Honoring All Greasers From Detroit

    Greaser Gangs

    BAGLEY BOYS:
    LOS AZTECAS: 1965
    Who were part of the Bagley Boys
    I remember them, in my neighborhood, Southwest Detroit. I wasn't in the gang, they were in decline when I became a teenager. But they had so many members that they split into three groups; Big Bagley Boys, Little Bagley Boys, and Baby Bagley Boys. Most were Hispanic but it included others. The current "Latin Counts" of today is a spinoff from the Bagley Boys. The Stilettos were on the other side, closer to Downtown, near Tiger Stadium on Trumbull. The persons to talk to are "Blacky" Adolfo Saladine, or Tony Solano, they are both around, still in Detroit, and were very much a part of the Bagley Boys legacy. Hope this helps, I was at the Bagley Boys reunion several years back, they are still proud.
    STILETTOS
    MOZAMS: 1965
    who were part of the Stilleto's
    I knew a few of the members of the "Warrendale Gang" but was not one of their members. I grew up on the west side of Rouge Park and they were from the east side of the park. Some of them hung out at Daly's on Warren and I was there one time when the Stilleto's hit the place. One of the big windows I was sitting near came crashing in from something they threw at it, maybe a beer bottle. Nobody was hurt in the incident but I recall some members of the Warrendale Gang went after them but don't know if they caught them or not.
    RH from the area had this to say:
    I lived on Inglis right at the end of Patton Park and remember the Highway Men well. They had a hang out on a corner of Vernor (not sure of the name of the street but it was by the Martensons Funeral Home) between Inglis and Woodmere. I remember going past there and seeing memebers outside and wondering if they were really as "bad" as the rumors had them being. My mother never allowed me to got to Patton Park after dark because of the possibility that "they" might show up and cause trouble. I lived three blocks from Veron Hwy, right by Springwells and there was a Pool Hall between Inglis and Springwells on Vernor and there were always rumors of gangs showing up there. Sorry can't remember the name of the Pool Hall or the other gangs.
    I can tell you who you might want to contact for more info. Randy F. class of 1966 lived in my neighborhood and he should be able to give you lots of interesting info. I actually think he was a member of the Highway Men.
    I also remember the Bagley Boys and the Stilettos well. My cousin and I used to skip a class now and then and go to the "soda shop" two blocks from Western going towards Fort St. It was always a thrill/fear that we might encounter the Bagley Boys. Funny ~~ people always talked about Detroit and the Black communinty as if they were a problem and as far as I'm concerned there was NEVER a problem with any Black kids but there were plenty of problems with the Bagley Boys and the Stilettos.
    I remember one day going to school, having gotten off the bus at Vernor and Scotten and finding out that there was a deal body in the Gazebo in Clark Park across from the school. Never did hear the out come but it was rumored that it was a Bagley Boy "hit". Now that is of course hear say. But that and the reputation of the Bagley Boys kept my mother from letting me stay after school for any school activities. I knew a lot of the guys rumored to be in the gangs but I certainly never had a problem with them nor was I ever afraid of them.
    I hope you will express in your website the need for people to understand that those gang members were all sad, troubled kids that had no other way of expressing their frustrations and anger at the home lifes they had and were to trying to escape the reality of it. They were young kids who needed something to fill the void in their lives. I pray that they all now have found happiness and peace in their lives.
    Funny how even the memories of the gangs still have a firm hold on my memories of my time spent at Western. As I grow older I appreciate the past more and more. We had a good group of kids at Western and I for one never let those gangs stop me from enjoying the awesome friends I had at Western.
    I will certainly be checking out your Website and following your progress in this endeavor.
    Good Luck, RH
    ZUG ISLAND MOB
    VALLEY: Howard and Lansing
    MCKINSTRY BOYS: Mckinstry and Vernor
    LANSING BOYS: Black Mario and White Mario were the leaders
    FLIPS: Plymouth Road and Auburn Street, hungout at the sweet shop
    JAN'S GANG: from Joy Road and Evergreen Avenue
    B.S. GANG:
    The younger sister of a B.S. member had this to say:
    "That was my older sister, Ginny & Jim A. But we all came along around 65. We were part of Jan's club (not really a gang). Also hung around little park (Kasciousko school). Then started hanging out at 'White House', (Rouge Park)..on week-ends & in summer. There was a whole neighborhood of us kids, that hung out. All ages. From West of Southfiled X-way to the park. (It was so safe then). Then, after that, we all hung out at Al's Bar, (next to Jan's). Boy, talkin about the good ole days. Even the 'Nights of the Road' hung with us neighborhood people at Al's. I also remember Warrendale, my sister worked at Joe-B's. We were a large group. & I remember 'Forbidden Wheels' on Southfield at Joy Road. & also the group that hung out at the 'Beginning' bar on Southfield Service Drive. I graduated Cody in 1968."
    BUTTERNUTS:
    I remember during the fifties at Corktown the Crows ran that area. On Trumbull from Grandriver to Vernor before the stilettos, the Butternuts & Junior Butternuts. They ruled the streets. They were a small gang that made the newspapers many times while I was a kid. Most of them went to Franklin Grade School. Many of these gangmembers also went to Western around the mid fifties. They hung out that the Big Z's Drug Store on Temple & Trumbull. They were always fighting with many of the kids from Jefferson Junior High that was located before the Lodge Expressway was built & way before the projects were built. Progress has leveled that section of town. Most of the people that I went to school in that area are long gone. But I do see old friends once in a while. The Shakers also made some big headlines.
    25TH BOYS:
    Between the Bagleys and the Stilettos were the 25th boys . Corner of 25th and porter . I can remember at least 4 generations . Dont know about the others but most are now dead or in the joint .
    Yes, I grew up on 25th St. between Bagley & Porter. I remember the leader of the gang had many rings on his fingers taken from leaders of rival gangs. I was young and in awe of this guy. I was friends with most of the Hoodblades. They wore purple jackets with the name on back. I was a junior member of the 25th St. gang, and after the older guys moved away, joined the Army or went to jail, us younger guys took over and ran 25th & Porter. I remember an old story where a couple of Bagley Boys went down to Toledo, Ohio to buy some fireworks and got beat up. They came home got the gang together and went back and cleaned up on the bunch that had jumped them. They said the local news paper's headline read, "Detroit gang invades Toledo". I had a great time growing up there. Went to Hubbard, then to Webster and on to Western.
    I was to young to remember the Bagley Boys. My sister and brother use to hang out on 25th and Porter in front of Leonas store too. I grew up in the first house next to Leonas store; there was a bunch of us. My three older sister married 25th Street boys. They have told me some of the stories but not many. All they really say is that back than everyone used the fist not guns and knifes. I do remember my brother coming home one night stabbed.
    HOODBLADES: Colors Purple
    TRUMBULL GANG - Early 1960s:
    When I first lived at 625 Charlotte, in late 1964, one night the apartment house was visited by the Trumbull Gang. Everyone was warned to stay in as they were carrying chains.
    Dikes: Girl gang, Clark Park, 1950s
    FLAMINGO'S:
    hung out at the Red Devil's Coney on Vernor Street.
    VALLEY OF HOWARD STREET: late 1960s
    DEL-RAY BOYS