Book Description
Bill Cayton's PRIME TIME BOXING
Presents:
Joe Louis vs. Rocky Marciano
This audio CD takes you back to Madison Square Garden October 26, 1951. You will "see" the classic Joe Louis vs. Rocky Marciano bout, for the first time, through the incredible blow-by-blow commentary of the legendary Don Dunphy. With Don Dunphy is the great Bill Corum.
Joe Louis wasn't just a fighter, although he was one of the all-time greatest. Joe Louis was the awesome symbol of American might. He helped knock down the walls of racial prejudice with his flashing fists and quiet dignity. Joe gave people hope, and inspired millions of others who gathered around the radio grimly trying to survive the great Depression. He had destroyed Hitler's aryan “Superman” Max Schmeling in just one round. He was the Heavyweight Champion from 1937 till 1949. In his time, Joe Louis made more money than any athlete in history. He was also a very compassionate man, who just gave his money away. During the Depression, Joe even sponsored a touring softball team, giving up a $200,000 boxing tour just so his buddies would have jobs.
Louis had given up his crown after KO'ing Jersey Joe Walcott, but he was forced to mount a comeback to pay the massive IRS tax bill partly caused because he had donated his two purses after joing the Army. Joe was 67-2 with 53 KO's. Ernest Hemingway had once called Joe Louis, “The most beautiful fighting machine I have ever seen.”
Joe lost to Ezzard Charles in 1950, in a revious “comeback” bid for the world championship. But Charles was knocked out by Walcott on July 8, 1951 -- three months before Louis faced Marciano. The young, bull-like Rocky had won 37 in a row, with 32 KO's. A win would mean another shot at Joe's old crown.
Rocky Marciano was born September 1, 1923, in Brockton, Massachusetts. He was a murderous right hand puncher, who had ironically failed in a tryout as a catcher with a Chicago Cubs farm team.
Calling the fight is Don Dunphy, who called every great fighter from 1941 to 1981. No other announcer every dominated his sport like Dunphy. It was June 18, 1941 that Dunphy did his first big fight: Joe Louis and Billy Conn.
“Are you nervous?” the Brown Bomber asked Don at the Louis-Conn weigh-in. “Well, don't worry. Once the bell rings, you'll do alright.” “I never forgot Joe's kindness,” remembered Dunphy, still grateful forty years later.
Don Dunphy described more than 2,000 fights in a sportscasting career that spanned 50 years. Dunphy broadcast almost every major sport, but it was boxing in which he made his biggest impact. He broadcast more than 200 title bouts, including 50 for the heavyweight championship.
Since he had described the fights involving heavyweight champions Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali, Don Dunphy was asked in July of 1998 how he would rank them. “That's too tough, Dunphy said. “But I will tell you this: Marciano threw the best punch I ever saw to knock out Jersey Joe Walcott and win the Heavyweight Title.”
About PRIME TIME BOXING
Programming that cannot be duplicated or found anywhere else, PRIME TIME BOXING features the legendary Don Dunphy, the all-time most dynamic and knowledgeable boxing commentator describing the most exciting and memorable fights of Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson and all the other great champions.
Through the incredible magic of the original radio broadcasts listeners will be able to "see" the fights for the first time - in the theater of their mind! A magical replay of exciting sports history presented on audio CD, PRIME TIME BOXING includes the greatest fights ever, including many that have never been filmed or broadcast on TV.
Book Description
In this captivating and complex portrait of an American sports legend, Russell Sullivan confirms Rocky Marciano's place as a symbol and cultural icon of his era. As much as he embodied the wholesome, rags-to-riches patriotism of a true American hero, he also reflected the racial and ethnic tensions festering behind the country's benevolent facade.
The early 1950s were an outwardly simple and optimistic time. America was basking in postwar prosperity. Living rooms across the country glowed with the novelty of television. People were likely to trust politicians, hate commies, lionize athletes, and turn to sports for good, clean fun. Boxing was second in popularity only to baseball, and Marciano was the heavyweight champion of the world.
Marciano emerged from obscurity in the early 1950s and had snagged the heavyweight crown by 1952. When he quit the ring in 1956 he had never lost a match--a feat still unmatched by any boxer in any heavyweight history. To sportswriters and fans, Marciano's 49—0 record was enough to warrant the prestige and honor they bestowed on him despite widespread discussion of his flaws as a boxer.
Sullivan contends that Marciano's popularity was compounded by the uneasy racial attitudes of the era. He was a white man in a sport increasingly dominated by black men during a time when most Americans were hesitant to accept integration. He was also a second-generation Italian American and, although portrayed in the media through ethnic stereotypes, he was revered by immigrants and others who embraced the idea of the melting pot. Even more embraced Marciano as the embodiment of the American Dream and way of life that was so cherished in the early 1950s.
Spirited, fast-paced, and rich in detail, Rocky Marciano is the first book to place the boxer in the context of his times. Capturing his athletic accomplishments against the colorful backdrop of the 1950s fight scene, Sullivan examines how Marciano's career reflected the glamour and scandal of boxing as well as tenor of his times.
Customer Reviews:
Good bio of a great Champion.......2007-04-19
This was a good bio of Rocky Marciano. There really never was a more unlikely guy to become one the great heavyweight champions if you think about it. He had very little in the way of amateur fights and really didn't start boxing till he was in his mid 20's. He was very small for a heavyweight, even for that time. Marciano was the only heavyweight champion to never lose a fight and retire undefeated. He was one of a small handful of boxers that transcended the sport and became American icons that were synonymous with the times in which they were champion. Anybody that disparages his ring accomplishments either has an anti-white agenda or knows NOTHING about boxing. He had victories over fighters who are arguably the three most skilled, ringwise and crafty heavyweights to ever get in the ring, Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles (he beat Walcott and Charles twice) and Archie Moore. I do not consider Marciano to be the greatest heavyweight ever but his ring accomplishments can't be denied.
But besides his big fights which were talked about in depth among other things it also goes into his life growing up in a poor Italian-American family. The very methodical process in which he was brought up through the ranks of the fight game after he turned pro. The likliehood that the main reason he retired was because he was sick of dealing with his over controlling manager. His penchant for being incredibly cheap and frugal. As well as his tragic death in an airplane crash.
Rocky Marciano is the bomb.......2007-04-03
By:Ryan Lemery
This was a very good book. it was entertaining as well as informational. I especially liked how it talked about racism and the struggles of being a boxer in that era. I liked how Rocky was known as the Great White Hope. But there were a few things that i didn't like. Things such as how a whole chapter would be about one thing that didn't even pertain to Rocky. I also didn't like how Al Weill was taking Rocky's money and using it for his own pleasures.Thank god Rocky found out about it. That was pretty much the only sad part in the book. Besides the part where Rocky died in a plane crash. And on his Birthday! I think that I almost cried. I really liked this book and i think that many people should read it. It would be a good book for people with big dreams, and big hopes.
The Rock of His Times.......2007-02-16
Unfortunately, for this author, Rocky Marciano's life in and out of the ring was very uneventful. The writer touched on subjects that "could have been a dark side" of the Rock, but failed to produce anything jaw dropping. Some of the more interesting parts of the book were descriptions of the corrupt IBC, and short descriptions of former champions like Jack Johnson and Joe Louis.
On the bright side, the writer capitalized on the opportunity to describe the 50's American way of life. Overall though, it did not show me much about the Rock that I didn't already know.
Very good but sometimes contradicting.......2005-05-29
Very good book where the author,Sullivan,goes into complete detail on every aspect of Marciano's life. He even has about 5 pages just based on how he got his name(his real name is Marchegiano). Very very detailed and nice book. Easy read and very good to pick up and bring on the go for a train or plane trip.
The only problem I have is the lack of opinion by the author himself. The majority of the book is explaining how,what,when where,and quotes by everyone that knew Marciano. What it lacks is anything that comes from Sullivans mouth. When he does chime in with an opinion it usually contradicts his previous one or downplays things he said earlier in the book.
One excellent benefit of the book is that you don't only learn about Marciano and his life,you also get chapters on Joe Louis,Sugar Ray Robinson,Roland LaStarza,Jersey Joe Walcott and several other figures of the time.
For any boxing fan,whether new to the sport or one of the golden days,pick this one up and enjoy!
Rocky Marciano - Fifties Man - Simple and Not Simple.......2004-10-23
Rocky Marciano - Fifties Man - Simple and Not Simple
There's a lot that I thought I knew about Rocky Marciano and a lot that I didn't know. His story is an interesting one and this book is well worth reading.
Rocky's career and life makes the most sense when looked at in the context of his time - not just the 1950's and the theme of the `50's - but his time in between 2 of the greatest - he came after Joe Louis and before Muhammad Ali - after the `40's and before the `60's - when you stop and think about it - it really is an amazing time - and an unfortunate time to be the world champ - just ask Larry Holmes.
All this I never fully appreciated or understood.
Rocky Marciano: The Rock of His Times is a great look at the life of Rocky Marciano - I learned a lot about the Rock and developed a greater admiration, respect and understanding of him as both a man and a fighter.
I did get the feeling though that something was held back - certain "warts" were touched on, but not fully explored - and I would have liked that.
Great for the boxing fan, historian and really anyone interested in learning about Rocky Marciano.
Customer Reviews:
Stick past the intro stuff, it pays off.......2007-09-29
The first few chapters kind of read like they were written for Scholastic, but since they cover his early childhood this kind of makes sense. The writing gets a bit more mature as Rocky does and seems to paint a very honest picture of an interesting guy. I don't know how much more info has come out on him in the past 30 years, but as a read this was a lot of fun.
rocky marciano.......2002-09-05
this is as good as it gets! rocky was not only in my opion the best champion but also the wisest specialy with who he was managed by!talk about watch my back!he had some good pals,that stayed the course which also says a lot! buy this its great.
Why I think This Book Is a Must for Boxing fan's.......1999-06-07
I think This Book Is a must for boxing fan's because,It Is the story of ROCKY MARCIANO,The only undefeated Heavyweight champ ever, It Describes His Tough Childhood and His Fears of Having to work In a shoe factory,and His Rise to the HEAVYWEIGHT Championship also It Has Detailed Descriptions of His Fights with JOE LOUIS,Joe Walcott,Roland LaStarza,Ezzard Charles,
Book Description
An unflinching account of a young Jewish boy's will to survive, chronicling his unimaginable journey from Nazi concentration camps to the professional boxing arena, eventually fighting Rocky Marciano.
Alan Scott Haft provides the first-hand testimony of his father, Harry Haft, a holocaust victim with a singular story of endurance, desperation, and unrequited love. Harry Haft was a sixteen-year-old Polish Jew when he entered a concentration camp in 1944. Forced to fight other Jews in bare-knuckle bouts for the perverse entertainment of SS officers, Harry quickly learned that his own survival depended on his ability to fight and win. Haft details the inhumanity of the "sport" in which he must perform in brutal contests for the officers. Ultimately escaping the camp, Haft's experience left him an embittered and pugnacious young man.
Determined to find freedom, Haft traveled to America and began a career as a professional boxer, quickly finding success using his sharp instincts and fierce confidence. In a historic battle, Haft fights in a match with Rocky Marciano, the future undefeated heavyweight champion of the world. Haft's boxing career takes him into the world of such boxing legends as Rocky Graziano, Roland La Starza, and Artie Levine, and he reveals new details about the rampant corruption at all levels of the sport.
In sharp contrast to Elie Wiesel's scholarly, pious protagonist in Night, Harry Haft is an embattled survivor, challenging the reader's capacity to understand suffering and find compassion for an antihero whose will to survive threatens his own humanity. Haft's account, at once dispassionate and deeply absorbing, is an extraordinary story and an invaluable contribution to Holocaust literature.
Customer Reviews:
No way he took a dive against Marciano.......2007-05-19
The premise that this guy was so formidable that his life was threatened if he didn't take a dive against future champion Rocky Marciano is ludicrous. First, Marciano was an unknown who had only had 17 fights at the time, fighting out of New England, hardly the Mecca of the boxing world of the 1940-50 era. At the time of the fight you could have got odds of 500-1 that Marciano would never be heavyweight champion. Why would the mafia or anyone else threaten someone with death to lose to him?
Also, Haft had lost 6 of his last 7 fights when he met Marciano. In fact he lost to Roland LaStarza just before the Marciano bout. Does his son want to claim he took a dive against LaStarza also? After all, Roland was 32-0 at the time, a much more likely prospect for heavyweight champion than Marciano. And he was also Italian and fighting out of New York.
Three fights before he fought Marciano Haft lost to a guy who was 20-38-8! Come on, why in the wildest flight of fantasy would organized crime think they needed to threaten someone who was on a rapid downhill slide unless he lost to an unranked fighter who had only had 17 fights?
And why would it be to Marciano, the unknown from the little town of Brockton rather than the relatively well known Roland LaStarza of New York, who really was on the fast track to the heavyweight title shot?
Haft finished with a record of 13-7-0 with 7 KO's, losing 7 of his last 8 fights, with Marciano being the final loss. He was knocked out in 5 of those 7 losses, all in a span of six months. It is likely his license was suspended after the Marciano fight to protect him.
It's a fabrication to sell a book. If LaStarza had been champion instead or Marciano, it would probably claim he took the dive against Roland instead.
A Different Holocaust Memoir.......2006-11-14
This is an impressive addition to holocaust literature. The life of Harry Haft is well worth telling. When he entered Auschwitz he was forced to fight other Jews in bare-knuckle boxing bouts for the entertainment of the SS officers. These battles were usually fought to the death of one of the fighters.
This is quite a different story than that usually told. He survived, and eventually escaped, likewise not a common occurance. He eventually made his way to America and decided to take his boxing skills into the professional arena here. In boxing at that time, the fighters were under the control of organized crime and he was eventually told to lose a match or he would lose his life.
All of this left permanent mental scars on Mr. Haft that were never truly removed. This book is also a story of the life of his son, the author who in writing this probably understands his father better than he did before.
Highly recommended.......2006-10-07
Harry Haft: Survivor Of Auschwitz, Challenger Of Rocky Marciano is the unique biography of a Jewish man who survived the Nazi concentration camps while being forced by brutal German officers to fight his fellow prisoners -- to lose was to die. Haft was only sixteen when he was sent to the concentration camps; four years later, he barely escaped with his life, and killed German civilians while struggling to survive. Prone to fits of violent temper, made worse by the permanent scars of the unspeakably inhuman treatment he endured, Harry Haft decided to take his talent for fisticuffs into the professional boxing ring. But in an era when boxing was heavily infiltrated by organized crime, gangsters threatened Haft with execution unless he lost his fight with heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. Written by Harry Haft's son, Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano gives a complete picture of a flawed yet courageous human being, a survivor beyond measure, and is highly recommended for biography and holocaust studies shelves.
Average customer rating:
- The best out there on Rocky Marciano
- Intimate Biography of the Fighter/Celeb
- A good read, but glosses over a few things
- Quiet Man, Mean Punch
- Rocky Marciano
|
Rocky Marciano
Everett M. Skehan
Manufacturer: Robson Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Biographies & Memoirs
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General
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Boxing
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ASIN: 0860512347 |
Customer Reviews:
The best out there on Rocky Marciano.......2006-11-28
With big name fighters there are always many glossy hardbacks out there, written by a Johnny-come-lately who wasn't there and has to rely on the words of a bunch of yellowing news paper clippings and so-called Boxing Historians (always wild cards). So when deciding what book to purchase, there is always one main consideration: Authenticity. In the absence of a bio from the horses mouth (boxer recounting his life to a writer), I always seek out the book that has been written by somebody who had access to the fighter and has no apparent axe to grind, or at least access to real people who were there and involved in a daily basis with the fighter.
In the case of Rocky Marciano, who died early and never told his tale personally, there are many books but for me Everett Skehan's effort stands out because, written in the early 80s, it predates any of the others and most importantly Skehan has full access to Marciano's immediate family and cohorts. This allows him to piece the story together with the kind of insight, direct quotes and intimate memories that a pile of old news papers cannot offer.
The book itself is an easy read. You get a good idea of the kind of guy Marciano was, his values and lifestyle, attitude towards fighting, friends, and business, many interesting anecdotes from his life before boxing. His fights are covered in good detail, and to my surprise, rather than going sharply downhill after his retirement, the misadventures of the ageing retired Rock make for some of the best reading in the book. You also get the all important complete professional record at the back which is a necessity in any boxing book.
As for the bad? No photo's to speak of! Also, Skehan does omit certain information and tends to be creative with the truth. Of Marciano's biggest opponents- Louis and Walcott were pushing 40, Moore was in his mid 40s, and Charles was in his early 30s but seemingly waning. Now all of these guys were certainly still dangerous and very capable, but Skehan does gloss over their disadvantages (several years are shaved off Moore's age). Personally I would have liked to of heard more from the opponents before and after the fights, but their personal experiences are generally ignored. Also, Marciano did lose some fights as an amateur. Of course, Skehan always portrays any loss as `a robbery', and whenever he was decked as a pro it was always a lucky `flash knockdown'. Marciano despite his size and crude style was a heavyweight champion, a great fighter and the only in history to retire undefeated, with an incredible 49-0. He does not need Skehan or anybody else to be creative with the truth or build him up as Superman, his achievements speak for them selves.
Overall however, this is a good read. No other book on The Rock is going to give you the kind of in depth access to his early and later life than this one, nor does any other have so much material from family and personal acquaintances. So despite a few semi-minor gripes, Everett Skehan's account is the best and most authoritative out there for the boxing fan looking to educate himself on the life of Rocky Marciano.
Intimate Biography of the Fighter/Celeb.......2002-12-19
This biography is a pretty good straightforward report of Marciano's life. The author develops an intimate portrait of the champ, warts and all, through interviews with friends and acquaintances. We get to know what it was like to interact face to face with Marciano. In one sense, it's refreshing to get unanalyzed picture of a subject. But sometimes I wish author delved deeper. My only criticism is that the author doesn't really add any value to the subject, Rocky Marciano. The book lacks psychological insights into Marciano's personality. The author gives a report on the Rock's actions but doesn't penetrate into what made him tick. At several points, the author acknowledges that some of Rock's actions were a mystery to him. But one would expect after writing a book on the guy the author could provide some answers. I understand I'm contradicting myself here but my judgment oscillates between enjoying the straightforward, unadulterated portrait and the need to understand the subject in some deeper sense.
A good read, but glosses over a few things.......2002-05-29
A biography of the undefeated champ, from his somewhat hard childhood and attempts
to break into baseball, to his boxing career after the army, to his retirement and the life of Reilly that followed. It's written in an almost fictionalized style - quotes from scenes in Rocky's life come from interviews, doubtless, but as exact quotes they must be taken with a large grain of salt. Skehan doesn't judge, nor is he critical; he merely reports, without skepticism. The picture that emerges is an ambiguous one. The Rock was obviously a tightfisted cheapskate, sometimes to the point of criminality (cheating pay phones, defrauding an insurance company for ten grand). He had strange ideas about money; not trusting banks, he'd squirrel away large chunks of cash. He had all sorts of business deals, shady and otherwise, that he enacted without so much as a signature or IOU. Many of Rocky's friends insist he was staunchly loyal, but his long-time trainer Al Columbo's estrangement, his lifelong argument with another friend over a probably imagined forty bucks, and his failure to help out the boxer he hospitalized all belie this picture. The consensus is that Rocky was pretty much the all-time greatest; since he faced the champions of his time when they were nearing 40, this is disputable, and the book should state that. Certainly, Skehan blatantly glosses over serious flaws in Rocky's character, such as soliciting prostitutes, leaving his wife and daughter for long stretches, cutting short vacations with them, etc. In all this is a thorough, interesting, easy to read bio, but it could stand to show a few more warts than it does. He was a great champion; we don't need to think he was a saint, too.
Quiet Man, Mean Punch.......2002-01-17
Everett M. Skehan did a comprehensive, thoroughly professional biography on a great champion long deserving such attention. Rocky Marciano's soft spoken demeanor prompted him to stay away from media opportunities and let his fists do the talking for him. His incredible record of 49 consecutive professional victories with 43 knockouts serves as a glittering testimonial to his skills.
With his quiet demeanor, often to the point of preferring to stay in the background, Marciano would more than likely led an unobtrusive life in his native Brockton, Massachusetts and never missed the publicity had it not been for the fact that he was endowed with a rock hard body and the kind of stamina that brings back memories of boxing's only 3 time champion of the thirties, Hammering Henry Armstrong. Marciano had the shortest reach of any heavyweight titlist, but made up for it with a swarming style that smothered opponents, along with a solid punch that eliminated them.
Skehan's life reveals a major point of irony in life, the relativity of great talents. Marciano had one of the solidest constitutions of any fighter in ring history, possessing awesome power, yet, when he sought to pursue his first love as a boy growing up, baseball, by trying out for the Chicago Cubs s a catcher, he was thwarted. Marciano had the same kind of stolid, stocky build as all-time catching great Yogi Berra of the Yankees. When he tried out for the Cubs, however, he was rejected for not having a strong enough throwing arm. The short term loss proved to be his long term gain since, unless he had ability to rise to the level of a Berra and become a Hall of Famer, Marciano's accomplshments would have diminished compared to his boxing achievements as one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time.
Marciano was a tireless worker, as this biography reveals. He was able to resist temptation in his determination to reach the top of the fight game in a career that spanned less than a decade, from 1948 to his retirement in 1955 with his celebrated 9th round knockout of Archie Moore, the world light heavyweight champion. Even while on his honeymoon in Miami Beach, Marciano would faithfully rise each morning to do his roadwork on the hotel golf course. On occasions when temptation beckoned and a beautiful woman would be available, Marciano bypassed the momentary pleasure to stay in shape during his fight career. As a result, when he did retire Marciano loaded up on calories and tasted delights of the flesh in rapid scale fashion, seeking to make up for lost time.
While understanding the reason behind Muhammad Ali's "I am the greatest" media campaign, which he acknowledged with the words, "He's trying to build a gate," he also let it be known that he did not appreciate such public relations tactics. He was a quieter sort and such a demeanor was inconsistent with his being and perhaps his understanding.
Skehan also carves out interesting sketches of Marciano's trainer Charlie Goldman and his manager Al Weill. Marciano revered the respected veteran trainer Goldman. He could not abide Weill, particularly when the manager wanted to sack Marciano's life long Brockton friend Allie Colombo. The fiercely loyal Marciano insisted that Colombo be kept on the payroll as a managerial and training assistant.
Rocky Marciano.......2001-06-21
A great book about the life of one the must underated and greatest boxing champions of all time. A most for any boxing fan or boxing historian.
Book Description
Bill Cayton's PRIME TIME BOXING
Presents:
Rocky Marciano vs. Ezzard Charles
June 17, 1954
Let's go back to 1954, that pivotal year of the hydrogen bomb, the Army-McCarthy hearings, the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, and the birth of rock `n' roll. Rocky Marciano is the heavyweight champion of the world, and the number one contender is the ex-champ, Ezzard Charles.
Rocky Marciano had got into boxing rather late. He was almost 25 when he turned pro under the management of Al Weil. But within two years Rocky had become a bonafide contender. On October 26, 1951, he sent Joe Louis into permanent retirement, knocking the Brown Bomber out in the eighth round at New York's Madison Square Garden. Less than one year later, Marciano knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott to win the world heavyweight title.
Ezzard Charles had a completely different background. Undefeated as an amateur, he turned professional at age 18 after winning the National AAU middleweight title.
Victories over Teddy Yarosz, Anton Christoforidis, and Charley Burley, made Charles a ranked contender by mid-1942. Ez had grown into a light heavyweight by the time he went into the Army in 1943. Resuming his boxing career in 1946, Charles quickly established himself by far as the best 175-pound fighter in the world, thrice defeating Archie Moore, the final time by knockout.
When world heavyweight champion Joe Louis announced his retirement in 1949, it was Ezzard Charles who faced Joe Walcott for the vacant heavyweight title, winning a unanimous decision. Ezzard Charles successfully defended his heavyweight championship eight times, and defeating Joe Louis when Louis tried a comeback.
Although Charles lost his title to Jersey Joe Walcott in 1951, he was the top contender when he entered the ring against Rocky Marciano, who had beat Jersey Joe Walcott to win the Heavyweight Championship.
Almost 50,000 fans are present at Yankee Stadium on June 17, 1954 to see Rocky Marciano, a 7 to 2 favorite, make his third defense. The referee is Ruby Goldstein. Your radio blow-by-blow man is, of course, the great Don Dunphy. Bill Corum, well known sports columnist of the New York Journal American, is your ringside analyst.
Rocky Marciano's first title defense against Ezzard Charles was his second bout in Yankee Stadium. The Rock had knocked out Harry Matthews in two rounds to clinch his shot at Jersey Joe Walcott's world heavyweight title in 1952.
Aside from Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles was probably the best boxer Rocky ever fought.
After the fight, referee Ruby Goldstein said he did not have to say “Break” at any time during the bout, although he had to pry the men apart twice in the later rounds. Remarkable, especially when one considers how Marciano liked to fight in close. Everyone got his money's worth from this one!
About PRIME TIME BOXING
Programming that cannot be duplicated or found anywhere else, PRIME TIME BOXING features the legendary Don Dunphy, the all-time most dynamic and knowledgeable boxing commentator describing the most exciting and memorable fights of Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson and all the other great champions.
Through the incredible magic of the original radio broadcasts listeners will be able to "see" the fights for the first time - in the theater of their mind! A magical replay of exciting sports history presented on audio CD, PRIME TIME BOXING includes the greatest fights ever, including many that have never been filmed or broadcast on TV.
Customer Reviews:
A Little Disapointing........2007-07-28
The original broadcast was continually interrupted by messages from the current producer. All rounds of the fight were not included. None of this was mentioned in the advertising of the product. The original material was excellent of course, just as I remember it.
Average customer rating:
- Winner and still Heavyweight Champion of the World...
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Rocky: the story of a champion
Bill Libby
Manufacturer: Messner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General
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| Books
ASIN: 0671323717 |
Customer Reviews:
Winner and still Heavyweight Champion of the World..........1999-02-22
The biography of the greatest boxer of all time. A great book from start to finish. This documents the story of the Raging Bull, from Rocco Marchegiano to Undeafeated Heavyweight Champion. A must read for anybody who likes the Brockton Blockbuster or anybody who likes boxing.
Book Description
A.J. Liebling's classic New Yorker pieces on the "sweet science of bruising" bring vividly to life the boxing world as it once was. It depicts the great events of boxing's American heyday: Sugar Ray Robinson's dramatic comeback, Rocky Marciano's rise to prominence, Joe Louis's unfortunate decline. Liebling never fails to find the human story behind the fight, and he evokes the atmosphere in the arena as distinctly as he does the goings-on in the ring--a combination that prompted Sports Illustrated to name The Sweet Science the best American sports book of all time.
Customer Reviews:
Cut-rate Mencken but still entertaining..........2007-09-02
If you like boxing and reading, then you are truly a rara avis. But if you do happen to belong to such a tiny cohort, then this book should provide a couple hours' entertainment.
Liebling tries too hard to emulate H.L. Mencken's style, and he doesn't have the chops for it...but, at the same time, he knows how to describe the action inside the ring. (Not as well as Jack London, but well enough.) At all times, you sense the depth of his love for boxing.
Another reason to recommend this book is that Joyce Carol Oates thinks Liebling was a racist. (I know, I know...who the hell is Joyce Carol Oates?) If you read the book, you'll discover that he wasn't...and a few more things besides.
Rest In Peace;Floyd...........2006-06-01
The late,great Floyd Patterson,who became the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it,is as good a reason as any to name a book about boxing,'The Sweet Science'.In this particular case,'A.J. Liebling's masterpiece about boxing(mostly
in the fifties)was voted the best sports book ever, by Sports Illustrated.The incredibly colorful characters Liebling focuses on would be hard to beat by any writer in any field,even if he may not have gotten all of it right.For example,he seems to actually get along with Rocky Marciano's manager,Al Weill,even though evidence elsewhere suggests that Rocky may have retired to get away from him.And I think he resorted to cliche in describing Irish Billy Graham as as "good as a fighter can be without being a hell of a fighter"(p.250);Graham is a Hall of Famer who was robbed in a welterweight title fight against Kid Gavilan-and my (Jewish) uncle idolized him.But Liebling,who wrote on "serious subjects" for 'The New Yorker'and was an award winning war reporter, attended the first fight ever held in Yankee Stadium in 1923-and remained optimistic about the future through the lens of boxing,concludes,"I reflected with satisfaction that old Ahab(Archie)Moore could have whipped all four principals on that card within 15 rounds,and that while (Jack)Dempsey may have been a great champion,he had less to beat than Marciano.I felt the satisfaction because it proved that the world isn't going backward,if you can just stay young enough to remember what it was rewally like when you were really young."
Great Stuff!.......2006-05-13
I've been searching for this book for years. I'm from Brockton, MA and I certainly appreciate great boxing prose. The new intro really adds nothing to the book and Mr.Anasi even gets Ezzard Charles' name wrong--calls him "Ezra" in the intro--which also indicates poor editing. Leibling gives you the total world of a great fight--not just whats going on in the ring but the world surrounding the fight. Very real, often funny, thoroughly engaging. I want to read more of his stuff.
Boxing as culture.......2006-03-18
When asked which is the best book on boxing ever written, anyone with any inclination towards the literary side of The Manly Art will instinctively site Liebling's classic collection of essays written in the early '50s collected in this volume. On the evidence here, I cannot dispute the consensus. Liebling gives you not a history or a list of profiles of boxers but an entire world and a culture. He captures the feel of going to a boxing match in the early '50s, the crowds, the managers, the trainers and assorted characters. The best thing you can say about a piece of literature is that it places you in the action, you can physically feel that you are there and present. I have read no other book on Boxing that accurately captures this the way Liebling does in The Sweet Science. He's also an accomplished and erudite writer, a highly cultured man who brings that cultural sensitvity to something often considered, by those ignorant of these things, to be base and low-brow.
The fighters themselves - Marciano, Moore, Sadler, Robinson, Patterson, Farr - come across less as legends and more as contemporary sportsmen. It seems incredible to me that once upon a time you could just buy a ticket and stroll into the Marciano-Moore fight! For me, that fight and many others was the stuff of mythology and yet Liebling succeeds in making it real and tangible.
Final note: anyone who after reading this feels an uncontrollable lust to acquire Pierce Egan's Boxiana volumes will be enthralled to know that there is a company in Canada, Nicol Island Publishing, who have published at least three of the total of five volumes. Unfortunately, Amazon does not seem to sell any of them.
Great Sports Writing.......2006-02-17
Even if you have limited interest in boxing, as do I, Liebling's book is valuable for it's clarity, brilliant character studies and evocation of the dusty corners of an America a short time gone, but a long time past. Fights come alive between real people who seem distracted and confused as often as competitive and driven. The steady but laconic approach of Marciano contrasts with the skilled but overmatched class of Archie Moore. Fights are watched by roomfuls of men smoking and wearing snap brim hats. There is no media aside from Liebling, the ultimate insider, comparing what he sees to his favorite reportage of English fights from the prior century.
I would read more from the same author. This is stylish writing, great sports journalism and an invitation to post-war American boxing. I would rank this with the best of Angell on baseball.
Books:
- Journey to the High Southwest, 7th: A Traveler's Guide to Santa Fe and the Four Corners of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah
- Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig
- Major League Baseball Players of 1916: A Biographical Dictionary
- Making Indian Bows and Arrows, The Old Way
- Marked
- Men's Health: The Book of Muscle--The World's Most Authoritative Guide to Building Your Body
- Mia Hamm: On the Field with... (Matt Christopher Sports Biographies)
- Mixed: My Life in Black and White
- My Life in and out of the Rough: The Truth Behind All That Bull**** You Think You Know About Me
- My Turn at Bat: The Story of My Life (Fireside Sports Classics)
Books Index
Books Home
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Joe Louis Vs. Max Schmeling
Tony Zale vs. Rocky Graziano
Rocky Marciano vs. Ezzard Charles
Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay
Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jake Lamotta IV
