Sammy Luftspring (May 14, 1916 – September 27, 2000) was a

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

Canadian boxer. A former Canadian Welterweight Champion and highly ranked in the Welterweight class during his career, Luftspring was forced to retire from the sport due to an eye injury. He was inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

in 1985, and the

Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...

in 1996.

Early career

Luftspring was born in May 1916 to Jewish parents of Polish descent and raised in St. John's Ward, a low class residential area of Toronto that was home to both Jewish and Italian immigrants. His father attempted to make a living as a bootlegger prior to prohibition, and the family struggled to raise six children under difficult circumstances. Luftspring began his boxing career in 1932 out of Brunswick Talmud Torah, a local Toronto Jewish community and recreational centre. Throughout his career, he wore a

Magen David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decor ...

on his trunks. Over the next four years, he fought 105 times (attaining a record of 100–5) and captured

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves of America is an organization that promotes annual competitions of amateur boxing in the United States, in which winners are awarded a belt and a ring, and the title of national champion. The organization currently owns 30 fr ...

Tournaments in various weight classes ranging from

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

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 ...

. By 1933, he was the

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

amateur

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 ...

champion and regarded as one of the best amateur boxing talents. In 1933, he was involved in the infamous Toronto Christie Pits riot. A wild street brawl first broke out at

Christie Pits Christie Pits (officially Willowvale Park until 1983) is a public recreational area in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 750 Bloor Street West at Christie Street, just west of the Toronto Transit Commission's Christie subway station. T ...

Park following tensions that occurred during a series of amateur softball games between two rival teams. The riot continued for six hours, and eventually attracted 10,000 locals, mostly spectators. The initial antagonists were a group of young Jewish and Italian men on a local team who started a fight when a Gang unfurled a Swastika, a symbol that had been displayed the previous day and on other occasions by the local

Swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

Club, a group of Canadian Nazi sympathizers.

1936 Berlin Olympics boycott

Luftspring was named to Canada's Olympic team for the

1936 Berlin Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. At the encouragement of his parents, he refused to attend the Games in protest over the poor treatment Jews were receiving in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. He made his views on the subject public in a letter to the ''

Toronto Globe ''The Globe'' was a Canadian newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, founded in 1844 by George Brown as a Reform voice. It merged with ''The Mail and Empire'' in 1936 to form ''The Globe and Mail''. History ''The Globe'' is pre-dated by a title of the s ...

''. In the letter, he protested that "the German government was treating its Jewish brothers and sisters worse than dogs". He even went as far as to say that "the German government would exterminate Jews if they had the opportunity". Luftspring and another boxer, Norman "Baby" Yack, attempted to participate in an alternate event being hosted that summer, the People's Olympics in

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...

. The

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

broke out prior to the Games' opening ceremonies. The event caused the cancellation of the People's Olympics. By the time Luftspring found out about the cancellation, he had already reached

Dieppe, France Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

. Luftspring, disappointed at not having a chance to compete, returned to Toronto.

Professional career

Luftspring began to box professionally in the fall of 1936. A year later, he fought Gordon Wallace for the Canadian welterweight championship. He lost to Wallace in a 10-round decision at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. He married his wife Elsie in 1938 at Toronto's McCaul Street synagogue.

Canadian Welterweight Champion

In 1938, Luftspring knocked out Frank Genovese before a Toronto crowd of 10,000 in the 13th of 15 rounds to win the Canadian welterweight championship. Genovese was down at least three times in the final rounds for counts of 9. The fight was his first in Canada under the management of French-American Al Weill, who had managed the exceptional welterweight

Lou Ambers Luigi Giuseppe d'Ambrosio (November 9, 1913 – April 25, 1995), lalso known as Lou Ambers, was an United States, American two-time list of undisputed world boxing champions#Lightweight, Undisputed World Lightweight boxing champion who fought fro ...

. Genovese and Luftspring's rivalry was extremely competitive and one of the dominant story lines of Toronto boxing in the late 1930s. That same year, he was ranked as the third best welterweight boxer in the world. He was subsequently offered a chance to fight 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 ...

in 1940. Luftspring lost to Greek American boxer Steve Makamos, a Middleweight contender, on February 14, 1940, in a ten-round split decision in Toronto. Makamos led in the early fighting, and a late rally by Luftspring in the closing rounds was not enough to gain the decision. In a fight at New York's Bronx Colliseum on May 27, 1940, against Steve Belloise, Luftspring received an eye injury in the fourth round from a looping right punch that unintentionally caught his left eye with the thumb of the glove. The medical diagnosis was a

detached retina Retinal detachment is a condition where the retina pulls away from the tissue underneath it. It may start in a small area, but without quick treatment, it can spread across the entire retina, leading to serious vision loss and possibly blindness. R ...

, an inoperable condition, that resulted in nearly complete loss of vision. The fight was intended to be a tune up for a potential championship bout against Armstrong. The injury forced Luftspring to quit boxing and ended his contention for the world welterweight title. Details of his career record are unclear. Different reports have him winning 50 of either 55 or 56 pro bouts. More detailed records list him as 32–8 with 14 knockouts.

Life after boxing

Luftspring struggled to establish himself immediately after boxing. He became a taxicab driver and then a representative for a liquor company.
He began refereeing on occasion at the end of his boxing career, and within five years finally established himself as a respected Toronto referee who would eventually oversee 2,000 bouts. Some of the prominent and memorable fights he refereed between 1941 and 1984 include: * September 15, 1958 – The Canadian heavyweight title match between George Chuvalo and James J. Parker at

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

. * October 1, 1965 – The WBA

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 ...

title match between George Chuvalo and

Ernie Terrell Ernest Terrell (April 4, 1939 – December 16, 2014) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1957 to 1973. He held the World Boxing Association's heavyweight title from 1965 to 1967, and was one of the tallest heavyweights of his era ...

at Maple Leaf Gardens. * January 27, 1970 – A bout between Humberto Trottman and Clyde Gray at Royal York Hotel in which an upset Trottman, thinking Luftspring was interfering with his style, took a swing at him. Luftspring responded with a bare-knuckle left

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

off the side of Trottman's head, forcing Trottman's manager to race into the ring and intervene. Nearing the end of his prolific refereeing career around 1981, he began work as a boxing judge though 1991, judging nearly 100 bouts. Luftspring, along with three partners, Harry Eckler of the baseball hall of fame, Joe Krol of the football hall of fame and their friend Lou Cadsby, opened the Mercury Club in 1948, a dining establishment on

Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...

, near

Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District, Toronto, Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Economy of Canada, Canada's financial services indust ...

, in Toronto. It was a successful club, which featured popular performers such as

Henny Youngman Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was an English-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the "one-line joke, one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please". In a time when many ...

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...

and

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

. Luftspring helped to host and operate the club, which had its peak years in the 1950s and 1960s, while simultaneously working as a referee. He subsequently ran other nightclubs such as the Tropicana. After a lengthy illness, Luftspring died at Toronto East General hospital on September 27, 2000. He was buried at the Interment Slipia Synagogue Section of Dawes Road Cemetery in Toronto."Luftspring Dies", ''Calgary Herald'', Calgary, Alberta, Canada, pg. 80, 29 September 2000

Career highlights

*1933 – Ontario Amateur Lightweight Boxing Champion *1936 – Named to the Canadian Olympic Boxing Team (Elected not to compete) *1938 – Canadian Welterweight Boxing Champion *1985 – Inducted into

Selected fights

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 4 Wins, 3 Losses , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent(s) , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Duration , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , - , Win , Frankie Genovese , Jan 5, 1937 , Toronto , 10 Round TKO , , - , Win , Johnny Jadick , Feb 3, 1937 , Toronto , 8 Round UD , Former Jr. Welter Champ , - , Loss , Gordon Wallace , Apr 2, 1937 , Toronto , 10 Rounds , For Canad. Welter Title , - , Loss , Frankie Genovese , Apr 30, 1937 , Toronto , 10 Rounds , Non-title , - , Win , Frankie Genovese , Oct 3, 1938 , Toronto , 13 Round TKO , Won Canad. Welter Title , - , Win , Steve Makamos , Feb 19, 1940 , Toronto , 10 Rounds SD , , - , Loss , Steve Belloise , May 27, 1940 , Bronx, NY , 8 Rounds , Eye injury ended career

Autobiography

* ''Call Me Sammy'' – Sammy Luftspring with Brian Swarbrick,

Prentice-Hall Prentice Hall was a major American educational publisher. It published print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market. It was an independent company throughout the bulk of the twentieth century. In its last few years it ...

Canada Ltd., 1975—

References

External links

*
BoxRec Referee Profile

Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luftspring, Sammy 1916 births 2000 deaths Jewish Canadian sportspeople Jewish boxers Boxers from Toronto Canadian male boxers Welterweight boxers 20th-century Canadian sportsmen