Pep, Williie – Friday’s Heroes

Description

Pep, Williie ‘Friday’s Heroes’ 1973 1st ed. 195-pages. VG condition book in a good mylar protected complete non-price clipped dust jacket with the original $7.95 price. Signed by Willie Pep and co-author Robert Sacchi on the blank frontispiece.

“Willie Pep Remembers… Friday’s Heroes” (written with Robert Sacchi, with special materials coordinated by David Wilson and a foreword by Joey Adams) is a reflective, nostalgic look at the golden age of televised boxing.

Content & Narrative Overview:
The memoir centers on the historic cultural phenomenon of the televised Friday Night Fights (sponsored by Gillette and Pabst Blue Ribbon), which captured millions of American viewers from the late 1940s into the early 1960s. Pep shares what it was like for a generation of working-class “ghetto kids” from major American inner cities to suddenly be transformed into mainstream television superstars who helped drive the mass adoption of commercial television sets.
The book features a highly personal dual narrative. It outlines Pep’s own rise from the Italian section of Hartford, Connecticut, to becoming the legendary two-time World Featherweight Champion—the elusive defensive wizard known as the “Will O’ the Wisp”. Concurrently, it chronicles the lives, matches, and post-career realities of his contemporary peers who dominated the era, including Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Graziano, Rocky Marciano, Kid Gavilan, Joey Giardello, Joe Louis, and Jake LaMotta.

Physical & Publication Details of the 1973 Hardcover First Edition:
• Publisher: Published in New York by Friday’s Heroes, Inc. (and widely distributed to the trade by Frederick Fell Publishers, Inc.).
• Publication Date: 1973 (Stated First Edition).
• Format/Size: Standard octavo format (8vo), measuring roughly 22 cm (approx. 8.5 x 5.75 inches).
• Binding/Cover: Original black cloth boards featuring sharp gilt (gold) stamped titles running along the spine panel.
• Pagination: Consists of xi, 195 pages.
• Illustrations: Heavily illustrated, featuring dedicated sections of glossy archival black-and-white photo plates highlighting classic fight action, weigh-ins, and gym portraits of the fighters mentioned.
• Dust Jacket: Issued in a graphic, glossy dust jacket celebrating the era. Pristine first printing jackets are not price-clipped.