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In
the Fire Department there was another man who had been prominent on
the outside. He was Kid McCoy, an ex-prize fighter. He was doing time
on a manslaughter charge, having killed a woman companion. The Kid
had a long fighting career, and it was obvious that at the time of
his conviction he was a bit punchy. He was said to be the originator
of the expression, "The Real McCoy." He liked to be
referred to by that title.
The
term is said to have started in a saloon where McCoy was present. A
fellow who had too much to drink began to heckle McCoy. He said he
did not believe that he was Kid McCoy, the real McCoy, the prize
fighter. He kept up the taunting and McCoy finally slugged him on the
jaw. He landed on his back in the far corner of the saloon. He got
up, rubbing his jaw and said, "Geez, you are the Real McCoy, all right."
McCoy
was finally paroled, after a petition signed by thousands of people
asked that he be paroled. On the petition was the name of Henry Ford,
who promised to give McCoy a job at his Ford factory in Detroit.
McCoy went to work for Ford, but he was a very unhappy man. He wrote
back to San Quentin telling how tough it was to be a "Has
Been." Nobody knew The Real McCoy anymore and didn't care.
Author:
William J. Duffy, Jr.