GALLO'S HAPPY SOCIETY By George Elsasser

Hall of Famer Bill Gallo is a sports cartoonist for N.Y. Daily News ... pens a Sunday column ... dates back a number of decades ... wrote a recent piece that got my attention.

Gallo is of WW2 vintage ... US Marine Corps ... admits to reading the obits ... to see if anyone he knows is among them ... and one day there it was ... Murray Rose.

Murray, an old friend when an AP reporter and Gallo a young apprentice with News ... and from that recent column the "names" resurfaced as if it were a flashback.

No mention of the yesterday fighters ... nor managers ... like Irving Cohen who had Graziano ... or Al Weill who managed Marciano ... or others like Gainford, D'Amato or Dundee.

Nor did he touch on past trainers ... that taught the sweet science to kids out of the amateur ranks ... and refined the skills of contenders and champs alike ... grizzled veterans of the game that knew their job ... unlike all too many of the today cheerleaders and pool room buddies or whatever.

Not a word about a Charlie Goldman, Whitey Bimstein or Ben Jeby ... or Ray Arcel ... Nick Bafi ... no, this was not about the past professors of pugilism ... those are for another day.

This one was for Murray Rose ... and other select members of a close knit unwritten society of newspaper guys who covered the fight beat during the glory days of "Friday Night Fights."

The meetings were held in the lobby of the old Garden at 50th and 8th ... more a pre-fite gathering of reporters and friends than a meeting meeting.

And the names: Abrahamson & Red Smith from the ol' Herald Tribune and Bromberg of the World Telegram ... and Frank Graham of the Journal American and Cannon & Al Buck from the NY Post ... and big Dan Parker & Jennings of Daily Mirror fame.

Others were Gallo's past cronies at the Daily News ... Powers, Ward, McCulley and Young ... Gallo called it a club - a lively, happy society - and said how overjoyed he was to be let in.

Frank Graham was singled out for special praise ... for a bit of advice he gave when Gallo was an apprentice ... and unexpectedly assigned to cover a semi-final bout since the regular scribe would be late.

Sitting at ring apron and flanked by Rose and Graham ... and with knees knocking ... he remembers Rose saying "Just do it kid." Do what, he thought ... and then Graham leaned his way and whispered to him.

"It's simple . Just watch and take notes. When it's over write a letter to a friend and tell him exactly what you saw." He went on to tell Gallo when finished call the office and dictate what he had written in the letter.

That was it, plain and simple ... all went well ... and regrets never having the chance to thank Graham before he passed on some years back ... Gallo closed his column saying that - and Murray's advice - was the best he had ever gotten in the biz of newspapering.

Enjoyed the read ... and the memory of those mentioned ... recalled them all at one time or another during them days of my youth ... while doing the commuting thing via the NY subway system on a Monday to Friday schedule.

In closing permit me to include two others that qualified for that club Gallo spoke of ... Bill Corum and Westbrook Pegler.

Keep the faith guys and gals ... and the hands up and head down.

Semper fi,

Geo El