When Boxing Was a Jewish Sport

A vivid portrayal of the important role of Jews in American boxing history, and vice versa.

Boxing was an integral part of American culture during the first half of the twentieth century, second only to baseball in popularity. It was also a heavily Jewish sport-from 1910 to 1940, there were twenty-six Jewish world-champions, and during the 1920s and 1930s, almost one-third of all boxers were Jewish. Drawing on numerous interviews and first-person accounts of the boxers themselves, Allen Bodner offers a vivid portrayal of the important role of Jews in American boxing history, and vice versa. When Boxing Was a Jewish Sport is a must-read for fans of the sweet science, as well as anyone interested in the Jewish American and immigrant experience more generally.

Allen Bodner is an attorney whose interest in boxing stems from his father, who was an amateur boxer in the 1920s and a professional manager in the 1930s and 1940s.