Uncle Denny - A Finished Race
(Posted 05/22/11 By Katie Drews, Chicago Sun-Times) Denny garnered national attention as a gifted young jockey, but a horse racing accident at age 21 left him paralyzed from the waist down, ending his brief career on the track.
The Chicago native later fueled his competitive drive by playing billiards -- on crutches or from a wheelchair -- in amateur leagues and tournaments. Denny “Sweet Stroke”, as he was sometimes called, became a well-known figure in the pool circuit throughout the city and country.
Denny, who last resided in Chicago Ridge, died of cancer May 4 at his sister’s home in Worth, according to his sister Dotty. He was 68.
Born Jan. 19, 1943, Denny grew up in Mount Greenwood on Chicago’s Southwest Side. While attending Mendel Catholic High School, Denny was a quiet, reserved student who dominated as a wrestler, winning 40 of 43 matches.
Because of his short stature and incredible strength, his wrestling coach recommended he look into a career as a jockey. Though Denny had no experience with horses other than once taking a picture with a pony, his sister said, he turned down a wrestling scholarship for the racetrack.
Denny started at the bottom, cleaning stables and walking horses, but he quickly showed his promise as a jockey. Denny took first place in his first professional race and later broke two track records at the former Sportsman’s Park in Cicero. He was nationally ranked as one of the top apprentice jockeys with 625 mounts and 83 wins in his short nine-month career.
“That’s a tremendous feat,” said his friend, Dan Lynch, a retired judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County. “He had an extraordinary number of mounts; that would be unheard of as an apprentice. That’s how good he was.”
On April 25, 1964, at Sportsman’s Park, he fell during a race and was trampled by other horses. After months of hospitalization, doctors said he would never walk again.
“He accepted what happened to him,” Dotty said. “He had more heart than anybody.”
Though he had to use leg braces and crutches to get around, and later a wheelchair, friends said he never complained and continued to live and drive independently.
After the accident Denny also discovered a passion for pool, which he picked up during his downtime at the racetrack. As a paraplegic, however, he had to develop gadgets that would help him reach shots across the table.
Denny ended up competing with some of the best pool players nationwide, according to Jim Parker, president of the Illinois Billiard Club, and he became the second leading point holder in the country in a wheelchair league.
For some time, Denny also owned his own billiard hall in Michigan.
“He was so inspirational in the way he dealt with all this adversity and all this pain,” Parker said. Occasionally, while maneuvering around the pool table, “you could see the pain would hit him. He’d just cringe for 30 or 40 seconds and then it’d pass. He wouldn’t say a word.”
Denny wrote a book about his life that, once published, will benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.
Denny, who last resided in Chicago Ridge, died of cancer May 4 at his sister’s home in Worth, according to his sister Dotty. He was 68.
Born Jan. 19, 1943, Denny grew up in Mount Greenwood on Chicago’s Southwest Side. While attending Mendel Catholic High School, Denny was a quiet, reserved student who dominated as a wrestler, winning 40 of 43 matches.
Because of his short stature and incredible strength, his wrestling coach recommended he look into a career as a jockey. Though Denny had no experience with horses other than once taking a picture with a pony, his sister said, he turned down a wrestling scholarship for the racetrack.
Denny started at the bottom, cleaning stables and walking horses, but he quickly showed his promise as a jockey. Denny took first place in his first professional race and later broke two track records at the former Sportsman’s Park in Cicero. He was nationally ranked as one of the top apprentice jockeys with 625 mounts and 83 wins in his short nine-month career.
“That’s a tremendous feat,” said his friend, Dan Lynch, a retired judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County. “He had an extraordinary number of mounts; that would be unheard of as an apprentice. That’s how good he was.”
On April 25, 1964, at Sportsman’s Park, he fell during a race and was trampled by other horses. After months of hospitalization, doctors said he would never walk again.
“He accepted what happened to him,” Dotty said. “He had more heart than anybody.”
Though he had to use leg braces and crutches to get around, and later a wheelchair, friends said he never complained and continued to live and drive independently.
After the accident Denny also discovered a passion for pool, which he picked up during his downtime at the racetrack. As a paraplegic, however, he had to develop gadgets that would help him reach shots across the table.
For some time, Denny also owned his own billiard hall in Michigan.
“He was so inspirational in the way he dealt with all this adversity and all this pain,” Parker said. Occasionally, while maneuvering around the pool table, “you could see the pain would hit him. He’d just cringe for 30 or 40 seconds and then it’d pass. He wouldn’t say a word.”
Denny wrote a book about his life that, once published, will benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.
Denny is preceded in death by his parents, Gerald and Dorothy, and brother Jerry.
A look at "Sweet Stroke" running the table...making 35 consecutive shots in Straight Pool http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8334891343993737101#
posted by Mission First at 4:10 PM
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