by Joseph H. RADDER
“He’s going to be as big an attraction as Niagara Falls in sneakers.” What
Jack Mesi means when he says this is that his son, Baby Joe Mesi, is definitely going to
be the heavyweight champion of the world. And in that role he’ll do as much, if not
more, to focus positive media attention on Buffalo and Western New York than Niagara Falls
ever did.
Jack can even tell you the year when this is going to happen...2004.
“When they make the movie” (of Baby Joe’s life story) “it’ll
begin with the story of Joe’s grandfather, Tom Mesi, a Buffalo police officer for
over 40 years,” Jack assures us. You see, Tom Mesi fought for the national
light-heavyweight championship in 1929.
Jack tells a very funny story about his father, Tom, who didn’t want either of his
sons to follow in his boxing footsteps, and forbid them to have anything to do with the
sport. “I obeyed him,” Jack says, “but my older brother Russell was more
headstrong and determined to box in the Golden Gloves tournament.” Jack would act as
Russell’s decoy and equipment manager, distracting his father until Russell scooted
down the back stairs and out of the house to Singer’s Gym. Then Jack would follow
with Russell’s equipment.
When the big night came for the Golden Gloves bouts, Jack was holding two seats in the old
Aud for Russell and himself, as close to Russell’s corner as he could get. Meanwhile,
Russell was in the locker room “taping up” and getting ready for the fight. All
of a sudden, Jack spotted his father, Tom, coming down the aisle to a seat even closer to
Russell’s corner. As usual, he was smoking a big cigar. “I was sweating
bullets,” Jack remembered. “So I ran back to the locker room and told Russell
our Dad was in the audience and we had to get out of there. We’ll have to climb out
the window,” I said, but Russell wasn’t about to give up his big chance. “I
went back to my seat scared to death, holding my head down so Dad wouldn’t see
me.”
Until that night, they had been able to keep Russell’s boxing a secret because he
fought under a variety of assumed names. But the jig was up soon after Russell ran out of
the locker room and climbed into his corner. Tom was bent over reading the program or a
racing form, but when he looked up he couldn’t believe his eyes. There was his son in
the ring. “ His hat came off and he slammed it to the floor. His face was beet red.
He puffed on his cigar so hard he was hidden in a cloud of smoke. I had never seen him so
angry and I was never so scared.”
However, by the second round, the elder Mesi was in Russell’s corner, giving him
advice. Russell won the fight, by the way, and advanced in the Golden Gloves tournament.
Indeed, boxing has been a big part of the Mesi family’s life. Jack was never a boxer,
but he was always closely associated with the sport, first tagging along with his brother
and now managing his son, Baby Joe. “I didn’t know it at the time,” he
says, “but hanging around Singer’s gym and listening to the managers, boxers and
trainers, I learned a great deal that serves me well today.”
Jack’s mother, Marian Gennuso, a quiet, bible-reading woman and a school teacher, was
a good balance-wheel for the family. His sister, JoAnne Bargnesi, was also a teacher and
recently retired. Her daughter, Julie Bargnesi, is a partner in the Damon & Morey law
firm and is Jack’s and Baby Joe’s lawyer. Clearly, she shares the family’s
strength of character. “I can remember a fifteen way nation-wide conference call
during the 1996 Olympics. There were fourteen men against Julie on a telephone conference
hearing. She not only held her own but won that legal battle.”
One of Jack’s major jobs is shielding Baby Joe from the “sharks” in the
business, and, as his manager, he foresees the day when Joe contributes even more than he
does today to worthy causes. “He already does more for charity than Buffalo’s
major sports teams combined,” Jack is proud to say. “A priority is the Baby Joe
Mesi Foundation, dedicated to organ transplants. The foundation was inspired by Joe’s
cousin, Genelle Shanor, who is waiting for a kidney.
Jack went to Holy Angels Grammar School on Porter Avenue, where he met his future wife,
Barbara Garland, when they were in the first grade. He went on to Grover Cleveland High
School, then to American University in Washington, Buff State and UB. He holds a degree in
criminal justice from Buff State. Jack and Barbara had two boys, Joe and Tom, who was
two-time New York State Golden Gloves champion in the super heavyweight class. Sadly, Jack
lost Barbara to the dreaded disease lupus two years ago. “I live alone, but I’m
never lonely thanks to an active life, two great sons, and two beautiful
grandchildren,” Jack beams. “Tyler is age 9, and Marialena, is just over one
year old.”
While managing Baby Joe is a full-time job, Jack has another full-time day job as an
investigator in the District Attorney’s office. “I love working for Frank
Clark,” he says. “He’s a wonderful person.” This, of course, leaves no
time for golf or anything like that. It’s clear that Baby Joe is Jack’s hobby
and he loves it.
It’s difficult to get Jack to talk about himself. He would much rather talk about his
family and Baby Joe’s career. “We’re in it for the whole enchilada,”
he says, “It’s going to happen in 2004, and whoever is claiming to be
heavyweight champion of the world at that time is going to get an old-time Buffalo
whipping.” It’s easy to believe he’s right.
Joseph H. Radder is a freelance writer.