SWC75
Bored Historian
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He was born 4/2/27, the son of a hard-working onion farmer whose original name was Giuseppe Basile. Giuseppe came to America in 1904, found work in the coal mines of West Virginia and then moved north to Canastota, New York when he heard farm work was available there. He became a share-cropper. He decided to Americanize his name to Joseph Basilio. He met Mary Picciano, who became his wife. After two miscarriages, they wound up having ten children. (Carmen commented to Youmans: “That was before television”.) Joe visited Italy during World War I and found himself getting drafted into the Italian army. He wasn’t mustered out until 1922, when he returned to Cazenovia. He had saved enough to buy ten acres of his own and start his own onion farm, where the whole family worked on the crop. His seventh child was Carman Cosmo Basilio. He had one older brother and five older sisters. The sisters taught Carman to spell his name but they used the feminine spelling, “Carmen” and that has been the name he went by ever since.
Joe Basilio loved boxing and often listened to fights on the radio involving Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis and his favorite, Jim “Cinderella Man” Braddock. Carmen thus became a fan, too and when his teacher had everyone in his class state what their ambition in life was, Carmen said it was to be a boxing champion. Everyone laughed. But a teacher who had boxed at Syracuse University formed a boxing team that fought preliminary matches to those of the local high school team, (boxing was a popular scholastic sport at the time). Carmen joined that team and got his first taste of the sport, aside from impromptu matches with his brothers. He then boxed at Canastota High School from the age of 14. “I’d never have gone to school if it hadn’t been for that boxing team.”
“I’d be in school and do you think I’d be listening to the teacher? Are you kidding? I’d be running kind of like a movie in my head of the day I’d win the championship, fighting in Yankee Stadium. Honest to God, that’s all I thought about. Now, how many people can say they achieved a childhood dream? Not many. But I did.” (From a Bud Poliquin column from 1986.)
But when he got home from school, it was all about the onions. Frank Woolever later wrote: “A weary youth, knees sore, hands bleeding from knife cuts, rose to his feet, looked down at the black soil where onions grew so abundantly and muttered “Pa, I’ve had enough. No more farming for me. Joe Basilio was not angry. The hard-working Italian-born farmer had observed rebellion mounting in his diminutive 17 year old offspring he realized Carmen was not happy and could be held to farm labors no more.”
That would have been in about 1944. Late in World War II, he joined the Marines and trained at Parris Island and Camp Lejune. He spent 16 months on Guam guarding Japanese prisoners and 8 at Pearl Harbor before coming home. “The Japanese prisoners were no trouble. I was good to them, myself.” He made a deal with the prisoners that they would wash his clothes for him and he’d get them cigarettes.
He’d engaged in three bouts while in the service and his brother Paul had boxed in the Golden Gloves so Carmen decided to give boxing a try. He had only an 11-3 record as an amateur but pointed out to Ed Linn that most of the fighters he fought already had 50-60 fights so he didn’t consider his record to be all that unimpressive. His first real trainer had been Jerry Plunkett, a marine with considerable boxing experience. “His idea of training was the beat the out of us in the ring. He ended up being a 25 year man in the Marines.” After he came home, Carmen got a job working for the General Cable Company in Rome, NY. He trained three hours a night at the local gym, ending it with a four mile run. But there wasn’t much boxing in Rome so he moved to Syracuse and worked with a former pro, Sammy Ashford.
Joe Basilio loved boxing and often listened to fights on the radio involving Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis and his favorite, Jim “Cinderella Man” Braddock. Carmen thus became a fan, too and when his teacher had everyone in his class state what their ambition in life was, Carmen said it was to be a boxing champion. Everyone laughed. But a teacher who had boxed at Syracuse University formed a boxing team that fought preliminary matches to those of the local high school team, (boxing was a popular scholastic sport at the time). Carmen joined that team and got his first taste of the sport, aside from impromptu matches with his brothers. He then boxed at Canastota High School from the age of 14. “I’d never have gone to school if it hadn’t been for that boxing team.”
“I’d be in school and do you think I’d be listening to the teacher? Are you kidding? I’d be running kind of like a movie in my head of the day I’d win the championship, fighting in Yankee Stadium. Honest to God, that’s all I thought about. Now, how many people can say they achieved a childhood dream? Not many. But I did.” (From a Bud Poliquin column from 1986.)
But when he got home from school, it was all about the onions. Frank Woolever later wrote: “A weary youth, knees sore, hands bleeding from knife cuts, rose to his feet, looked down at the black soil where onions grew so abundantly and muttered “Pa, I’ve had enough. No more farming for me. Joe Basilio was not angry. The hard-working Italian-born farmer had observed rebellion mounting in his diminutive 17 year old offspring he realized Carmen was not happy and could be held to farm labors no more.”
That would have been in about 1944. Late in World War II, he joined the Marines and trained at Parris Island and Camp Lejune. He spent 16 months on Guam guarding Japanese prisoners and 8 at Pearl Harbor before coming home. “The Japanese prisoners were no trouble. I was good to them, myself.” He made a deal with the prisoners that they would wash his clothes for him and he’d get them cigarettes.
He’d engaged in three bouts while in the service and his brother Paul had boxed in the Golden Gloves so Carmen decided to give boxing a try. He had only an 11-3 record as an amateur but pointed out to Ed Linn that most of the fighters he fought already had 50-60 fights so he didn’t consider his record to be all that unimpressive. His first real trainer had been Jerry Plunkett, a marine with considerable boxing experience. “His idea of training was the beat the out of us in the ring. He ended up being a 25 year man in the Marines.” After he came home, Carmen got a job working for the General Cable Company in Rome, NY. He trained three hours a night at the local gym, ending it with a four mile run. But there wasn’t much boxing in Rome so he moved to Syracuse and worked with a former pro, Sammy Ashford.
