Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 18, 1967) was an American professional boxer. Ross held world championships in three weight divisions from lightweight to welterweight, and was a decorated veteran of World War II. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 1990. In 2007, ESPN ranked him the 22nd greatest boxer of all time. In his time, he was known as the Pride of the Ghetto.
Initially known locally as a brawler, Ross joined a local gang as a teenager, running errands with Jack Ruby (who would later become world-famous for murdering Lee Harvey Oswald) for mobster Al Capone.
Ross later rose to prominence after turning professional in boxing, becoming only the third fighter in history to capture world titles in three weight divisions, the first in the "Queensberry Rules era" to win championships in two weight classes simultaneously, and is believed by some to be the first simultaneous three-division world champion. He was named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year in 1934 and 1935, and received the Edward J. Neil Trophy from the Boxing Writers Association in 1942. In his 81-fight professional career, Ross was never knocked out.
Following his boxing career, Ross joined the United States Marine Corps during World War II. While wounded during a night patrol, Ross single-handedly held off a Japanese attack, killing 22 soldiers and saving a fellow Marine. For his bravery, Ross was awarded a Silver Star, Purple Heart, and a Presidential Unit Citation, among others.
Early life Dov-Ber (or Beryl)The Yiddish name דוב-בער Dov-Ber literally means "bear-bear", traceable back to the Hebrew word דב dov "bear" and the German word Bär "bear". See p. 130 of Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003), Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew. Palgrave Macmillan. / . It is thus an example of a bilingual tautological name. Rosofsky was born in New York City to Isidore "Itchik" Rosofsky and Sarah Epstein Rosofsky. His father was a Talmudic scholar who had emigrated to America from his native Brest-Litovsk after barely surviving a pogrom. The family then moved from New York to Chicago. Isidore became a rabbi and owner of a small vegetable shop in Chicago's Maxwell Street neighborhood, a vibrant Jewish ghetto akin to the New York's Lower East Side of the 1920s and '30s. Dov-Ber was being raised to follow in his footsteps.
The young Rasofsky grew up on Chicago's mean streets, ultimately ignoring his father's desire for him to become a rabbi and his admonition that Jews do not resort to violence. Let the goyim be the fighters, Ross later recalled being told by his father. The trombeniks, the murderers—we are the scholars. Ross's ambition in life was to become a Jewish teacher and a Talmudic scholar, but his life was changed forever when his father was shot dead resisting a robbery at his small grocery. Prostrate from grief, his mother Sarah suffered a nervous breakdown and his younger siblings—Ida, Sam and George—were placed in an orphanage or farmed out to other members of the extended family. Dov was left to his own devices at the age of 14.
As recounted in Barney Ross: The Life of a Jewish Fighter, by Ross biographer Douglas Century, in the wake of the tragedy, Dov became vindictive towards everything and turned his back on the orthodox religion of his father. He began running around with local toughs (including another wayward Jewish ghetto kid, the future Jack Ruby), developing into a street brawler, thief and money runner; he was even employed by Al Capone. Ross's goal was to earn enough money to buy a home so that he could reunite his family. He continued his friendship with Ruby into adulthood, testifying as a character witness during Ruby's trial in 1964.
Boxing career
Amateur career After competing in around 250 amateur bouts, Ross would pawn his awards—such as watches—and set the money aside for his family. Al Capone occasionally bought every seat for Ross's early amateur fights at Chicago's Kit Howard Gymnasium and gave the tickets away to his supporters. Plagued by his father's death and feeling an obligation not to sully his name, Dov Rosofsky took the new name "Barney Ross." The name change was also part of a larger trend by Jews to assimilate in the U.S. by taking American-sounding names.
Known for his relentless pace, sharp footwork, resilience, and precise combination punching, Ross became an Intercity Golden Gloves and Chicago Golden Gloves champion in 1929 at the age of 19. He would later become the first Golden Gloves champion to ever win a world championship.
Professional career Background At a time—the late 1920s and '30s—when Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was using propaganda to spread his virulently anti-Jewish philosophy, Ross was seen by American Jews as one of their greatest advocates. He represented the concept of Jews finally fighting back. Idolized and respected by all Americans, Ross showed that Jews could thrive in their new country. He made his stand against Hitler and Nazi Germany a public one. He knew that by winning boxing matches, he was displaying a new kind of strength for Jews. He also understood that Americans loved their sports heroes and if Jews wanted to be embraced in the U.S. they would have to assume such places in society. Though Ross had lost faith in religion, he openly embraced his role as a leader of his people.
Ross was unique in the world of boxing as one of its few triple division champions—lightweight, light welterweight and welterweight. He was never knocked out in 81 fights and held his title against some of the best competition in the history of the sport. Ross defeated great Hall of Fame champions like Jimmy McLarnin and Tony Canzoneri in matches that drew crowds of up to 65,000.
Early career Ross's first paid fight was on September 1, 1929, when he defeated Ramon Lugo by decision over six rounds. After winning his first ten fights, Ross suffered his first loss, a six-round decision to Carlos Garcia.
Over his next 36 bouts, Ross compiled a record of 33–1–2, recording wins over Babe Ruth (not the baseball player), former world featherweight champion Battling Battalino, Tommy Grogan, who outweighed Ross by seven pounds and was knocked down three times, and veteran title contender Billy Petrolle. Ross had also knocked out Petrolle's younger brother, Frankie, in the second round six months earlier.
World Champion On March 26, 1933, Ross had his first world title bout when he faced world lightweight and light welterweight champion and fellow three-division world champion Tony Canzoneri in Chicago. In one night, Ross became a two-division world champion when he beat Canzoneri by decision in ten rounds. Ross also campaigned heavily in the city of Chicago prior to the fight. After knocking out Johnny Farr in six rounds, Ross faced Canzoneri again, defeating him by decision for a second time, this time over 15 rounds.
Ross retained his title by decision against Sammy Fuller to finish 1933 and against Peter Nebo to begin 1934, with an impressive second victory over Billy Petrolle in a non-title bout in between. He next defended the title against former world champion Frankie Klick, with the bout ending in a draw.
After repeatedly calling out welterweight champion Jimmy McLarnin, Ross finally faced him in the first of their three bouts. Ross defeated McLarnin by decision to capture the welterweight title, becoming a three-division world champion and the first lightweight champion in history to also win the welterweight championship. The bout was later retroactively named The Ring magazine's Fight of the Year for 1934. McLarnin regained the title by decision in a rematch a few weeks later. Ross then returned to light welterweight, retaining his title with a 12-round decision over Bobby Pacho in their second meeting. After retaining the title with decision victories over Klick and Henry Woods, he moved back up to welterweight for his third and final bout with McLarnin, regaining the title by unanimous decision over 15 rounds.
Ross won 16 bouts in a row after that, including three over future world middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia and one against Al Manfredo. His only two defenses during that stretch, however, came against Garcia and against Izzy Jannazzo, both of whom he defeated by unanimous decision over 15 rounds.
Final bout and retirement In his final fight, Ross defended his title against fellow three-division world champion Henry Armstrong on May 31, 1938, losing by 15-round decision. Although Armstrong pounded Ross inexorably and his trainers begged him to let them stop the fight, he refused to stop or go down. Ross had never been knocked out in his career and was determined to leave the ring on his feet. Some boxing experts view Ross's performance against Armstrong as one of the most courageous in history. Some believe that Ross's will to survive every tough fight on his feet had to do with his understanding of his symbolic importance to Jews. That is, Jews would not only fight back, but they would not go down.
Following the fight, Ross announced his retirement in his dressing room, stating, "I was beaten by a better fighter." He retired with a professional record of 74–4–3, including 22 knockout victories.
World War II
In retirement in his early thirties, Ross enlisted as a private in the United States Marine Corps on April 21, 1942, to fight in World War II. He trained at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in California, where he received a medal for efficiency two weeks after beginning training. Ross also served as an instructor in a boot camp course on self-defense, demonstrating fighting techniques to assembled platoons around a raised ring. The Marines wanted to keep him stateside and use his celebrity status to boost morale. Most of the athletes of the era, like heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, had ceremonial roles in the military, but Ross insisted on fighting for his country.
Before he was to go overseas, Ross physically assaulted a non-commissioned officer who had made an antisemitic remark. He was to be court martialed at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. The other board members wanted to throw the book at Ross, but Captain Berthol E. Davis, who was also Jewish and knew of Ross's achievements, convinced the rest of the board to allow Ross to go overseas and avoid punishment. So, he was sent to the Pacific Theater.
Ross served with B Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines during the Battle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. On November 19, 1942, his unit crossed the Matanikau River to provide flank security for the advancing 182nd Infantry Regiment and was ambushed by Japanese forces while waiting for the Army to advance. Suffering from malaria, he and three comrades were pinned down under heavy enemy fire in a shell hole. All four were wounded; Ross was the only one able to continue fighting. He gathered his comrades' rifles and grenades and, over the course of the night, threw 21 hand grenades and fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition, single-handedly fighting nearly two dozen Japanese soldiers and killing them all by morning. After the action, his helmet was found to be dented by 30 pieces of shrapnel. Two of the Marines were killed, but Ross carried the third on his shoulders to safety, despite the man weighing 230 lb (104 kg) compared to Ross' 140 lb (64 kg). Ross emerged from the fighting with minor shrapnel wounds and shell shock, later recalling, "For 10 days I had a complete loss of memory from the pounding of the mortars. I couldn’t even remember my name. I imagine it was like being knocked out." He was subsequently promoted to corporal and recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross.