Dur­ing the first half of the twen­ti­eth cen­tu­ry, box­ing was an inte­gral part of Amer­i­can pop­u­lar cul­ture and a major spec­ta­tor sport rival­ing base­ball in pop­u­lar­i­ty. From the 1890s to the 1930s, thou­sands of young Jew­ish men sought fame and for­tune in the prize ring. 

By the late 1920s Jew­ish box­ers had become the most dom­i­nant eth­nic group with­in the sport, with 29 world cham­pi­ons and many out­stand­ing con­tenders ele­vat­ed to hero sta­tus. They were a source of inspi­ra­tion, pride, and hope to a pop­u­la­tion strug­gling to break free of pover­ty. Yet, except for a few names, they are all but for­got­ten today. Who were they? What did they accom­plish? What became of them after they hung up their gloves? Box­ing his­to­ri­an Mike Sil­ver presents a vibrant social his­to­ry in the first illus­trat­ed com­pendi­um of its kind: with 166 bio­graph­i­cal entries, over 200 his­toric pho­tos, numer­ous side­bars with fas­ci­nat­ing facts and sto­ries, and appen­dices, sta­tis­tics, and lists, Stars in the Ring is the defin­i­tive work on the his­to­ry of Jews and boxing.

Vis­it­ing Scribe: Mike Silver

In the Clear­ing Stands a (Jew­ish) Boxer

Ben­ny Leonard: The Gold­en Stan­dard for a Gold­en Age