The Devil's Pocket was a tough neighborhood in South Philly, named after a local pastor decried that the residents there would steal the chain from the devil's pocket, or belonged in the devil's pocket (accounts vary). On 12/9/81, columnist/author Pete Dexter and fighter Randall Tex Cobb had a brawl in this tavern against some locals, and the story of it became the basis for Dexter's novel, God's Pocket. Clark DeLeon mentions the brawl in his column in the Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/24/14, at C2, and there is quite a bit about it on the Web. The Web contains accounts of the skirmish, and opinions as to whether or not the brawl was brought on by a true injustice (an alleged misrepresentation by Dexter in a column). I do not know the exact address. There is an obituary for a Francis Franny Dougherty on the Web, and it says that he owned a tavern called Doc's at 24th & Lombard, but I do not know whether that is the same place. If anyone has more information, please comment below.
| Publication date | Jun 24, 2018 |
| Neighborhood |
The Devil's Pocket was a tough neighborhood in South Philly, named after a local pastor decried that the residents there would steal the chain from the devil's pocket, or belonged in the devil's pocket (accounts vary). On 12/9/81, columnist/author Pete Dexter and fighter Randall Tex Cobb had a brawl in this tavern against some locals, and the story of it became the basis for Dexter's novel, God's Pocket. Clark DeLeon mentions the brawl in his column in the Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/24/14, at C2, and there is quite a bit about it on the Web. The Web contains accounts of the skirmish, and opinions as to whether or not the brawl was brought on by a true injustice (an alleged misrepresentation by Dexter in a column). I do not know the exact address. There is an obituary for a Francis Franny Dougherty on the Web, and it says that he owned a tavern called Doc's at 24th & Lombard, but I do not know whether that is the same place. If anyone has more information, please comment below.
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