Your Daily Guide

Homicide Rate is Dramatically Dropping

We’re now at the halfway mark of the year, and the city’s murder rate is down about 30% compared to this time last year – and last year saw the fewest homicides since 1966. Incredible, but are Philadelphians actually feeling safer? [🎧 City Cast Philly]

City Slashes Public Arts Funding

Arts programs in the city will have to cut back on programming after Mayor Parker and City Council significantly decreased funding. Mural Arts, the largest public art program in the country (creating over 4,000 murals and counting), has had funding chopped by 26%. [🔒 The Inquirer, 🎧 City Cast Philly]

Joe Frazier Statue Officially Graces the Parkway

The statue of the Philly boxing legend has made the move to its permanent home below the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The 12-foot bronze statue will be unveiled at 10 a.m. today in the spot once occupied by the iconic statue of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa (who is now back at the top of the steps). [The City of Philadelphia]

Diploma-Holders Skipping College for Pre-Apprenticeships

Half of Philly high school graduates aren't going to traditional colleges or universities. That’s where expanding pre-apprenticeship programs comes into play. These programs, which may get more state funding this year, are built to connect learners with apprenticeships that could lead to full-time jobs. [Chalkbeat Philadelphia]

State Lawmakers Look to Tap Rainy Day Fund

Budget negotiations are ongoing in Harrisburg, and the question of how to pay for a 5% annual increase in spending, as Gov. Shapiro proposed, is intensifying. Other states are tightening their purse strings in the face of federal funding changes and static revenue. Lawmakers in the commonwealth could tap savings to fund the budget, but risk depleting the rainy day fund within two years. [Pennsylvania Capital-Star]

• Related: The Pennsylvania budget is due tomorrow, but it will likely be late. [🎧City Cast Philly]

As a city of fighters, it makes sense that boxers are elevated to the top of many Philadelphians’ collective memories and imaginations. And Smokin’ Joe Frazier stands out as one of the most legendary.

Beyond his athletic prowess, he helped to inspire the character Rocky Balboa from the iconic “Rocky” movies, and always championed Philadelphia, the city that helped make him a boxer.

Early Years

Joe Frazier was born in 1944 in South Carolina, the youngest of 12 kids. His parents were sharecroppers in the small coastal town of Beaufort, and watched boxing matches on the family television. Frazier showed early talent for the sport. He was just 10 years old when his uncle predicted he would be a heavyweight champion one day, pushing him to practice punching on a burlap bag filled with rocks and fruit.

Frazier dropped out of school at 13, and two years later he moved to New York City to live with his brother. Employment was scarce, so he stole cars to make money. This was not the life he had envisioned for himself, so his eyes turned towards Philadelphia. He married, and needing to support his wife, Florence, he found a job at a slaughterhouse in the City of Brotherly Love where he aimed to continue his boxing journey. He punched sides of beef at his workplace and jogged along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and up the Art Museum steps (yes, Rocky took these moves for the movies).

On the Boxing Stage

Frazier didn’t actually enter a boxing ring until 1961, when trainer Yank Durham recruited him at a gym where he worked out. Durham also eventually became his manager, praising Frazier’s determination and sheer power, saying, “Okay Joe, let’s see them gloves smoke,” giving the boxer his nickname, Smokin’ Joe Frazier.

Frazier started fighting competitively and became one of the best amateur heavyweight boxers in the country. He didn’t lose until a match in the 1964 Olympic trials. He nonetheless went to the Olympic games in Tokyo that year as an alternate; Buster Mathis, who had defeated Frazier in the trials, broke a knuckle while practicing and couldn’t box, so Frazier stepped in and won the gold medal.

Frazier’s left hook became legendary, despite a childhood injury caused by a family hog that made his left arm crooked with restricted motion.

In 1965 he went pro and had a stellar 11-0 record. By 1968 he was heavyweight champion, and held that title through 1973.

Eventually Frazier and Muhammad Ali (who also lived in Philly for some time) struck up a rivalry that resulted in three famous matches, the first of which Frazier won.