The Great Benny Leonard

By F. Daniel Somrack

       The Great Benny Leonard is the story of a man who rose from the slums of New York City to become the Lightweight Boxing Champion of the World. Benny Leonard ruled as the lightweight king from 1917-1925 defeating the best competition of his generation to stand alone as the greatest Jewish fighter of all time. The era between the two world wars is considered the Golden Age of boxing in America. The sport was an intense ethnic rivalry between the descendants of the European continent, primarily the Italian, Irish and Jewish immigrants who settled on the eastern seaboard of the United States, predominately in New York City.

 

       Benny Leonard, known as the "Ghetto Wizard," dominated the sport of boxing during the Roaring Twenties and became the most famous Jew in America. Leonard is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in any weight division in boxing history. Benny is ranked 8th in The Ring's "80 Best Boxers of the Past 80 Years" and 7th on ESPN's " 50 Greatest Boxers of All Time".

        

The Great Benny Leonard relives the life and times of the man who fought his way to the top of the world, became a nationwide celebrity and retired from the sport undefeated.  It's about a man who overcame tremendous odds to become a hero to the Jewish people of his time and an inspiration to all people forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: F. Daniel Somrack
• Release date: Jun 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201952532

F. Daniel Somrack

F. Daniel Somrack is a boxing historian who authored his first book for Arcadia Publishing entitled Boxing in San Francisco. His subsequent titles include The Eddie Futch Interview, Jack Dempsey “Nonpareil,” Pancho Villa: The Filipino Legend, Kid Gavilan: The Cuban Hawk, Cuban Legends of Boxing and The Great Benny Leonard. As a filmmaker, Somrack produced feature films and documentaries including the highly acclaimed Champions Forever that highlighted the life and times of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Billboard Magazine listed Champions as one of the highest-selling, original sports video of the 1990s.

Book preview

For

Jay J. Shapiro

Boxing Scribe Books/Copyright © F. Daniel Somrack All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portion thereof in any form whatsoever.

Contents

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Introduction            2.

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1. Top of the World          6.

2.  8th Street & Avenue C.       12.                       

3.  Benny Leonard        16.           

4. The Ghetto Wizard       22.

5.  The Great War        28

6.  The Boxing Marvel       34.

7.  Lefty Lew Tendler       40.

8. The Final Round        48.

About the Author         54.

Introduction

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Sports enthusiasts consider the era between the two world wars as the Golden Age of boxing in America. Professional fighting was an intense ethnic clash between European immigrants who had settled into the neighborhood slums on the eastern seaboard of the United States, predominately in New York.

European immigrants settling in neighborhood slums produced the first wave of exceptional fighters. The descendants of Jewish, Irish and Italian nationalities dominated the lighter weight classes of boxing.  Spending their youth fighting for pride on the dirty streets of the inner city, it was a natural progression for young men to segue into the sport of professional boxing.

During the 1920s, 30s, when anti-Semitism was widespread throughout the United States and Europe, Jews idolized their representatives in the manly art of boxing.  Along with the Italians and the Irish, most of the top contenders and world champions were second-generation immigrants taking part in the American Dream.

Jewish fighters emerged to dominate all weight divisions of the sport. Ring stars of the era included Jackie Fields, Kid Kaplan, Abe Goldstein, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, Barney Ross, Battling Levinsky, Charlie Phil Rosenberg, Jackie Kid Berg, Ted Lewis, Lew Tendler and others.

In a period of thirty years, from 1910-1940, there were twenty-six Jewish world champions. Considering an era with only eight weight classes and eight world champions, this is a remarkable representation of an ethnic minority. During this same period, approximately one-third of professional boxers were Jewish.

By the mid-1940s, soldiers returning home from World War II were offered the G.I Bill of Rights and free education. Many of the returning Jewish servicemen, formally professional fighters, pursued higher education. After college, those who stayed in the sport segued into management and promotional positions.

The best of the Jewish class was World Lightweight Champion Benny Leonard. Known as The Ghetto Wizard, Leonard is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in any weight division in boxing history. He is ranked 8th by The Ring’s 80 Best Boxers of the Past 80 Years and 7th by ESPN's 50 Greatest Boxers of All Time.

The Great Benny Leonard is the story of the life and times of the man who won the World Lightweight Boxing Championship in 1917 and retired undefeated eight years later.  It's about a man who overcame tremendous odds to become a hero to the Jewish people of his time and an inspiration to all people for all time.

One

On Top of the World

Benny Leonard, the dapper, handsome young man with sparkling brown eyes and brilliantined hair just happened to be the undisputed boxing champion of the world. Kind and soft-spoken, Leonard embodied the style and spirit of the Roaring Twenties as the unparalleled fighter of his generation.

In Gotham City, Benny was the toast of the town. He dined at the finest restaurants and kept company with the who’s who of the Broadway theater crowd as well as Manhattan’s well-heeled upper-class society. Benny had come a long way from the tenement slum he was born into on the lower east side of the city.

Through grit and determination, coupled with a brilliant mind, Leonard fought his way out of the Jewish ghetto to the top of the sporting world. Benny Leonard was the world lightweight champ and by all accounts, one of the best fighters in ring history and the greatest Jewish fighter of all time.

Always a perfectionist, Benny’s like to boast that he’d never had his hair ruffled in a prizefight, which was true. He wore his hair parted in the middle and oiled down which gave it the glossy shine of a patent leather shoe, and it stayed that way through each fight.

On his rise to the top, he defeated the best fighters in his division. When there was no one left to challenge him, Leonard considered retiring as the undefeated champion. A self-proclaimed momma's boy, Benny wanted to fulfill a promise he had made to his mother years before to retire as the lightweight king.

After all, Hollywood was calling; there was theatrical work and real-estate investments to manage. But before he could walk away, the sports world demanded a rematch between Leonard and Lew Tendler, the top contender and the heir apparent for the lightweight crown.

Their first fight was an action-packed thriller with Tendler coming within seconds of wresting the crown from Leonard’s head. Some quick thinking on Leonard’s behalf changed the outcome of the fight and allowed him to retain his title via NWS or Newspaper Decision.

In 1923, the Hurley Boxing Law was still in effect