The shattered pelvis of Dave Kennamore is being held together in part by a 6-inch-long metal plate and some screws purchased at Ace Hardware.
The revelation makes the man known as ``Big D'' a bit upset. Kennamore is grateful to doctors who put him back together during 16 hours of surgery after a Sept. 24 motorcycle accident.
``But it's like I told the doctor, `Doc, couldn't you have bought the plate at Swan Hardware (on South Arlington Road)?' '' Kennamore said.
That's Big D: Always looking out for the little guy. On this Thanksgiving eve, however, friends and family are keeping close watch on the bearded 330-pound Akron entrepreneur and former amateur boxing promoter who's not sure when he will walk again.
Pro heavyweight Nick Firtha, who trained at Kennamore's old gym, is dedicating his six-round fight to Big D tonight in Chester, W.Va. Kennamore wants to attend, but doctors won't allow it. Getting from his motorized wheelchair to the hospital bed stationed in his New Franklin living room is a grueling enough journey.
Kennamore, 47, broke his left femur and right hip and suffered an open-book fracture of the pelvis when a car pulled out in front of him while he was riding his 2004 Screaming Eagle Harley Davidson. He was en route to a benefit for one of his Main Street Saloon patrons.
``We still raised $400,'' said Kennamore, who was inducted into the Summit County Hall of Fame Boxing Association two weeks before his accident.
Big D faces months of rehabilitation and mounting medical bills in excess of $200,000. One of his biggest challenges will be transitioning from goodwill provider to recipient.
Even as he convalesces in his home, he has ordered the saloon staff to smoke 20 turkeys for friends and patrons tonight. The $500 check that his sister, Madeline, sent him as a get-well gift could have defrayed the turkeys' cost.
Big D thanked his sister for the generosity, then ripped up the check. ``I've always been a giver, not a taker,'' Kennamore said.
The Akron amateur boxing scene can attest to that. Kennamore estimates he spent close to $250,000 during a 15-year run that culminated with two area boxers, Firtha and Robert Moses Jacobs, reaching the 2004 U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials.
Kennamore and Rubber City Boxing Club coach Clay Rexrode combined to revive the Akron Golden Gloves, attract USA Boxing regional events and sponsor local fighters on trips throughout the country. Together, they produced five national champions.
Many coaches and promoters have been part of amateur boxing's rebirth in Akron. None has played a more unlikely role or absorbed a heavier financial burden than Kennamore. He is not a former fighter. He never had a son in the sport. Big D rides Harleys and owns a bar. Al Franken emceeing a Republican fund-raiser seems a better fit than Kennamore and boxing.
Big D identifies with the streets. He comes from a troubled past. He sold newspapers and shined shoes so he could buy school clothes. He saw the structure and discipline boxing gave his brother, Jim Bennett.
Kennamore teamed up with Rexrode in 1990 and opened Rubber City Boxing Club in the basement of his saloon. Imagine if a state liquor control agent had walked into the establishment and spied kids jumping rope in the bar area because the basement ceiling was too low.
``Big D didn't always do things the most conventional way, but he was always there when the kids needed him,'' Rexrode said.
When Firtha (7-1-1) learned of Kennamore's motorcycle mishap, he dedicated tonight's fight against Mike Miller (2-1) to his mentor. Kennamore once paid Firtha's legal expenses to get a USA Boxing ruling on a bogus disqualification overturned.
The Firthas say there always will be a place in their team for Kennamore.
The outpouring of support has overwhelmed Big D. His living room wall is filled with cards. Friends drop by. So do boxers. His wife, Nancy, daughter, Marlene, and granddaughter, Brooke, tend to his needs.
A man who embodies self-reliance cannot bear weight on his legs. Doctors have given him no timetable for recovery. Big D has been to his beloved saloon only once since Sept. 24. It was an emotional trip cut short.
``Those damn meds (medications) made me sentimental,'' Kennamore said.
At a time designated for giving thanks, it troubles Big D that he cannot express his gratitude to an unidentified woman who was first at the scene of the accident.
As Kennamore lay in the intersection unable to move and clinging to consciousness, the woman squeezed his hand and kept repeating: ``Don't go to sleep on me.'' Kennamore never did. He hopes the woman makes herself known to him one day.
You can be in a lot worse places than Big D's debt.
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