I. AUTHOR’S CHOICE OF THE TOP 25 JEWISH BOXERS OF ALL TIME
(In order of greatness)
Benny Leonard
Abe Attell
Barney Ross
Maxie Rosenbloom
Ted “Kid” Lewis
Lew Tendler
Louis “Kid” Kaplan
Benny Bass
Jackie “Kid” Berg
Jackie Fields
Battling Levinsky
Sid Terris
Joe Choynski
Charley White
Jack Bernstein
Harry Lewis
Benny Valgar
Charley Phil Rosenberg
Abe Goldstein
Al Singer
Georgie Abrams
Allie Stolz
Newsboy Brown
Ray Miller
Solly Seeman
II. JEWISH WORLD CHAMPIONS 1901–2014
III. TOP 10 JEWISH BOXERS BY WEIGHT CLASS
IV. TOP 10 JEWISH BOXERS BY LOCATION
(In alphabetical order)
V. JEWISH BOXERS IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CONTESTS, 1901–2014
Of the following 242 title bouts, 213 took place between 1901 and 1939. In a no-decision bout (“ND”), a champion automatically retains his title if a bout goes the scheduled distance, meaning his name stays in the win column. Jewish boxers faced each other for a world title 14 times. (Jewish boxers appear in bold type.)
FLYWEIGHT TITLE
BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE
FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE
JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE
LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT TITLE (AKA, LIGHT WELTERWEIGHT)
WELTERWEIGHT TITLE
SUPER WELTERWEIGHT TITLE (AKA JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT) (ESTABLISHED 1962)
MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
VI. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN MAIN EVENTS FEATURING JEWISH BOXERS: 1920–2014
Prior to 1920, boxing activity in New York State was dependent on the sport’s legal status. It was either feast or famine depending on how the state’s political winds were blowing. As a result, only 89 fight cards were staged at Madison Square Garden between 1900 and 1919. With the passage of the Walker Law in 1920, all legal roadblocks were removed and boxing thrived as never before. New York’s Madison Square Garden (both old and new versions) became the sport’s premier arena for the next 60 years.
In the 1920s Madison Square Garden staged 288 boxing cards. Jewish boxers appeared in 122 (42 percent) of the main events. From 1930 to 1950, the number was 119 of 529 (22 percent) main events. Over the next 63 years, only two Garden main events have featured a Jewish boxer.
Names of Jewish boxers appear in bold type. In a draw decision the Jewish boxer is listed first.
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1950
1975
1977
VII. JEWISH BOXERS WHO WON AN OLYMPIC MEDAL
1904 St. Louis
Sam Berger (USA) Gold Medal—Heavyweight
No Boxing at 1912 Games
1920 Antwerp
Sam Mosberg (USA) Gold Medal—Lightweight
Albert Schneider (Canada) Gold Medal—Middleweight
Montgomery “Moe” Herscovitch (Canada) Bronze Medal—Middleweight
1924 Paris
Jacob “Jackie” Fields (USA) Gold Medal—Featherweight
1928 Amsterdam
Harold Devine (USA) Bronze Medal—Featherweight
Harry Isaacs (South Africa) Bronze Medal—Bantamweight
Jacob Michaelson (Denmark) Bronze Medal—Heavyweight
1932 Los Angeles
Nat Bor (USA) Bronze Medal—Lightweight
1960 Rome
Gyula Torok (Hungary) Gold Medal—Flyweight
1972 Munich
Gyorgy Gedo (Hungary) Gold Medal—Light Flyweight
1976 Montreal
Victor Zilberman (Romania) Bronze Medal—Welterweight
1980 Moscow
Shamil Sabyrov (USSR) Gold Medal—Light Flyweight
VIII. JEWISH BOXERS WHO WON A NEW YORK GOLDEN GLOVES CHAMPIONSHIP
The Daily News–sponsored New York Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament began in 1927. For the next 60 years it was the most prestigious citywide amateur tournament in the United States. Although the Golden Gloves no longer attracts the same amount of attention or participation as in boxing’s heyday, the tournament is still popular. Since its inception more than 80,000 amateurs have climbed through the ropes to trade punches with other young hopefuls, but only 1,500 have actually won the coveted trophy—a small diamond-studded gold replica of a pair of boxing gloves. I have met former Golden Gloves champions in their eighties who still proudly wear those precious gloves on a chain around their necks. Bob Olin was the first New York Golden Gloves champions to win a professional championship.
(Note: The New York tournament has two categories: “Sub-Novice” for amateurs with less than 11 bouts, and an “Open Division” for boxers with more extensive amateur experience.)
IX. JEWISH BOXERS WITH MORE THAN 200 CAREER BOUTS
Of the tens of thousands of professional boxers active from the 1890s to 2014, only 120 have fought more than 200 documented bouts. Among these superathletes are 11 Jewish boxers. The list includes Harry Stone and Benny Valgar, the only two boxers with more than 200 bouts to have never been knocked out or stopped.*
Ted “Kid” Lewis—302
Maxie Rosenbloom—298
Battling Levinsky—293
Harry Stone—274
Joe Glick—245
Benny Bass—241
Benny Valgar—239
Soldier Bartfield—227
Harry Mason 215
Benny Leonard—212
Phil Bloom—202
X. THE 10 BEST JEWISH BOXER NICKNAMES
If there was an award for the sport with the most colorful nicknames, boxing would win hands down. The best boxers’ nicknames have staying power and are accurately descriptive, which is why a powderpuff puncher or defensive specialist is never called “Tiger” or “Hurricane.” Many times the nickname combines the fighter’s persona with his hometown, as in “The Manassa Mauler,” “The Brockton Blockbuster,” or “The Bronx Bull.” Listed below is the author’s choice of the 10 best Jewish boxer nicknames:
“The Little Hebrew”
“The Pride of the Bowery”
“The Whitechapel Windmill”
“The Fighting Dentist”
“The Boxing Barrister”
“The Jewel of the Ghetto”
“Special Delivery Hirsch”
“The Aldgate Iron Man”
“Slapsie Maxie”
“The Ghetto Ghost”
Abe Attell
Joe Bernstein
Berg
Jackie “Kid”
Leach Cross
Armand Emmanuel
Ruby Goldstein
Samuel Hirsch
Freddie Jacks
Maxie Rosenbloom
Sid Terris
XI. PROMINENT JEWISH BOXERS WHO FOUGHT USING IRISH NAMES
Except for Goldie Ahearn, Mushy Callahan, and Newsboy Curley, all of these boxers turned pro before 1920. (Their real names are in parentheses.)
Goldie Ahearn (Isadore Goldstein)
Frankie Bradley (Frank Bloch)
Frankie Callahan (Sam Holtzman)
Mushy Callahan (Morris Scheer)
Johnny Clinton (Morris Elstein)
Ty Cobb (Sam Kolb)
Eddie “Newsboy” Curley (Isaac Morochnik)
Dandy Danny Dillon (Moishe Josofsky)
Oakland Jimmy Duffy (Hyman Gold)
Kid Farmer (Benny Feinberg)
Barney Ford (Bernard Paley)
Willie Jackson (Oscar Tobin)
Blink McCloskey (Louis Silverman)
Al McCoy (Albert Rudolph)
Young McGowan (Sam Goldberg)
Johnny Murray (Herman Sloves)
Tommy Murray (Harry Greenberg)
Denver Jack O’Keefe (Jacob Buxbaum)
Eddie O’Keefe (Morris Paley)
Artie O’Leary (Arthur Lieberman)
Young O’Leary (Nat Lieberman)
Bobby Reynolds (Israel Goldstein)
Frankie Rice (Benjamin Lipsitz)
Archie Walker (Irving Wolkow)
Eddie Wallace (Abe Kwalick)
Maxie Williamson (Max Krupnick)
XII. TOP BARE-KNUCKLE-ERA PRIZEFIGHTERS
The following list was compiled by Tony Gee, world’s foremost authority on the English bare-knuckle era and author of Up to Scratch: Bareknuckle Fighting and Heroes of the Prize-ring. According to Tony’s extensive research, although it has been said that there were a significant number of English-born Jewish combatants active in the bare-knuckle arena (despite comparatively infrequent involvement until the late 18th century), there were surprisingly few who could claim to have been of the first rank; this lack of in-depth quality is clearly reflected in Tony’s limiting his choices to six prominent boxers.
(In order of greatness)
Daniel Mendoza
Dutch Sam (Samuel Elias)
Barney Aaron
Young Barney Aaron
Aby Belasco
Izzy Lazarus
XIII. JEWS IN BOXING’S HALLS OF FAME
It should not be surprising to those who follow the poorly regulated sport that boxing has more than one Hall of Fame. The first HOF was started by The Ring magazine founder and publisher Nat Fleischer in 1954. It was discontinued after the 1987 inductions. The World Boxing Hall of Fame was established in 1980. It is currently housed in the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The International Boxing Hall of Fame opened in 1991 and is located in Canastota, New York. The most recent addition (2013) is The Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas, Nevada. There are also various state boxing Halls of Fame.
Jewish boxers inducted into the three international Halls of Fame are all deserving of the honor, but many other greats are still waiting to be honored even as less talented and undeserving individuals make the cut. It is for this reason that I do not favor labeling a boxer with the words “Hall of Fame fighter.” It would be a mistake to elevate a boxer’s rating based solely on whether or not his name appears in a Hall of Fame. There are other, more accurate ways to measure a boxer’s worth, most obviously his record against quality opponents. Although The Ring’s Hall of Fame focused primarily on honoring the boxers, those of more recent vintage include non-boxer categories, such as promoters, trainers, journalists, announcers, and referees.
International Boxing Hall of Fame (Canastota, New York)
BOXERS
Barney Aaron
Young Barney Aaron
Abe Attell
Benny Bass
Jackie “Kid” Berg
Newsboy Brown
Joe Choynski
Jackie Fields
Louis “Kid” Kaplan
Benny Leonard
Battling Levinsky
Harry Lewis
Ted “Kid” Lewis
Daniel Mendoza
“Slapsie Maxie” Rosenbloom
Barney Ross
Dutch Sam
Lew Tendler
NONPARTICIPANT AND OBSERVER CATEGORY
Ray Arcel—Trainer
Bob Arum—Promoter
Al Bernstein—Broadcaster
Whitey Bimstein—Trainer
Teddy Brenner—Matchmaker
Lester Bromberg—Journalist
William Cayton—Manager
Irving Cohen—Manager
Howard Cosell—Broadcaster
Mickey Duff—Promoter
Shelly Finkel—Promoter
Jack Fiske—Journalist
Nat Fleischer—Publisher/Historian
Charley Goldman—Trainer
Ruby Goldstein—Referee
Bob Goodman—Publicist
Murray Goodman—Publicist
Abe J. Green—Commissioner
Jimmy Jacobs—Manager
Mike Jacobs—Promoter
Hank Kaplan—Historian
Michael Katz—Journalist
A. J. Liebling—Journalist
Harry Markson—Promoter
Larry Merchant—Broadcaster
Barney Nagler—Journalist
J. Russell Peltz—Promoter
Irving Rudd—Publicist
Sam Silverman—Promoter
Jack Solomons—Promoter
Sam Taub—Broadcaster
Herman Taylor—Promoter
Al Weill—Manager
Stanley Weston—Publisher/Journalist
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (Israel)
Abe Attell
Max Baer*
Jackie “Kid” Berg
Jack Bernstein
Whitey Bimstein—Trainer
Joe Choynski
Robert Cohen
Howard Cosell—Broadcaster
Jackie Fields
Charley Goldman—Trainer
Ruby Goldstein—Referee
Alphonse Halimi
Harry Harris
Ben Jeby
Louis “Kid” Kaplan
Solly Krieger
Benny Leonard
Battling Levinsky
Harry Lewis
Ted “Kid” Lewis
Al McCoy
Daniel Mendoza
Sam Mosberg
Bob Olin
Victor “Young” Perez
“Slapsie Maxie” Rosenbloom
Barney Ross
Dutch Sam (Samuel Elias)
Corporal Izzy Schwartz
Al Singer
Jack Solomons—Promoter
Lew Tendler
*According to a spokesperson, Max Baer’s wearing of the Star of David on his trunks, and his paternal grandfather’s Jewish background, were enough to qualify him for inclusion.
The Ring Magazine Hall of Fame (discontinued after 1987 inductions)
BOXERS
Abe Attell
Jackie “Kid” Berg
Joe Choynski
Jackie Fields
Benny Leonard
Battling Levinsky
Ted “Kid” Lewis
Daniel Mendoza
“Slapsie Maxie” Rosenbloom
Barney Ross
Lew Tendler
MERITORIOUS SERVICE
Ray Arcel—Trainer
Nat Fleischer—Publisher/Journalist
Mike Jacobs—Promoter
Sam Taub—Broadcaster
World Boxing Hall of Fame (Los Angeles, California)
BOXERS
Georgie Abrams
Abe Attell
Jackie “Kid” Berg
Mushy Callahan
Jackie Fields
Benny Goldberg
Benny Leonard
Maxie Rosenbloom
Barney Ross
Lew Tendler
EXPANDED CATEGORY
Steve Albert—Broadcaster
Ray Arcel—Trainer
Bob Arum—Promoter
Al Bernstein—Broadcaster
Whitey Bimstein—Trainer
Teddy Brenner—Matchmaker
Jack Fiske—Journalist
Nat Fleischer—Magazine Publisher
Charley Goldman—Trainer
Ruby Goldstein—Referee
Jimmy Jacobs—Manager
Mike Jacobs—Promoter
Harry Kabakoff—Manager
Hank Kaplan—Historian/Journalist
Mike Katz—Journalist
Harold Lederman—Judge
A. J. Liebling—Journalist
Max Novich, MD—Physician
J. Russel Peltz—Promoter
Marc Ratner—Commissioner
Jack Solomons—Promoter
Howie Steindler—Manager
Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas, Nevada (begun in 2013)
Benny Leonard
Barney Ross
Footnote
* Jewish boxer Abe “the Newsboy” Hollandersky, who fought from 1906 to the mid-1920s, claimed to have had over 1,000 bouts. But included in that figure are many sparring matches and exhibitions while serving with the navy. The 150-pound boxer fought several contenders but only 98 professional contests have actually been verified.