Murderers' Row refers to a group of middleweight boxing contenders in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

competing in the 1940s, primarily of a Black American background. Renowned for their toughness and great boxing ability, they were feared throughout the boxing world and never received a shot at the world title. According to boxing pundit Jim Murray, they were “the most exclusive men’s club the ring has ever known. They were so good and so feared that they had to have their own tournament”.Murderers' Row by Springs Toledo, http://www.SpringsToledo.com Fighters recognized under the Murderers’ Row banner include

Charley Burley Charley Burley (September 6, 1917 – October 16, 1992) was an American boxer who fought as a welterweight and middleweight from 1936 to 1950. Archie Moore, the light-heavyweight champion who was defeated by Burley in a 1944 middleweight bout, wa ...

Lloyd Marshall Lloyd Marshall (June 4, 1914 – August 4, 1997) was an American light heavyweight boxer who competed from 1936 to 1951. Although he never fought for a world title, Marshall was a skilled fighter who faced tough opposition throughout his career ( ...

, Holman Williams, Herbert "Cocoa Kid" Lewis Hardwick, Jack Chase,

Eddie Booker Hilton Edward Booker (November 5, 1917 – January 26, 1975) was an American boxer who was active during the 1930s and 1940s. Booker was one of the famous " Murderers Row" group of black boxers, along with the likes of Charley Burley, Holma ...

Aaron Wade Aaron "Little Tiger" Wade (March 17, 1916 – February 15, 1985) was an American Middleweight boxer who fought from 1935 to 1950. Wade was a member of the famed Black Murderers' Row. Early life Born in Trenton Tennessee, Wade became the fi ...

, and

Bert Lytell Bertram Mortimer Lytell (February 24, 1885 – September 28, 1954) was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films. Background Born in New York ...

. Avoided by many of the famous names of the day, the eight Murderers’ Row fighters faced each other a total of 62 times, the fights often classics and grueling contests.Charley Burley and the Black Murderers Row, Harry Otty The expression "

murderers' row Murderers' Row were the baseball teams of the New York Yankees in the late 1920s, widely considered some of the best teams in history. The nickname is particularly used for the first six hitters in the 1927 team lineup: Earle Combs, Mark Koen ...

" had been used previously to describe the batting line-up of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

baseball team in the late 1920s.The Big Apple: Murderers' Row
Barry Popik. Accessed October 29, 2007. The phrase as used in boxing was originally coined by writer

Budd Schulberg Budd Schulberg (born Seymour Wilson Schulberg; March 27, 1914 – August 5, 2009) was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his novels '' What Makes Sammy Run?'' (1941) and ''The Harder They ...

The Murderers’ Row fighters

The Murderers’ Row fights

The greatest fighter in Murderers’ Row was probably

, regarded by many in the boxing community as the most talented fighter never to compete for a world title. Fight writer Tom Archdeacon, wrote of Burley, “

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kept from title shots and ducked by many of the top fighters, he was reduced to fighting other tough - and avoided - black middleweights”. For nearly a decade Burely defeated everyone put in front of him. In the mid-1940s, world champions in

Fritzie Zivic Fritzie Zivic (May 8, 1913 – May 16, 1984), born as Ferdinand Henry John Zivcich (), was an American-Croatian boxer (famous Croatian comet) who held the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship from October 4, 1940, until July 29, 1941. His ...

, Billy Soose and the great

Archie Moore Archie Moore (born Archibald Lee Wright; December 13, 1913 – December 9, 1998) was an American professional Boxing, boxer and the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time (1952 – 1962). He had one of the longest profe ...

counted as Burley’s conquests. He was ranked in the top 10 in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions for most of the 1940s, without receiving a title shot. (Burley did hold the World Colored Welterweight and

World Colored Middleweight Championship The World Colored Middleweight Championship was a title awarded to black boxers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was the only recognized middleweight championship available to blacks prior to Tiger Flowers (5 August 1895 - ...

s.) Near the end of his career Burley took to fighting Heavyweights in a bid to find meaningful contests, including J.D. Turner and future Heavyweight champ

Ezzard Charles Ezzard Mack Charles (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1959. Known as "the Cincinnati Cobra", Charles was respected for his slick defense and precision, and is often regarded as the gre ...

. Eventually, Burley would retire after winning 83 bouts, without ever being able to meet in the ring the champions of the time, such as

Rocky Graziano Thomas Rocco Barbella (January 1, 1919 – May 22, 1990), better known as Rocky Graziano, was an American professional boxer and actor who held the World Middleweight title. Graziano is considered one of the greatest knockout artists in boxing ...

Sugar Ray Robinson Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regarde ...

and Jake LaMotta. Burley was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992. Another member,

campaigned primarily at Light Heavyweight in the 1940s. Based in California, Booker blazed a path through the division, he would be victorious in 67 bouts, only losing on 5 occasions. A physically muscular and durable fighter, he was a blend of boxing skill and formidable punching power. In his autobiography, Light Heavyweight world champion, Archie Moore, stated that Booker was one of only two boxers (the other was Burley in a 1944 bout) who beat him in his prime and rated them as the best fighters he ever faced. Booker would compete in 80 bouts without ever being stopped. Fellow International Hall of Famer, Holman Williams fought across three weight divisions. Graduating from the same Detroit gym as Joe Louis, Williams was famed for his sublime defensive skills and stylish technique. Highly respected boxing coach

Eddie Futch Eddie Futch (August 9, 1911 – October 10, 2001) was an American boxing trainer. Among the fighters he trained are Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick, four of the five men to defeat Muhammad Ali. Futch also trained Riddick ...

stated he would rather watch Williams spar than most fighters box in the ring. A popular and exciting fighter, the local New Orleans paper and Ring Magazine both reported on the large crowds that would attend Williams’ fights and that he received standing ovations for his performances. Williams would eventually compete in over 180 bouts, without ever getting a shot at the title - but the breadth of this achievement, with great success against other fighters in the Murderer's Row, has even led some to suggest him over Burley as its greatest member. (Their own series ended at 3-3 apiece, with one no-contest). Conversely, he has been noted for his lack of success, in a lengthy series with fellow Row member Herbert "Cocoa Kid" Lewis Hardwick. Fellow member Jack Chase, also known as the ‘Young Joe Louis’, was frequently in trouble with the law (he was imprisoned several times and at one point was arrested for shooting fellow Murderer’s Row fighter

, although both men later claimed the incident was an accident). The San Francisco Chronicle sports correspondent of the time, Eddie Muller, wrote that Chase moved around the ring with speed and skill “every move a picture.” It was reported that he had at least 48 bouts in the 1930s which are not included in the official record, but this has been disproven. Many of these fighters would only receive the official recognition they deserved years after their careers. Six members of Murderers’ Row have since become International or World Hall of Famers.

References

{{Reflist Boxing in the United States International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees 1940s in sports 1950s in sports 1940s in boxing 1950s in boxing 1940s in American sports 1950s in American sports