Bummy Davis vs. Murder, Inc.: The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Mafia and an Ill-Fated Prizefighter

by Ron Ross

A tough kid with a heart of gold, Al "Bummy" Davis grew up in the streets of Brownsville, New York on the fringes of the Jewish mob during the 20's and 30's-thanks to his older brother, a feared racketeer. But as much as he resisted the underworld of Murder, Inc. by becoming a championship fighter and a Brownsville hero, he never did escape the Jewish Mob's shadow. Though he repeatedly stood up to mob kingpins, Bummy suffered a spectacular fall from grace as a result of a smear campaign by the press.

Ron Ross' Bummy Davis vs. Murder, Inc. is not just about one Jewish boxer, his meteoric rise to fame, and victimization by the press. Bummy's life was intertwined with the Great Depression, the survival of the Brooklyn Jewish immigrant population during Prohibition, and the inevitable offshoot of Prohibition-Murder Inc., one of American history's most notorious band of killers. Ron Ross portrays an important historical time period, an enigmatic Jewish subculture, and the surprising juxtaposition of a generation of Jews and their talent for boxing.

Bummy Davis vs. Murder, Inc. features a cast of colorful villains whom you'll love to hate, a boxing legend who was the unwitting pawn of fate, and the human drama of the boxing world. With his vivid, street-smart Damon Runyonesque writing style, Ron Ross redeems a tragic hero who fought the pull of one of the most brutal groups of killers to grace the twentieth century.

Genres: Nonfiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

Reviews

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

They say poverty is the cradle of champions, that no one with options chooses boxing. And with a handful of exceptions—Marco Antonio Barrera was going to law school when he decided to turn pro—it’s true.
Still, some rough neighborhoods produce more champions than others. And something besides just lead must have been in the water in Brownsville, Brooklyn, because it’s given us way too many fighters, relative to its size. A Brownsville boy who got bullied named “Big Head” Mike Tyson would go on to terrorize the heavyweight division and captivate the world. And after Mike turned from prey to predator, one of his bullying victims would be future world champ Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe. I could go on, but you get the picture.
In Bummy Davis vs. Murder Inc. Ron Ross takes us all the way back to the original Brownsville Bomber, Al “Bummy” Davis. But in telling the ill-fated boxer’s story, he can’t help but the tell the tale of that time and place, and the book is all the better for it. Bummy Davis is a worm’s eye view of Jewish daily life in interwar Brooklyn, capturing with Proustian precision the exact moment the meaning of the word “ghetto” changed. We watch (and smell and hear) as the shtetl becomes the slums, as fruit vendors and apothecarists watch in horror as their boychiks drop the torahs and pick up Thompsons.
Eventually, from the gangland foment and flush with prohibition lucre, a small band of gangsters more vicious than the rest rises to the top. They would eventually become Murder Inc., the first interfaith mob crew that included Italians, Jews, and Irish, owing their only allegiance to the dollar, and to death.
Al despised the gangsters, and rebuffed every one of their overtures to manage his career and fix his fights. His brother, a midlevel hood, did everything he could to make Al see the light, but it was no use. Al stuck to his principles and paid a price, denied a title shot by the gangsters, while being shunned by respectable sportsmen who thought he was mobbed up.
The author finds so much pathos in the doggedly honest pug’s predicament that it becomes impossible to not root for him, and not to grieve when tragedy strikes. Ultimately, though, one can’t help but come away from the book feeling anything but invigorated, and humbled, by the spadework the author did to recreate the life of his tragic fighter and his lost world. It took more than ten years to write and research it, and it shows.
Bummy Davis vs. Murder Inc. is quite simply one of the best sports biographies ever written, so good it transcends its genre, inviting comparison to Budd Schulberg’s dramatic masterpieces, On the Waterfront and The Harder They Fall. Highest recommendation. No photos, which I would usually complain about, but it hardly matters this time. Ross paints the picture for you.

[Denali · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have liked this more. I really should have.

The book is written as a series of snapshots and anecdotes from the perspectives of different Brownsville residents but Ross is just not a strong enough writer to pull it off. It comes off as gimmicky and irritating and I feel terrible for typing that b/c this book has a good heart. The story itself is a great one or rather two great ones-- there's lots of crossover in the story of Bummy Davis and the story of Murder, Inc. but they're not put together in a particularly coherent way. The epilogue has some updates on what happened to various characters after the main action of the story and in the few places that Ross quotes them directly they capture Davis, depression and ww2 era brownsville and boxing in the kind of fascinating and funny way this whole book should have been written.

[Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent portrayal of a one of a kind individual, living in and through extraordinary times in Brownsville,N.Y. One of the best biography's I ever read.

[Joey Randazzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Decent insight into the Jewish Yiddish culture of Brownsville in 1920s/30s. Author jumped from scene to scene too often so at times it was hard to follow the story.

Bummy Davis is a Brownsville legend that deserves more recognition.

[M. Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more than a boxing book, more than a crime book and more than a book about Jewish culture. This story about a Jewish fighter from Brownsville, Brooklyn in the 1920's and 30's is a powerful novel of social history filled with fascinating characters, action and drama that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. What added to my enjoyment was that I could identify, being a Jewish kid from Brownsville, myself; and although the story took place 20-30 years before my birth, I recognized many neighborhood references and landmarks.

[Matthew Ogborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will last long in my memory. Half biography/ half imagined fiction, it combines two of my favourites interests in boxing and New York through the 20th century. The characters are a joy to behold, the Jewish family dialogue and wise guy banter both hit the spot superbly. I will revisit this again in the future, something I rarely do. It's that good.

[Bob Zecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading it now. Brooklyn and the Jewish mob circa 1930s. Fabulous.

[Bill Varon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good history lesson about the sport of boxing in the early 1900's, about the Italians and Jews, about Murder, Inc., and about the tragedy of always doing the right thing when it really counts.

[Kara Laufeyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good book, but the Murder Inc story is inaccurate.

[John Marricco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book was incredible. If I had the time I probably could of read this in one sitting. It is like a blend of The Godfather and Rocky, except everyone is Jewish.