Remembering Danny Warren

Long before PBA cager Paul Artadi earned the moniker “Kid Lightning,” there was a 5-5 point guard who was known as “Speed Lightning” dazzling fans with his blinding quickness on the court.

Danny Warren was a mainstay of the Philippine squad that won the gold medal at the 10th Far Eastern Games in Manila in May 1934. As “Speed Lightning,” he worked his way to the national team leaving defenders biting the dust of his tracks from stints with the fabled Vandals club in Sampaloc and the UP varsity. Warren was described by writers as “fleet-footed” and “agile.”

Warren was 23 when he played alongside Ambrosio Padilla, Herr Silva, Franco Marquicias and Amador Obordo on the Philippine quintet in 1934. The countries that participated in the 10th Far Eastern Games were China, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Japan and the host country. The 1934 edition turned out to be the last Far Eastern Games which were subsequently cancelled because of political unrest and wars. The Far Eastern Games later resurfaced as the quadrennial Asian Games in 1951.

Warren was in line to suit up for the Philippines at the 1936 Berlin Olympics when disaster struck. During a tune-up game, Warren injured his knee on a bad fall after elevating for a lay-up shot.

“While the team was leaving for Berlin, he was still recuperating in the hospital,” said Warren’s son Jing. “It was truly one of the saddest moments of his life.” If not for the injury, Warren would’ve played on the Philippine squad that placed fifth in Berlin, the highest finish ever by an Asian country in Olympic basketball. The Philippines, coached by Chito Calvo, beat Mexico, 32-30, Estonia, 39-22, Italy, 32-14 and Uruguay, 32-23 and lost only to eventual gold medalist US, 56-23. Because of a quirk in the classification system, the Philippines could end up no higher than fifth despite a 4-1 record. One of its victims, Mexico, claimed the bronze medal in an ironic twist.

It was the first basketball competition in Olympic history and the games were played outdoors on a dirt court. In the gold medal game, the US defeated Canada, 19-8, under pouring rain with over 1,000 spectators drenched to the bone. No seats were available so the spectators stood the entire game.

The Philippine team was made up of Padilla, Obordo, Marquicias, Charlie Borck, Jacinto Ciria Cruz, Primitivo Martinez, Jess Marzan, Bibiano Ouano, John Worrel and Fortunato Yambao. Warren would’ve been in the historic lineup.

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Basketball was always close to Warren’s heart. He did the rounds in the commercial leagues, playing for the Lions, Apo Cement, All-Filipino and the Manila Stock Exchange. And in the 1950s, he coached Jose Rizal College in the NCAA.

But Warren knew that basketball had its limitations as a career. That’s why he earned a civil engineering degree at UP and a commerce degree at Jose Rizal. In 1939, he became a CPA.

Warren was married to Amparo Limcaco. They had five children – Daniel, Jr. (deceased), David (deceased), Amelia (64, an ophthalmologist), Jing (61) and Joy (57). Jing, an investment banker who worked several years as an expatriate in Indonesia, is now a member of the La Salle Board of Trustees, chairman of the Lasallian Institute for the Environment and a former president of the La Salle Alumni Association.

Warren, the 10th child of 12, was the chief auditor of Shell Philippines and previously worked as an accountant at Universal Trading, the Metropolitan Water District, Aldanese, Cortes and Co., Marsman Trading, CIA Maritima and Naric. His father Mariano was the son of a British migrant Charles Warren and mother Belen Paterno came from a big clan that included former Sen. Vicente Paterno.

On April 17, 1961, 10 days short of his 50th birthday, Warren died suddenly of a massive heart attack. “After playing ping-pong with us, his children, he took his shower to get ready for a dinner engagement out,” said Jing. “We all heard a loud thump and my mother rushed up to the bathroom. She told us she saw a big lump in his chest and just rubbed around it vigorously. He was then rushed to the hospital but was dead on arrival. It was only long after he died that I learned there is this enlarged heart condition common among athletes.”

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Today, Warren would’ve turned 100. His children and relatives are gathering for dinner to celebrate his birthday at Bugsy’s Sports Bar and Bistro in Burgos Circle at the Fort tonight. Jing’s sons Mig and Bugs own the bar-bistro chain whose first outlet is in Julia Vargas, Ortigas Center, and second in Salcedo Village. Bugsy’s has been consistently in Tatler Philippines’ top bars list since its first year of operations. Bugsy’s serves mostly American food including the top favorite Buffalo Tenders, Angus steak and lamb chops. It has become the hangout of choice of young professionals in the area.

“My father was a very simple man who spoke little and was subdued,” said Jing. “My mother was a devoted housewife. My parents had such a wonderful loving relationship that not once did I witness any argument between them. My father actually enrolled at Jose Rizal to pursue the love of his life and take up accounting, too, after finishing at UP. They both graduated from Jose Rizal in 1938. To me, my father was the greatest. And he continues to inspire me to this day.”

Warren’s story as an athlete, professional and family man is just as inspiring to everyone else.