Barney Ross

by Douglas Century

Part of the Jewish Encounter series

Born Dov-Ber Rasofsky to Eastern European immigrant parents, Barney Ross grew up in a tough Chicago neighborhood and witnessed his father’s murder, his mother’s nervous breakdown, and the dispatching of his three younger siblings to an orphanage, all before he turned fourteen. To make enough money to reunite the family, Ross became a petty thief, a gambler, a messenger boy for Al Capone, and, eventually, an amateur boxer. Turning professional at nineteen, he would capture the lightweight, junior welterweight, and welterweight titles over the course of a ten-year career.

Ross began his career as the scrappy “Jew kid,” ended it as an American sports icon, and went on to become a hero during World War II, earning a Silver Star for his heroic actions at Guadalcanal. While recovering from war wounds and malaria he became addicted to morphine, but with fierce effort he ultimately kicked his habit and then campaigned fervently against drug abuse. And the fighter who brought his father’s religious books to training camp also retained powerful ties to the world from which he came. Ross worked for the creation of a Jewish state, running guns to Palestine and offering to lead a brigade of Jewish American war veterans.

This first biography of one of the most colorful boxers of the twentieth century is a galvanizing account of an emblematic a revelation of both an extraordinary athlete and a remarkable man.

Genres: Biography, Sports, History, Nonfiction, Jewish

240 pages, Hardcover

First published February 7, 2006

About the author

Douglas Century is the author or coauthor of such bestsellers as Under and Alone, Barney Ross, Street Kingdom, Brotherhood of Warriors, and Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire, a finalist for the 2003 Edgar Award in the category of Best Nonfiction Crime.

Reviews

[M. Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent biography of one of the great Jewish boxers of the twentieth century. Barney Ross, born to immigrant parents from Eastern Europe, grew up in Chicago and witnessed his father's murder, his mother's nervous breakdown and the placement of his siblings in an orphanage, all before he turned 14. In order to make enough money to reunite the family, Ross became a petty thief, a gambler, a messenger for the notorious Al Capone, and, eventually an amateur boxer. He turned pro at 19 and proceeded to win the lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight titles during the course of a brilliant 10 year career.
He went on to become a World War II hero, earning a Silver Star in Guadalcanal but became addicted to morphine during his recovery from war wounds. He eventually kicked the habit and became a dedicated anti-drug crusader.
Ross also worked for the creation of a Jewish state, running guns to Palestine and offering to lead a brigade of Jewish war veterans.
This book is one of the many excellent works featured in the acclaimed "Jewish Encounters" series, a collaboration between Shocken Books and Notebook, a project devoted to the promotion of Jewish literature, culture and ideas.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a weakness for these books about pugilists. This was a good one about a Chicago West-side Jewish youngster that picked himself up and became the lightweight and welterweight boxing champion of the world in the mid thirties. After he retired he joined the Marines and won the Silver Star on Guadacanal during WWII. And then broke a drug addiction initiated by morphine treatments of wounds and malaria suffered during the war.

I never knew of Ross until I recently heard a story about him on the radio. Unlike the heavyweights these lighter weight divisions just never receive the same press coverage.

Another good boxing book was "Cinderella Man" the story of James J. Braddock who I did hear about on the radio back then and by the way was an excellent movie too.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Styles, the saying goes, make fights. The same goes, in large part, for books, especially sports biographies. One senses throughout Century's book a genuine pride and affection towards his subject, born of a genuine appreciation for struggles he endured. But that doesn't make this book. The writing is bland ; Century depends on breaking out of the narrative and adding information on the research process to impress us with the depth of his story, which is always somehow lacking. A good story told with good intentions, that stumbles in the execution. A frustrating near-miss.

[Gerardo Pleasent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best biographical research in print to my knowledge on this forgotten fighter, the last of the great Jewish American fighters. His reaching out to Barney's last surviving brother was a research treasure trove that almost passed with Barney's brother. A balanced and well executed biography into a man who was part of the fabric of our nation's history from the Great Depression, through WW2, and a footnote in the saga of the assassination of JFK

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this concise biography of one of the most colorful and yet little known sports figures of the 20th century. Barney Ross was a larger than life character and Century's book does a good job of recreating his world. I recommend it highly.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written account of an interesting guy.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written biography about one of the most colorful boxers of the 20th century who won three boxing championships titles and also a decorated Marine veteran of Guadalcanal in WWII.
Knocked down, but never knocked out, Barney Ross a Jewish fighter from the ghettos was a one of a kind man . No doubt I will be researching if not reading more about this hero.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice bio of the full life of a complex man.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every people have a culture--every nation, a story. Even our indigenous population grapple with the past to move forward. In writing about Barney Ross and the tough Jews of the thirties, it is sad to mention that those athletic pursuits that helped define a race are no longer considered as representative of the people. Somewhere between the netherworld of biography and myth, Century's novel leaves one crying for more. More flesh must surround one of the greatest of Jewish-Americans who walked our shores. His is a name lost to a lost culture of a seminal time in this nation. To see a photograph of Barney on Guadalcanal with jungle parrots on his shoulders or with three babes by his side while his face has been splattered with his blood is to see the soul of but another forgotten man. But what a man and what a job. For sheer research, Century deserves this five star rating. But he holds back in the telling. Maybe that's good. Maybe there must be subtlety to imagine the horror of seeing one's father gunned down on a Chicago street corner. Maybe in not giving flesh to some of the more poignant parts of the tale allows us to imagine the rest. Maybe I will take what openings Century has left and will fill in the rest. Regardless of intentions, in actualization, this novel is often brilliant and always unforgettable.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good bio of a Jewish fighter from the 20's and 30's. Knew a lot of Chicago gangsters including good friend Jack Ruby.