After years of searching, I finally found it — a 1940s gold-plated “Georgie Pin,” once tossed into the crowd by the one and only Gorgeous George.
My grandma adored him. Not because he was a hero, but because he was outrageous. She’d laugh telling me how his valet would spray the ring with cologne before he entered — like he was too good for the sweat and grime. Her eyes would light up every time she mentioned his golden curly locks and she always said she wished she’d caught one of his gold hairpins that he would throw into the crowd as if he was better than everyone there
I wanted to surprise her with one. I waited too long. She passed in 2020 before I ever could surprise her with it.
But then this pin showed up.
The woman who originally caught it was standing on a street corner in L.A. nearly 80 years ago when George drove by in a chauffeured car and tossed them to a group of girls. She tucked it away in a bag with her wedding ring and other keepsakes. After she passed, her son found it — and now it’s here, with me.
Gorgeous George once inspired a young Cassius Clay to become Muhammad Ali. That same energy, all these years later, helped me reconnect with the woman who first told me his story.
This isn’t just a pin. This is a full circle.
This is for my grandma.
