Barney Ross

Dov-Ber (or Beryl)[2] 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 trumbeniks, 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.[3] 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. 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.

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[1][4] and Chicago Golden Gloves champion[1][5] 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 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, 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 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 and one over Babe Ruth (not the baseball 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 Tony Canzoneri in Chicago. In one night, Ross became a two-division world champion when he beat Canzoneri by decision in ten rounds.[6] Ross also campaigned heavily in the city of Chicago prior to the fight. After two more wins, including a knockout 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 Jimmy McLarnin. 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 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, 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[3] 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, four losses, three 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.

In retirement in his early thirties, Ross enlisted in the United States Marine Corps 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 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 anti-Semitic remark. He was to be court martialed at the 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.

He served with B Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines during the Battle of Guadalcanal 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 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,[1] as well as a presidential citation.[7] As one of America's greatest "celebrity" war heroes, he was honored by President Roosevelt in a Rose Garden ceremony. He was also awarded the Edward J. Neil Trophy as "the outstanding boxer of 1942" by the Boxing Writers Association of New York.[7]

During his time in Guadalcanal, Ross began a lifelong friendship with the famous Father Frederic Gehring, a wartime chaplain who wrote regular correspondences for Reader's Digest magazine. Gehring considered Ross a national treasure who defied logic when it came to bravery and the defense of principle. Ross was the only one capable of playing a temperamental organ on the tropical island. On Christmas Eve, before he and his fellow Marines were to go into battle, Gehring asked him to learn "Silent Night" and other Christmas songs for the troops. After playing them, Gehring asked Ross 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 because Ross always had it played when he entered the ring. When the Marines heard the lyrics, newspaper reports say they were all in tears.

During his recovery at the hospital from his wounds suffered in that battle, Ross developed a habit for the morphine administered for pain. Back in the states, the morphine became heroin. This habit became so bad he would sometimes spend $500 a day on the drug. Ross went to a recovery center and beat 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.

This story inspired the song 'Barney Ross', released in 2013 by the Spanish rock band Doctor Divago on their album 'Imperio'.

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.

He also remained loyal to his friend Jack Ruby and testified as a character witness on Ruby's behalf at his trial for killing Lee Harvey Oswald, who was under arrest for the shooting death of Dallas patrolman, J.D. Tippit.

Ross died in his hometown Chicago of throat cancer at the age of 57.

His relatives include Yuri Rasovsky, Solomon Rosowsky, Baruch Leib Rosowsky and Dana Sandra Wile.

Ross was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, the World Boxing Hall of Fame, the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame[8] and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.[9] He was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2006.[10]

The Aleph Zadik Aleph chapter located in Chicago's south suburbs (primarily in Flossmoor, Homewood, and Olympia Fields), is named in his honor.

All Newspaper decisions are regarded as “no decision” bouts as they have “resulted in neither boxer winning or losing, and would therefore not count as part of their official fight record."

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
81	Loss	72–4–3 (2)	Henry Armstrong	UD	15	May 31, 1938	Madison Square Garden Bowl, Long Island City, Queens	Lost NBA and The Ring welterweight titles
80	Win	72–3–3 (2)	Bobby Venner	TKO	7 (10)	Apr 25, 1938	Shrine Auditorium, Des Moines
79	Win	71–3–3 (2)	Henry Schaft	TKO	4 (10)	Apr 04, 1938	Armory, Minneapolis
78	Win	70–3–3 (2)	Ceferino Garcia	UD	15	Sep 23, 1937	Polo Grounds, New York	Retained NBA and The Ring welterweight titles
77	Win	69–3–3 (2)	Al Manfredo	NWS	10	Aug 09, 1937	Western League Baseball Park, Des Moines
76	Win	69–3–3 (1)	Jackie Burke	KO	5 (10)	Jun 27, 1937	Heinemann Park, New Orleans
75	Win	68–3–3 (1)	Chuck Woods	KO	4 (10)	Jun 17, 1937	Perry Stadium, Indianapolis
74	Win	67–3–3 (1)	Al Manfredo	PTS	10	Jan 29, 1937	Olympia Stadium, Detroit
73	Win	66–3–3 (1)	Izzy Jannazzo	UD	15	Nov 27, 1936	Madison Square Garden, New York Stadium, Washington	Retained NBA and The Ring welterweight titles
72	Win	65–3–3 (1)	Phil Furr	UD	10	Jul 22, 1936	Griffith Stadium, Washington
71	Win	64–3–3 (1)	Morrie Sherman	KO	2 (10)	Jun 22, 1936	City Auditorium, Omaha
70	Win	63–3–3 (1)	Laddie Tonielli	TKO	5 (10)	Jun 10, 1936	State Fair Park, Milwaukee
69	Win	62–3–3 (1)	Chuck Woods	TKO	5 (10)	May 1, 1936	Jefferson County Armory, Louisville
68	Win	61–3–3 (1)	Gordon Wallace	MD	10	Mar 11, 1936	Arena, Vancouver
67	Win	60–3–3 (1)	Lou Halper	TKO	8 (10)	Jan 27, 1936	Convention Hall, Philadelphia
66	Win	59–3–3 (1)	Ceferino Garcia	UD	10	Nov 29, 1935	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
65	Win	58–3–3 (1)	Ceferino Garcia	PTS	10	Sep 13, 1935	Dreamland Auditorium, San Francisco
64	Win	57–3–3 (1)	Baby Joe Gans	KO	2 (10)	Sep 06, 1935	Multnomah Stadium, Portland
63	Win	56–3–3 (1)	Jimmy McLarnin	UD	15	May 28, 1935	Civic Auditorium, Seattle	Won NBA and The Ring welterweight titles
62	Win	55–3–3 (1)	Henry Woods	UD	12	Apr 09, 1935	Civic Auditorium, Seattle	Retained world light welterweight title
61	Win	54–3–3 (1)	Frankie Klick	UD	10	Jan 28, 1935	Municipal Stadium, Miami	Retained world light welterweight title
60	Win	53–3–3 (1)	Bobby Pacho	PTS	12	Dec 10, 1934	Public Hall, Cleveland	Retained world light welterweight title
59	Loss	52–3–3 (1)	Jimmy McLarnin	SD	15	Sep 17, 1934	Madison Square Garden Bowl, Long Island City, Queens	Lost NBA and The Ring welterweight titles
58	Win	52–2–3 (1)	Jimmy McLarnin	SD	15	May 28, 1934	Madison Square Garden Bowl, Long Island City, Queens	Won NBA and The Ring welterweight titles
57	Win	51–2–3 (1)	Bobby Pacho	PTS	10	Mar 27, 1934	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
56	Win	50–2–3 (1)	Kid Moro	PTS	10	Mar 14, 1934	Auditorium, Oakland	Retained world light welterweight title
55	Draw	49–2–3 (1)	Frankie Klick	PTS	10	Mar 05, 1934	Civic Auditorium, San Francisco	Retained world light welterweight title
54	Win	49–2–2 (1)	Pete Nebo	PTS	12	Jan 24, 1934	Convention Hall, Kansas City	Retained world light welterweight title
53	Win	48–2–2 (1)	Billy Petrolle	UD	10	Jan 24, 1934	New York Coliseum, Bronx
52	Win	47–2–2 (1)	Sammy Fuller	MD	10	Nov 17, 1933	Chicago Stadium, Chicago	Retained world light welterweight title
51	Win	46–2–2 (1)	Tony Canzoneri	SD	15	Sep 12, 1933	Polo Grounds, New York	Retained NBA and The Ring lightweight titles Retained world light welterweight title
50	Win	45–2–2 (1)	Johnny Farr	TKO	6 (10)	Jul 26, 1933	Convention Hall, Kansas City	Retained world light welterweight title
49	Win	44–2–2 (1)	Tony Canzoneri	MD	10	Jun 23, 1933	Chicago Stadium, Chicago	Won NBA and The Ring lightweight titles Won world light welterweight title
48	Win	43–2–2 (1)	Joe Ghnouly	PTS	10	May 3, 1933	Arena, Saint Louis
47	Win	42–2–2 (1)	Billy Petrolle	UD	10	Mar 22, 1933	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
46	Win	41–2–2 (1)	Tommy Grogan	PTS	10	Feb 22, 1933	Washington Blvd. Auditorium, Chicago
45	Win	40–2–2 (1)	Johnny Datto	KO	2 (10)	Jan 30, 1933	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh
44	Win	39–2–2 (1)	Johnny Farr	PTS	10	Nov 25, 1932	Auditorium, Milwaukee
43	Win	38–2–2 (1)	Goldie Hess	PTS	10	Nov 11, 1932	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
42	Win	37–2–2 (1)	Battling Battalino	UD	10	Oct 21, 1932	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
41	Win	36–2–2 (1)	Frankie Petrolle	KO	2 (10)	Sep 15, 1932	Coliseum, Chicago
40	Win	35–2–2 (1)	Ray Miller	UD	10	Aug 26, 1932	Sparta Stadium, Chicago
39	Win	34–2–2 (1)	Henry Perlick	TKO	3 (8)	Jul 28, 1932	Sparta Stadium, Chicago
38	Win	33–2–2 (1)	Dick Sisk	TKO	6 (8)	May 20, 1932	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
37	Win	32–2–2 (1)	Frankie Hughes	PTS	10	Apr 05, 1932	Armory, Indianapolis
36	Win	31–2–2 (1)	Nick Ellenwood	PTS	10	Mar 02, 1932	Armory, Muncie
35	Win	30–2–2 (1)	Billy Gladstone	PTS	6	Feb 18, 1932	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
34	Win	29–2–2 (1)	Micky O'Neill	PTS	6	Feb 08, 1932	Auditorium, Milwaukee
33	Win	28–2–2 (1)	Jimmy Lundy	PTS	8	Nov 18, 1931	Convention Hall, Kansas City
32	Win	27–2–2 (1)	Young Terry	PTS	8	Nov 13, 1931	Moline Field House, Moline
31	Win	26–2–2 (1)	Lou Jallos	PTS	8	Nov 04, 1931	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
30	Win	25–2–2 (1)	Glen Gamp	PTS	10	Oct 02, 1931	Eagles Arena, Chicago
29	Win	24–2–2 (1)	Jimmy Alvarado	PTS	8	Jul 30, 1931	Navin Field, Detroit
28	Win	23–2–2 (1)	Babe Ruth	TKO	4 (10)	Jul 15, 1931	Armory, Benton Harbor
27	Win	22–2–2 (1)	Billy Shaw	PTS	8	May 13, 1931	Cicero Stadium, Cicero
26	Win	21–2–2 (1)	Jackie Dugan	KO	2 (8)	May 1, 1931	Moline Field House, Moline
25	Win	20–2–2 (1)	Lud Abella	TKO	2 (6)	Apr 24, 1931	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
24	Win	19–2–2 (1)	Midget Mike O'Dowd	PTS	8	Apr 08, 1931	Moline Field House, Moline
23	Loss	18–2–2 (1)	Roger Bernard	PTS	8	Mar 27, 1931	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
22	Win	18–1–2 (1)	Jackie Davis	PTS	6	Mar 20, 1931	Cicero Stadium, Cicero
21	Win	17–1–2 (1)	Young Terry	UD	10	Feb 20, 1931	Cicero Stadium, Cicero
20	Win	16–1–2 (1)	Henry Falegano	PTS	8	Jan 14, 1931	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
19	Draw	15–1–2 (1)	Harry Dublinsky	PTS	8	Nov 21, 1930	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
18	Win	15–1–1 (1)	Petey Mack	KO	1 (8)	Nov 06, 1930	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
17	Win	14–1–1 (1)	Sammy Binder	KO	2 (6)	Oct 14, 1930	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
16	Draw	13–1–1 (1)	Young Terry	PTS	8	Sep 19, 1930	Jones & Baumrucker Park, Chicago
15	Win	13–1 (1)	Luis Perez	KO	1 (6)	Aug 02, 1930	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
14	Win	12–1 (1)	Eddie Koppy	PTS	6	Jul 01, 1930	Michigan State Fairgrounds, Detroit
13	Win	11–1 (1)	Mickey Genaro	PTS	6	Apr 25, 1930	Coliseum, Chicago
12	Loss	10–1 (1)	Carlos Garcia	PTS	6	Apr 21, 1930	Coliseum, Chicago
11	Win	10–0 (1)	Eddie Bojack	TKO	2 (4)	Apr 08, 1930	Public Hall, Cleveland
10	Win	9–0 (1)	Jackie Davis	NWS	4	Mar 03, 1930	Arena, Saint Louis
9	Win	9–0	Jiro Kumagai	PTS	4	Feb 24, 1930	Recreation Park, San Francisco
8	Win	8–0	Johnny Andrews	PTS	4	Jan 24, 1930	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
7	Win	7–0	Louis New	PTS	6	Jan 10, 1930	Chicago Stadium, Chicago
6	Win	6–0	Al DeRose	PTS	6	Dec 05, 1929	Ashland Blvd. Auditorium, Chicago
5	Win	5–0	Joey Barth	PTS	5	Nov 29, 1929	Guyon's Paradise Ballroom, Chicago
4	Win	4–0	Virgil Tobin	KO	2 (4)	Oct 21, 1929	State Armory, San Francisco
3	Win	3–0	Joe Borola	PTS	6	Oct 12, 1929	Main Street Athletic Club, Los Angeles
2	Win	2–0	Joe Borola	PTS	6	Sep 14, 1929	Main Street Athletic Club, Los Angeles
1	Win	1–0	Ramon Lugo	PTS	6	Aug 31, 1929	Main Street Athletic Club, Los Angeles

• Lineal championship
• List of lightweight boxing champions
• List of light welterweight boxing champions
• List of select Jewish boxers

• Century, Douglas (2006). Barney Ross. ISBN 0-8052-4223-6.
• Sussman, Jeffrey. 2016. Max Baer and Barney Ross: Jewish Heroes of Boxing. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
• Interview with Ross biography Barney Ross author Douglas Century on Eight Forty-Eight radio program, WBEZ public radio; Chicago, Illinois; March 9, 2006. MP3 file available for free download.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barney Ross.

• Boxing record for Barney Ross from BoxRec
• 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
• bio article, Jewish Virtual Library
• NY post, book opinion
• John Burke, "Triple titleholder tells how he won toughest fight", New Orleans Times-Picayune, 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/