May 13: Noise from the Griffiths Is Sweet Song to Emile Among the precious choral groups of our time is the Griffith Family Singers. Without them no Emile Griffith fight would be quite complete. Griffith scored a fairly comfortable victory over Stanley Hayward at the Garden last night to the accompaniment of a three-voice chorus of the Griffith Sing-Songers. The lead cheerer, as always, was Cousin Bernard. He was backed up by Emile's mother, Emelda Griffith. Chiming in, too, was Emile's brother, Frank. He had done his part to make yesterday a memorable day for Mama Griffith when a baby was born to his wife. Bernard Forbes-known as Cousin Bernard to anybody who has ever been within shouting distance of ringside-has a high-pitched sing-song voice, not unlike his cousin Emile's. Cousin Bernard. who has been cheering for Emile for many yeaars and has accompanied him around the world in his official capacity as "equipment manager," is no unlettered boxing aficionado. He yells meaningful things. Like:
"Double up on your jabs." "Club him, stick him, das it, das it." "Get it up, Junior" (meaning Griffith). "We're not playin witchoo" (at the opponent). "Meet him with a right hand; das it, das it." The printed page doesn't quite capture the Virgin Island sing-song quality of Cousin Bernard's lyrics, particularly the effect of the words, "das it, das it" rounding out an exhortation. Mama Griffith, the cheerful, portly woman with big cheeks and big brown eyes, is less incisive but just as colorful as Cousin Bernard. Early on, when the fighters were introduced, and middleweight champion Nino Benvenuti, an old Griffith foe, came into the ring to wish Griffith luck, Mama Griffith shouted, "Don't touch him, Nino, don't touch him." Benvenuti, a family man, exhibited a hurt look of admonishment to Mama Griffith. Afterward in the dressing room they shook hands and Mrs. Griffith said, "In the ring you are not my friend, Mr. Nino." Benvenuti smiled. "She is a mother," he said. Mrs. Griffith yells, "Watch out son, watch out," and "Work, son, work." Yelling the word "work" is the mark of an insider; it's almost as good as the manager's cry to "get off, get off" to a recalcitrant warrier. She also shouted, "Watch him, son, but stick him." Somebody compared this to the baseball manager's tactic of telling a pitcher, "Don't give him a good pitch to hit, but don't walk him." Brother Frank, who is not the regular at Emile's fights that Cousin Bernard and Mama Griffith are, added two distinctive notes last night. He chirped a merry phrase that sounded like this: "Jahbee, jahbee, jahbee." And when he said, "Oy, yoy-yoy, yoy-yoy" it was noted that Griffith hadn't trained at Catskill Mountain resorts many times for nothing. Boxing peoplare are square. For a long time they resented the noise from the Griffiths. But familiarity breeds acceptance, and now most ringsiders listen with amused tolerance to the Griffiths. Emile is a good, willing fighter whose style unfortunately produces dull fights, so any diversion is welcome. His co-manager, Howard Albert, says, "The Garden ought to pay them to come because they liven up things." Sometimes partisans for Griffith's opponent resent the chorus. There is occasionally a little scuffle, the gendarmes are called. "Please, Bernard, please," they say. Nobody would think of trying to eject Cousin Bernard any more. Mama Griffith is aware that some people don't like her yelling. She retorts: "I don't pay them no mind because Emile is No. 1." Cousin Bernard embarked on a ring career of his own a few years ago when he 24. He had six pro fights as a welterweight and was undefeated fighting for Gil Clancy. He was regarded as a better prospect than Emile at an equivalent stage, but he suffered a detached retina and had to give up the ring. Now he works on the docks in odd jobs and is trying to get seaman's papers. He is ever on the scene at Griffith's training camp where he helps keep things lively. He is, among other things, a crapshooter of some note, and is not one to decline a challenge. In one gag worked up by Griffith and Clancy, Syd Martin, the trainer was reputed to be a former Olympic backward walking champion. They challenged Cousin Bernard to compete in a backwards race against the "Olympic champion."Bernard agreed to a race for a $100 bet, but then chickened out on the bet just before the race. He went ahead and beat the "champion" anyway and now goes about claiming he is the Olympic backwards walking champion. He would certainly be the "Olympic yelling champion.
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Fight Night at the Harvard Club 
