Wow Photo Wednesday ~ Joe "Awful" Coffee

Joe "Awful" Coffee was born Joe Rutkofsky. He immigrated to New York City from Russia and moved to Pueblo, Colorado in 1917. A boxer, he was at various times the Mountain region's bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight champion. He quit boxing at the age of 25 and moved to Denver. In 1942 he opened the Ringside Lounge, for 23 years one of Denver's best-known restaurants.

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In Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado, the Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College men's swim team poses in their trunks by an interior swimming pool. They are identified as: (L to R) (back) - Dick Conner - Russ Lawrence - Bill Evans (Capt.) - Carl Baily - Dick Benninghoven - Don Rupp - Jim Hurry - GW Tompkins (Tommy) coach (L to R) (front) - Gene Culver - Reyn Robertson - Jerry Darden - John Ehrenreich - Leon Schull - and John Emry."
Firemen pose with dinnerware at Joe (Awful) Coffee's Ringside Lounge in Denver, Colorado. The room has floral wallpaper.
Portrait of a football team in Trinidad, Colorado. Teenage boys and young men in white, numbered jerseys are posed, the ones sitting in the front have their helmets on the grass in front of their cleated shoes. Two men in ballcaps and jackets with large "T" patches flank the standing row. Power poles and a three-story, flat roofed cream colored brick building is in the background.
Jack Dempsey poses with Joe "Awful" Coffee probably in Colorado. Both men wear suits.
Jack Dempsey poses with Joe "Awful" Coffee probably in Colorado. Both men wear suits.
Men stand and pose in a boxing ring. Joe Rutofsky "Awful" Coffee smiles and poses between two men. Everett O. Marshall wears lace-up boxing shoes and a robe with satin lapels, cuffs, and a belt. William Harrison (Jack) Dempsey wears a military uniform with a double breasted jacket and three stripes on the sleeves.
Interior view of the Ringside Lounge at 1120 17th Street in Denver, Colorado; shows boys, girls, a man and a woman at a table set with food and dinnerware. Joe "Awful" Coffee offers a piece of cake; Jane Sterling holds a child, and framed photographs cover the wall.
Jimmy James and Joe "Awful" Rutofsky Coffee
Interior view of the Ringside Lounge in Denver, Colorado; shows boy boxers, Joe "Awful" Coffee shaking hands with Father Jim Moynihan, and a table set with food. Framed pictures of boxers and newspaper clippings cover the wall.
Interior view at the Ringside Lounge in Denver, Colorado; shows Joe "Awful" Coffee (with glasses), members of the Denver Bears baseball team, and women. Photographs of boxers, a comic strip, and a juke box selector are on the wall.
Group portrait of women in Denver, Colorado. They are (L to R) Helen Pinney, Dora Esarey, Margaret Morgan, Jo Jericho, and Dottie Smith (Captain).
A Hessie and Tessie cartoon from the Joe "Awful" Coffee Collection.
A Hessie and Tessie cartoon from the Joe "Awful" coffee Collection.
Montage shows Centennial Race Track in Littleton, Arapahoe County, Colorado. The upper photo shows the winning horse (Pet Me), the second place horse (Green Fighter), the third place horse (Blanter) and jockeys as they race at the "Great Plains Stakes." The Sponsor (Joe "Awful" Coffee) hands a trophy to the jockey (Ben Baker) and owner (C.B. McNeill) of "Pet Me" in the lower photo. A crowd of people is in the stands in the distance.
Montage of horse racing at Centennial Race track in Littleton, Arapahoe County, Colorado. The upper photo shows the winning horse (Say Boba), the second place horse (Naya's Day), the third place horse (Shifty Jean) and jockeys as they race toward the finish line. The lower photo shows the winning horse, "Say Boba", with jockey Richard Wright, owners Ponder Verdin and R.C. Jones, and trainer Lyman Rollins. Crowds of people are in the stands.