We’re excited to welcome home to Buffalo Rich Blake, author of Slats: the Legend and Life of Jimmy Slattery.  Rich will be speaking at Larkin Square on Thursday, September 26th from 5:30-6:45 pm inside the Filling Station Restaurant (745 Seneca Street) as part of the Larkin Square Author Series.

Rich Blake’s book chronicles the life of National Boxing champion Jimmy Slattery better known as “Slats.” Slats, the son of a Buffalo firefighter,  grew up in the Old First Ward, close to Larkinville. From street fighting on his neighborhood corner, Slats became a national boxing champion. Blake tells the story of the rise and fall of “The Legend of South Buffalo” Learn more about the boxing champion, who was inducted into the National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006, when Rich Blake speaks in Larkin Square on the 26th.

Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Rich Blake graduated with a degree in journalism from St. Bonaventure University in 1990. He got his start working as a crime reporter for the weekly Alexandria Gazette in Alexandria, Va., and, later, as a general assignment reporter for the BVI Beacon in Road Town, Tortola (British Virgin Islands). Blake is the author of two nonfiction books, The Day Donny Herbert Woke Up (2007), and Talking Proud: Rediscovering the Magical Season of the 1980 Buffalo Bills (2005). He is the coauthor of third work of nonfiction, 2010’s Diary of a Hedge Fund Manager.

A veteran financial journalist based in New York, Blake is currently the Global Content Director for Investor Intelligence Network, a private, global networking website for large institutional investors. He has written about the financial industry and the business world for numerous publications and platforms, including ABCNews.com and Reuters. Blake was a cofounder and executive editor of Trader Monthly magazine (2004-2009) and prior to that was a staff writer at Institutional Investor magazine (1999-2004). In 2004, Blake was nominated for a National Magazine Award in the Reporting category for a June 2003 cover story exposing mutual fund industry corruption.

Talking Leaves will have copies of Blake’s books available for purchase at the event. The Filling Station will offer small plates and refreshments for purchase. The Hydraulic Hearth Restaurant and Beer Garden will also be open that night with reservations available on line.   A book signing follows the talk.

This, and all Larkin Square Author Series events are presented by First Niagara, and sponsored by Independent Health and Talking Leaves Books.