Don King Killed A Guy On The Street, Now Cleveland May Rename The Street After Don King
Legendary/controversial boxing promoter Don King may have a street named after him in Cleveland.
While that kind of ceremonial honor for celebrities and favorite sons and daughters is relatively common across the country, the street in question is where King stomped a man to death in 1966.
Born in Cleveland, King was inducted in the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997.
In April, the Cleveland City Council named a section of Shaker Boulevard in King’s honor. Last month, however two city councilors introduced legislation to move “Don King Way” to a stretch of Cedar Avenue.
In April, 1966, King, who was a bookie nicknamed “the Kid” at the time, “stomped an employee, Sam Garrett, to death outside the now-defunct Manhattan Tap Room at East 100th Street and Cedar Avenue,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer explained.
The fatal beating of Garrett revolved around a $600 gambling debt.
“The honorary street name initially was bestowed in April upon a quarter-mile section of Shaker Boulevard between East 116th and East 121st streets. The road is home to the Call & Post newspaper, which King saved from bankruptcy and has owned since 1998.”
The Tap Room was subsequently demolished. “The intersection is now home to a Cleveland Clinic facility and other medical technology companies.”
Don King stomped a man to death on a Cleveland street in 1966, now the city is naming that street "Don King Way" https://t.co/ODCRkhcQAT
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) September 15, 2016
“According to newspaper reports at the time, police said King kicked Garrett at least three times in the head, and witnesses also said they saw Garrett beaten with a gun,” the New York Post detailed.
“News reports at the time describe King as an associate of Cleveland numbers racketeer Alex (Shondor) Birns. Birns was killed years later when his car was blown up during the Danny Greene-Cleveland mob war. Christopher Walken portrayed Birns in the movie Kill the Irishman,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer separately reported.
Don King, whose signature catchphrase is “only in America,” served about fours years behind bars at the Marion Correctional Institute for manslaughter and later received a pardon in 1984 from then Ohio governor Jim Rhodes. King was originally convicted of second-degree murder in the crime, but a judge reduced it to manslaughter.
Among others, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, submitted letters supporting the Don King pardon.
Repeal of the Shaker Boulevard Don King Way designation in favor of transferring it to Cedar Avenue comes up for a council vote on Monday. The two councilors pushing the amendment have not yet made a public comment about the reasoning behind it.
“Council President Kevin Kelley said he didn’t know why they were seeking the change, but he expressed his belief that council is probably handing out too many honorary street names in general,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer noted.
“He turned his life around and ever since has given back to Cleveland and donated millions of dollars to charities, but the situation still makes many people uncomfortable.” Fox8 in Cleveland detailed about the flamboyant Don King.
Don King has another deadly encounter in his past.
“In December 1954, he shot Hillary Brown in the back as Brown sought to rob one of King’s gambling spots. A police review of the shooting judged it to be a justifiable homicide,” The Smoking Gun recalled.
“King, now 85, became one of the most central and controversial figures in boxing, promoting the likes of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, and Mike Tyson. Many of the boxers King represented ended up suing him for fraud,” the Post added.
Don King is still promoting fights, including a planned upcoming series of bouts to honor the late Muhammad Ali called “Salute to Greatness” which may take place at the sites of classic championship matches around the world from back in the heyday of professional boxing. These days, UFC has far eclipsed boxing as a spectator sport.
[Featured Image by Brynn Anderson/AP Images]
