceal is Irish for “what’s the story?” If you have a story to share, share it with us. Email denise.foley@comcast.net.
