s with presidents, heads of state, actors, mobsters...you name it. Slick's boyhood friend, Jack Kearns, Jr., figures prominently in THIEF! Photo l. to r.: Mickey Walker & son, Jack Kearns, Jr. & Jack "Doc" Kearns, Sr. circa 1934. (Courtesy of Jack Kearns, Jr.)
Slick and Jack are about 9 years old in the following excerpt:
Speaking of tough, one of our gang was Jack Kearns whose world-famous father promoted and managed Jack Dempsey in bout after moneymaking bout during Dempsey’s heyday. “Doc” Kearns also handled guys like Mickey Walker and Joey Maxim to round out a card that read like a who’s who of boxing. It was a well-known fact that Kearns was the biggest fight promoter in the entire country. He was the kind of guy who made a million dollars, went broke, made another million, went broke, and so on. Someone said Doc was like one of those inflated shmoo dolls with a weighted base. It kept popping up no matter how hard you punched it.
Young Jack was a natural bullshitter just like his old man. When it came to fighting, Jack took a lot and gave a lot. He was as fearless as a male lion defending his harem.
One lucky Thursday—a day seared into my memory—Jack invited our gang over to Helsing’s to meet his father. It was the first time I set eyes on a hundred dollar bill. Doc threw money around the table like he minted it in his basement. I got a knot in my stomach the size of a man’s fist just eyeballing all that cash. If a working stiff took home a hundred bucks a month, I guarantee, he was President of the United States.
Not only did Doc treat us guys to lunch, he casually peeled off a ten spot for each of us— fifty bucks just like that. My hand shook as I reached for mine. That was more than my father made in a week. It was funny Doc Kearns was so free with his money because, rumor had it, he was in one of his broke spells. After that meeting, Jack never lost a fight.
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