the real life Rocky Balboa – former pro boxer Chuck Wepner / The Bayonne Bleeder
December 4th, 2018 by Mr. C
(poster and other Chuck Wepner memorabilia at the Dillin Tire Car Care on Kennedy Blvd in Bayonne,NJ. Anyone remember this match between Andre the Giant vs Chuck at Shea Stadium? look it up, it’s hilarious!)
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We had an amazing time today retracing the steps of the real life Rocky – Chuck Wepner in his hometown of Bayonne, NJ! Chuck Wepner aka The Bayonne Bleeder was the inspiration that ignited Sylvester Stallone with the creation of the Rocky movie franchise! Wepner was a heavyweight pro boxer from 1964-1978 with a final record of 35 wins – 14 losses – 2 draws. Wepner was a real life tough guy as he grew up on the streets of Bayonne learning to survive and serving in the U.S. Marine Corp put a stamp on it! He honed his boxing skills as a member of the Marine Corp boxing team and became a champion on his military base. In a nutshell, Chuck Wepner’s claim to fame in boxing was his ability to withstand punishment! His bout with Muhammad Ali was a testament to this and Wepner’s nickname of the Bayonne Bleeder was justified once more during the fight with Ali! The Bayonne Brawler’s other famous opponents include George Foreman and Sonny Liston! Wepner’s life whether his tough guy persona in/out of the ring/jail, his involvement with the mafia, his issues with drugs & alcohol, or his bout with Andre the Giant at Shea Stadium and let me not forget his fight with a black bear named Victor in Sayerville, NJ gave plenty of ideas to Sylvester Stallone to create a character we all know as Rocky Balboa!
If you’re not familiar with Chuck Wepner then I highly encourage you to watch ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary called the “Real Rocky“. You can get a glimpse of our review here if you need a little taste! The bio epic film “Chuck” (2016) starring Liev Schreiber is also a good resource into Wepner’s life. In 2017, Chuck Wepner was inducted into the NJ Hall of Fame which was held at the Asbury Park Convention Center!
But enough of the background and onto our journey today to find some archives on the man himself and to find some fun things to do in the town he grew up in!
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(First stop was at the Hudson County Park in Bayonne and to find the steps where Wepner ran up & down at for training! Our own Chocko Balboa didn’t have a problem making it to the top and inspiring generations to come!)
(We didn’t get a chance to explore the rest of the park but the premises look beautiful. We saw a well kept oval running track and a basketball court next to us that look well maintained. I can imagine in warmer weather this park would be hopping with folks taking advantage of the grounds. There was a nice walkway by the river overlooking the Newark Airport in the background and port newark with the car industries loading/unloading containers in the shipyard! Industrial buckness everywhere, I love it! There’s a nice view of the NJ Turnpike extension with the bridge on 78)
(We dipped out of the cold and into the car to our next destination – Dillin Tire Car Care mechanic shop on Kennedy Boulevard. This Tire shop supposedly had some really neat Chuck Wepner memorabilia and it didn’t disappoint! I was a little hesistant in going in at first as we didn’t want to disrupt the business flow and just waltz in there like they were running a museum but rest assured this notion was squashed as the owner of the shop and close friend of Chuck Wepner – Bruce – was as friendly and funny as can be! The shop itself and interior looked like nothing has changed since the 1970s if not longer! Bruce told us a few stories of Chuck and also about the recent bio-epic movie on Wepner called “Chuck” which premiered last year at the local Frank Theatres by the Pier which Bruce was the host and organizer of. Wish I was able to go as it sounded like a grand event for Chuck Wepner and Bayonne!)
(Memorabilia inside the waiting room…ahem… I meant the Chuck Wepner Waiting room inside the Dillin Tire car care shop!)
(Bruce showed us a video made by an international Film crew (German I think) that documented the story of Chuck Wepner and also the award reception honoring Chuck at the Venitian in Garfield, NJ. Bruce Dillin seemed to have led the charge with the producing and operations of everything for Chuck)
(We asked about the real life size statue of Wepner that was supposed to be at the top of the steps at the Hudson County Park and Bruce led us to the artist that sculpted the piece! The artist – Zhen Wu has a studio nearby! Bruce had been trying to get Mr. Wu to work on the life like sculpture for years and he finally agreed to do it! It looks magnificent! The next step is to cast a mold and then bronze fill it and then patina it! The city of Bayonne has been stalling with the official announcement of the Chuck statue placement so the date is up in the air. They think it’s just a matter of time and of course money as a lot of this will be privately funded.)
(Statue of Chuck Wepner about 80% done. The facial features and sculpting looks amazing by Zhen Wu (master sculpturist – metal fabricator artist)
Bruce mentioned that we should stop to check out a mural of Chuck on the side of a building on 33rd Street & Broadway. It’s been up since 2015.
Next, we’re on our way to Houlihans for lunch and to check out some more memorabilia of Wepner at a booth inside Houlihans. The Houlihans was located in a shopping outlet that the Frank Theaters South Cove 12 Stadium resided at and not far from the 9/11 Teardrop Memorial that we will stop by at after.
(The sole diminuitive glass encased frame of memorabilia of Chuck at one of the booths at Houlihans. I was expecting more artifacts but what they did have packed a punch – pun intended!)
Finally, we headed over to the 9/11 Teardrop memorial that had been so elusive for us. I’ve been wanting to get to this but I guess it never was priority but this time, since we were in Bayonne, this was a must especially being so close to the Houlihans!
It’s definitely a sight to behold!
(Flags half staff for former President Bush)
Tags: bayonne bleeder, bayonne brawler, boxing, bruce dillin, chuck wepner, dillin car tire service, muhammad ali
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