Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967) was an American professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In his time, he was known as the Pride of the Ghetto.

Early life

Dov-Ber (or Beryl) Rosofsky was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Isidore "Itchik" Rosofsky and Sarah Epstein Rosofsky. His father was a

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic scholar who had emigrated to America from his native

Brest-Litovsk Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the admini ...

after barely surviving a

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

. The family then moved from New York to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Isidore became a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

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

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish teacher and a

ic 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 Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; March 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Born in Chicago, R ...

), developing into a street brawler, thief and money runner; he was even employed by

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

. Dov's goal was to earn enough money to buy a home so that he could reunite his family. He saw boxing as that vehicle and began training with his friend Ruby.

Boxing career

After winning amateur bouts, Dov would pawn the awards—like watches—and set the money aside for his family. There is speculation that Capone bought up tickets to his early fights, knowing some of that money would be funneled to Dov. 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. Strong, fast and possessed of a powerful will, Ross was soon an

Intercity Golden Gloves The Intercity Golden Gloves was an amateur boxing tournament held from 1928-1961 and is considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the three most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Chicago Golden Gloves and the New York Golden Gloves ...

and

Chicago Golden Gloves The Chicago Golden Gloves is an amateur boxing tournament, considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the three most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Intercity Golden Gloves and the New York Golden Gloves. The tournament is also mor ...

champion in 1929 at the age of 19 and went on to dominate the lighter divisions as a pro. At a time—the late 1920s and '30s—when rising Nazi leader

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

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 is unique in boxing as one of its few triple division champions—

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

and

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

. 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 James Archibald McLarnin (19 December 1907 – 28 October 2004) was an Irish people, Irish professional boxer who became a two-time list of undisputed world boxing champions#Welterweight, Undisputed Welterweight World Champion and an Internatio ...

and

Tony Canzoneri Tony Canzoneri (November 6, 1908 – December 9, 1959) was an American professional boxer. A three-division world champion, he held a total of five world titles. Canzoneri is a member of the exclusive group of boxing world champions who have won ...

in epic battles that drew crowds of more than 50,000. His first paid fight was on September 1, 1929, when he beat Ramon Lugo by a decision in six rounds. After ten wins in a row, he lost for the first time, to Carlos García, on a decision in ten. Over the next 35 bouts, his record was 32–1–2, including a win over former world champion

Battling Battalino Christopher Battaglia (February 18, 1908 – July 25, 1977) better known as Battling Battalino, was an American Undisputed Featherweight boxing champion. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Battalino engaged in 88 bouts during his career, of which he ...

and one over Babe Ruth (not the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player). Another bout included former world champion Cameron Welter. 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

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 two more wins, including a

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

in six rounds over Johnny Farr, Ross and Canzoneri boxed again, with Ross winning again by decision, but this time in 15. Ross was known as a smart fighter with great stamina. He retained his title by decision against Sammy Fuller to finish 1933 and against Peter Nebo to begin 1934. Then he defended against former world champion Frankie Klick, against whom he drew in ten. Then came the first of three bouts versus

. Ross vacated the light welterweight title to go after McLarnin's welterweight title and won by a 15-round decision, his third world championship. However, in a rematch a few weeks later, McLarnin beat Ross by a decision and recovered the title. After that, Ross went back down to light welterweight and reclaimed his title with a 12-round decision over Bobby Pacho. After beating Klick and Henry Woods by decision to retain that title, he went back up in weight for his third and last fight with McLarnin; he recovered the welterweight title by outpointing McLarnin again over 15 rounds. He won 16 bouts in a row after that, including three over future world

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

champion Ceferino Garcia and one against Al Manfredo. His only two defenses, however, over that stretch were against Garcia and against Izzy Jannazzo, on points in 15 rounds. In his last fight, Ross defended his title on May 31, 1938, against fellow three-division world champion

Henry Armstrong Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 22, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. He is the only fighter to ever hold world championships in three divisions (fea ...

, who beat him by a decision in 15. Although Armstrong pounded Ross inexorably and his trainers begged him to let them stop the fight, Ross refused to stop or go down. Barney 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. Ross retired with a record of 72 wins, 4 losses, 3 draws and two no decisions (Newspaper Decisions: 2–0–0), with 22 wins by knockout. He was ranked #21 on ''Ring Magazine''s list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years.

World War II

In retirement in his early thirties, Ross enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

in April 1942 to fight in World War II. The Marines wanted to keep him stateside and use his celebrity status to boost morale. Most of the athletes of the era, like

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

champion

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. One of the most iconic athl ...

, 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 anti-Semitic remark. He was to be court martialed at

Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (MCRD San Diego) is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to San Diego International Airport and the former N ...

. 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. He served with B Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines during the

Battle of Guadalcanal The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific Theater of W ...

in the South Pacific. One night, he and three other comrades were trapped under enemy fire. All four were wounded; Ross was the only one able to fight. Ross gathered his comrades' rifles and grenades and single-handedly fought nearly two dozen

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

soldiers over an entire night, killing them all by morning. Two of the Marines died, but he carried the third on his shoulders to safety; the other man weighed 230 lb (104 kg) compared to Ross' 140 lb (64 kg). Ross was awarded America's third highest military honor, the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

, as well as a Presidential Citation. As one of America's greatest "celebrity" war heroes, he was honored by President Roosevelt in a

Rose Garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped ...

ceremony. He was also awarded the Edward J. Neil Trophy as "the outstanding boxer of 1942" by the Boxing Writers Association of New York. During his time in Guadalcanal, Ross began a lifelong friendship with the Catholic priest Frederic Gehring, a wartime chaplain who wrote regular correspondences for ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' magazine. Gehring considered Ross a national treasure who defied logic when it came to bravery and the defense of principle. Ross was the only person on Guadacanal capable of playing the temperamental pipe organ kept there. On Christmas Eve, before he and his fellow Marines were to go into battle, Gehring asked Ross to learn "

Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educati ...

" and other Christmas songs for the troops. After Ross had played them, Gehring asked him to play a Jewish song. Ross played " My Yiddishe Momma," about a child's love for his self-sacrificing mother. Many of the Marines knew the melody of the song from Ross's boxing days, when it was played when he entered the ring. When the Marines heard Ross play the song, newspaper reports say, they were all in tears.

Drug addiction and recovery

During his recovery at the hospital from his wounds suffered at Guadalcanal, Ross developed a dependency on the

morphine Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...

he was administered for pain. Back in the states, the morphine was replaced with street heroin. His drug habit became so severe that he would sometimes spend $500 a day on the drug. Ross went to a recovery center and overcame his addiction. He gave lectures to high school students about the dangers of drug addiction. His struggle against morphine addiction is the subject of the 1957 film '' Monkey on My Back''.

Final days

Ross spent his last days using his celebrity status in promotional work for casinos and other businesses. He remained with his second wife, Cathy Howlett, although they never had children. He was happy he reached the two goals he had set: reunite his family and become a world champion in boxing. He wrote an autobiography titled ''No Man Stands Alone''. In Sport Life's July 1951 edition, the author pointed out to readers to be aware of tricksters impersonating sport personalities to gain gifts and freebies. The magazine closed the article by highlighting how Ross had walked into a restaurant, where a faker was impersonating Jackie "Kid" Berg and was surrounded by admirers. "So you're Jackie Kid Berg?" the inwardly boiling Ross inquired as he approached the 200 pounder. "Sure" the faker responded. Ross then threw a right hand punch and flattened the phony. "If you were really Jackie Kid Berg, you could have easily taken that punch without going down!" He also remained loyal to his friend

and testified as a character witness on Ruby's behalf at his trial for killing

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...

, who was under arrest for the shooting death of Dallas patrolman, J.D. Tippit. Ross died in his hometown Chicago of

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

at the age of 57. His relatives include Yuri Rasovsky, Solomon Rosowsky and Baruch Leib Rosowsky.

Honors

Ross was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

, the World Boxing Hall of Fame, the

Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Hawthorne Race Course, in Stickney/Cicero, near Chicago, honors sports greats associated with the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded in 1979 as a trailer owned by the Olympia Brewing Compa ...

, the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (IJSHOF) () is the international hall of fame for Jewish athletes and special contributors to the world of sport. The purpose of the IJSHOF is to honor Jewish individuals, worldwide, who have accompli ...

and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. He was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2006. The

Aleph Zadik Aleph The Grand Order of the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA or ) is an international youth-led fraternal organization for Jewish teenagers. It was founded in 1924 as the male wing of BBYO Inc., an independent non-profit organization. It is for teens starting i ...

chapter located in Chicago's south suburbs (primarily in

Flossmoor Flossmoor () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,704 at the 2020 census. Flossmoor is approximately south of the Chicago Loop. It is closely tied to neighboring Homewood, sharing a high school and park dis ...

, Homewood, and

Olympia Fields Olympia Fields is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,718 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a southern suburb of Chicago. The municipality grew up around the prestigious Olympia Fields Coun ...

), is named in his honor.

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from

BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...

, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All

newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a " no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club ...

s are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of

s in the win/loss/draw column.

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

NYSAC The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

champion (135 lbs) * NBA (WBA) lightweight champion (135 lbs) * World light welterweight champion (140 lbs) * NYSAC

champion (147 lbs) (2×) * NBA (WBA) welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)

''The Ring'' magazine titles

* ''The Ring'' lightweight champion (135 lbs) * ''The Ring'' welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)

Undisputed titles

* Undisputed lightweight champion * Undisputed welterweight champion (2×)

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - , -

Jewish Virtual Library

book opinion *John Burke, "Triple titleholder tells how he won toughest fight",

New Orleans Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...

, August 13, 2006, p. D2.
Barney Ross Biography at J-Grit
J-Grit: The Internet Index of Tough Jews *https://fieretlibre.com/2019/03/26/barney-ross-boxeur-juif-et-heros-de-guerre/ * https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1933 * https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1935 * https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1936 * https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1937 * https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1938 *https://titlehistories.com/boxing/na/usa/ny/nysac-l.html * https://titlehistories.com/boxing/na/usa/ny/nysac-wl.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Barney 1909 births 1967 deaths American male boxers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Boxers from Chicago Deaths from throat cancer in the United States International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Jewish American boxers Jewish American military personnel Jews from New York (state) Recipients of the Silver Star United States Marines Welterweight boxers World lightweight boxing champions World light-welterweight boxing champions World boxing champions Boxers from New York City 20th-century American Jews Military personnel from Chicago International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees