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Stars in the Ring: Jewish Champions in the Golden Age of Boxing
A Photographic History
by Mike Silver
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Pub Date
Mar 04 2016
| Archive Date
Mar 11 2016
Description
For more than sixty years—from the
1890s to the 1950s—boxing was an integral part of American popular
culture and a major spectator sport rivaling baseball in popularity.
More Jewish athletes have competed as boxers than all other professional
sports combined; in the period from 1901 to 1939, 29 Jewish boxers were
recognized as world champions and more than 160 Jewish boxers ranked
among the top contenders in their respective weight divisions. Stars in the Ring,by
renowned boxing historian Mike Silver, presents this vibrant social
history in the first illustrated encyclopedic compendium of its kind.
Mike Silver
is an internationally respected boxing historian and the world’s
foremost authority on the Golden Age of the Jewish boxer. His first
book, The Arc of Boxing,
won two awards for boxing journalism from the American Association for
the Improvement of Boxing and The Boston Veteran Boxers’ Association. He
has been an inspector with the New York State Athletic Commission; a
boxing promoter; a historical consultant and on-air commentator for 19
televised boxing documentaries; a curator of the “Sting Like A Maccabee:
The Golden Age of the American Jewish Boxer” exhibit at the National
Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia (2004); and a
co-curator of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival’s centerpiece
program, “Jews, Boxing, and Hollywood” (2007). Silver currently serves
as an advisor to the Hank Kaplan Boxing Archives at Brooklyn College. He
continues to research and write about the sport as a member of the
International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO). Silver lives in New
York. His website is www.mikesilverboxing.com.
For more than sixty years—from the 1890s to the 1950s—boxing was an integral part of American popular culture and a major spectator sport rivaling baseball in popularity. More Jewish athletes have...
Description
For more than sixty years—from the
1890s to the 1950s—boxing was an integral part of American popular
culture and a major spectator sport rivaling baseball in popularity.
More Jewish athletes have competed as boxers than all other professional
sports combined; in the period from 1901 to 1939, 29 Jewish boxers were
recognized as world champions and more than 160 Jewish boxers ranked
among the top contenders in their respective weight divisions. Stars in the Ring,by
renowned boxing historian Mike Silver, presents this vibrant social
history in the first illustrated encyclopedic compendium of its kind.
Mike Silver
is an internationally respected boxing historian and the world’s
foremost authority on the Golden Age of the Jewish boxer. His first
book, The Arc of Boxing,
won two awards for boxing journalism from the American Association for
the Improvement of Boxing and The Boston Veteran Boxers’ Association. He
has been an inspector with the New York State Athletic Commission; a
boxing promoter; a historical consultant and on-air commentator for 19
televised boxing documentaries; a curator of the “Sting Like A Maccabee:
The Golden Age of the American Jewish Boxer” exhibit at the National
Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia (2004); and a
co-curator of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival’s centerpiece
program, “Jews, Boxing, and Hollywood” (2007). Silver currently serves
as an advisor to the Hank Kaplan Boxing Archives at Brooklyn College. He
continues to research and write about the sport as a member of the
International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO). Silver lives in New
York. His website is www.mikesilverboxing.com.
Available Editions
| EDITION |
Other Format |
| ISBN |
9781630761394 |
| PRICE |
$29.95 (USD)
|
Additional Information
Available Editions
| EDITION |
Other Format |
| ISBN |
9781630761394 |
| PRICE |
$29.95 (USD)
|
Average rating from 2 members
Featured Reviews
Lance S, Reviewer
The Golden Age of Boxing, which ran roughly from the 1890’s to the 1950’s, produced many memorable fights and boxers. It was a time when boxing was the most popular sport in America, even more popular than baseball or horse racing. Jewish boxers were very prominent during that period, and their stories are captured in this book by boxing historian Mike Silver.
The book is an excellent source of information for readers who are not familiar with that era in the sport’s history. There are passages that speak of nearly every part of the sport during that time, such as the popularity, the media coverage, the venues and the rules. Of the latter, there is an excellent section on how the current Marquess of Queensbury rules came to be the standard rules governing the sport. It was also interesting to learn facts about the sport such as how breaks in the sport were demanded to break up the fights into the rounds as we know them now and how there used to be an unlimited number of rounds – just keep fighting until a winner is declared. It would be hard to imagine some of the rules being able to exist in today’s version of the sport.
Each boxer discussed by Silver in the book has Jewish heritage, even if he may not have been practicing the religion. Records for each boxer are included and some of them have very extensive histories. Greats such as Benny Leonard and Ted “Kid” Lewis are well documented, but what was truly impressive about the book is the extensive research that Silver did to be able to include at least a few paragraphs about more obscure Jewish fighters and their records.
Of course, there are plenty of pictures of the boxers to go along with their stories and these combined with the good writing and exhaustive research make this a pleasurable book for boxing fans to read. It is one that is recommended to add to one’s boxing book library.
I wish to thank Lyons Press for providing a copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Andrew E, Reviewer
I'm Jewish and love boxing--so this book is perfect for me--but you don't have to be Jewish to love this book(it would help if you love boxing though). This is a great history of Jews in boxing--the social and cultural forces that thrust Jews into and eventually out of boxing. Great photos--for the boxing fan - it just doesn't get better than this.
Featured Reviews
Lance S, Reviewer
The Golden Age of Boxing, which ran roughly from the 1890’s to the 1950’s, produced many memorable fights and boxers. It was a time when boxing was the most popular sport in America, even more popular than baseball or horse racing. Jewish boxers were very prominent during that period, and their stories are captured in this book by boxing historian Mike Silver.
The book is an excellent source of information for readers who are not familiar with that era in the sport’s history. There are passages that speak of nearly every part of the sport during that time, such as the popularity, the media coverage, the venues and the rules. Of the latter, there is an excellent section on how the current Marquess of Queensbury rules came to be the standard rules governing the sport. It was also interesting to learn facts about the sport such as how breaks in the sport were demanded to break up the fights into the rounds as we know them now and how there used to be an unlimited number of rounds – just keep fighting until a winner is declared. It would be hard to imagine some of the rules being able to exist in today’s version of the sport.
Each boxer discussed by Silver in the book has Jewish heritage, even if he may not have been practicing the religion. Records for each boxer are included and some of them have very extensive histories. Greats such as Benny Leonard and Ted “Kid” Lewis are well documented, but what was truly impressive about the book is the extensive research that Silver did to be able to include at least a few paragraphs about more obscure Jewish fighters and their records.
Of course, there are plenty of pictures of the boxers to go along with their stories and these combined with the good writing and exhaustive research make this a pleasurable book for boxing fans to read. It is one that is recommended to add to one’s boxing book library.
I wish to thank Lyons Press for providing a copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Andrew E, Reviewer
I'm Jewish and love boxing--so this book is perfect for me--but you don't have to be Jewish to love this book(it would help if you love boxing though). This is a great history of Jews in boxing--the social and cultural forces that thrust Jews into and eventually out of boxing. Great photos--for the boxing fan - it just doesn't get better than this.
