Murder on Federal Street Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, Fixed Fights, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing
Handsome, brash, and flashy, the light-weight southpaw Tyrone Everett was one of the hottest names to emerge throughout the fervent Philadelphia boxing scene of the Nineteen Seventies. But his seemingly unstoppable ascent to superstardom got here to an abrupt and ugly halt on the morning of May 26, 1977, on the second ground bed room of a row dwelling on Federal Street in South Philadelphia. Only twenty-four years previous, Everett was found lifeless with a bullet in his head delivered by his girlfriend, Carolyn McKendrick. On the kitchen desk had been thirty-nine sealed luggage of heroin, primed for distribution. The lone witness to the capturing was a homosexual, cross-dressing drug vendor who, relying on the supply, could have been caught in mattress with Everett. McKendrick, who claimed she had been repeatedly abused by Everett, would find yourself serving a jail sentence, however for years the scuttlebutt on the streets of South Philadelphia advised there have been causes to doubt the official story.
Even for a sport as essentially wedded to the unhappy and sordid as boxing, the premature loss of life of Tyrone Everett stands out for its head-scratching irresolution and sorrow. In Murder on Federal Street, journalist and debut writer Sean Nam sheds mild on Everett’s grim final days, clearing up long-held misconceptions, elevating new questions, and, alongside the manner, providing revelatory data, together with Everett’s entanglement with the Black Mafia, the harrowing prison consortium that managed the dope commerce in South Philadelphia throughout the ’70s.
Nam additionally parses one of the most notorious miscarriages inside the ring, one which continues to set off heated debates amongst hard-core followers: the 1976 light-weight title struggle at the Spectrum in Philadelphia between Everett and Alfredo Escalara that befell simply six months earlier than Everett’s loss of life. Everett, to the everlasting confoundment of the hometown crowd, misplaced by break up choice. Nam reveals how the shoddy proceedings of that evening had been nearly actually the outcome of a rigorously deliberated frame-up. Indeed, no matter stroll of life he was on, Everett was seemingly star-crossed at each flip. As award-winning author Carlos Acevedo (Sporting Blood, The Duke) notes in an astute foreword to the ebook, Everett suffered from the “crooked overlap” between corruption in the streets and in boxing.
Deeply researched and vividly reported, Murder on Federal Street weaves collectively racial politics, city historical past, and sociology to situate Everett in the wider context of a tumultuous period, one marked by civil rights strife and financial melancholy. The ebook additionally takes pains to indicate how Everett measured as much as his Philadelphian colleagues (Bennie Briscoe, Stanley “Kitten” Hayward, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, Eugene “Cyclone”, et al.) in a bustling boxing tradition now thought to be one the final nice regional renaissances in American prizefighting. Interviews performed with key figures—from Everett’s youthful brother to his promoter, J Russell Peltz—assist flesh out the life of a memorable fighter whose title has been obscured—and distorted—by time.
Murder on Federal Street is a stirring, true-crime account of a modern-day Icarus, whose ambition led him towards a path of distinction but additionally finally his downfall.
Advance reader copies obtainable upon request. Pleasecontact [email protected]
Advance Praise for Murder on Federal Street:
“Until now, only hard-core boxing fans were aware of Everett’s story—minus perspective and large chunks of critical and significant facts. Now, thanks to Nam, the picture has gone from cloudy to clear and complete.”
—Steve Farhood, boxing analyst for Showtime, 2017 inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and former editor of The Ring journal
“[Murder on Federal Street is] investigative reporting and storytelling at its finest with a touch of Goodfellas meets Raging Bull.”
—Harvey Araton, New York Times best-selling writer
“If there’s a hero [in Murder on Federal Street], it’s Sean Nam, whose obsessional reporting and evocative model flip a real story right into a noir worthy of a Gamble and Huff soundtrack. …[Murder on Federal Street is] a splendidly nasty enterprise. And for the identical unlucky causes you could be drawn to boxing, you’ll adore it.
—Mark Kriegel, ESPN analyst and New York Times bestselling writer of The Good Son: The Life of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini
“Sean Nam has written a compelling, page-turning historical past of Tyrone Everett which can attraction to boxing and true crime followers alike. His complete analysis is mind-boggling, covers all the pieces from city and racial politics to the boxing scene to the underworld, and his writing is prime notch.
—Sean Patrick Griffin, Professor of Criminal Justice at The Citadel and writer of Black Brothers, Inc.: The Violent Rise and Fall of Philadelphia’s Black Mafia
“In loss of life, as in life, Philadelphia light-weight Tyrone Everett stays a colourful, controversial character whose story deserves the type of in-depth examination as is so ably supplied by writer Sean Nam.
—Bernard Fernandez, 2020 inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and writer of the Championship Rounds boxing anthology collection
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sean Nam is a contributor to BoxingScene.com and the British weekly boxing journal Boxing News. A former boxing author for USA Today, he’s a full member and co-vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be a member of the International Boxing Research Organization. Murder on Federal Street is his first ebook. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
ABOUT THE FOREWORD WRITER:
Carlos Acevedo is the writer of The Duke: The Life and Lies of Tommy Morrisonand Sporting Blood: Tales from the Dark Side of Boxing. He is the editor of Hannibal Boxing and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. From 2009 to 2016, he was the editor of The Cruelest Sport. His work has appeared in The Ring, Boxing News, HBO Boxing, Undisputed Champion Network, Remezcla, and Boxing Digest. His tales “A Darkness Made to Order,” “A Ghost Orbiting Forever,” and “The Duke of the West Side” all received first place awards from the BWAA. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Book Details:
Imprint: Rushcutters Bay Books
Paperback
Trim: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
On sale: May 23, 2023
Price: $22.99
Pages: 332
ISBN: 9798218137298
(Kindle eBook additionally obtainable on Amazon.com)
