ROCKY AND THE PRESS

This is how Painter Fletcher Martin saw the postfight turmoil in Marciano's quarters after his second light with Ezzard Charles at the Yankee Stadium

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ORIGINAL LAYOUT

In the early twenties a youngster named Fletcher Martin won a divisional championship in the Navy light heavyweight class. He won no fame for that, but he has since become one of America's best-known contemporary artists, with emphasis on the sporting World of boxing. This scene of organized chaos in Marciano's dressing room after the second light with Ezzard Charles is Martin's most recent canvas. During the few harried minutes when the press took over he got his impression for this picture. Marciano sits with Al Weill, his manager, at his right and Charley Goldman, his trainer, at his left. Sportswriters press around him from all sides while news photographers balance themselves precariously to shoot over the heads of the crowd. From the quick sketches done on the spot as he watched, Fletcher Martin transferred the animated tableau to canvas. He has caught the scrambling action of a scene which caused him to remark: "The press guys are the athletes at these sessions."

ILLUSTRATION