Jewish Olympic Medalists in Boxing

With the Olympics (finally) starting later this week, here is a list with short bios of Jewish Olympic medalists in boxing.

Samuel Berger - 1904 - Heavyweight - USA - Gold
Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1884 and died in San Francisco, California in 1925. Berger had a brief pro career in which he fought Hall of Famer Philadelphia Jack O'Brien to a newspaper draw in a six-rounder. He then stayed in boxing as an instructor, referee, and promoter. He promoted heavyweight champion Jim Jeffries.

Sam Mosberg - 1920 - Lightweight - USA - Gold
Born in 1896 in Austria and died in Brooklyn, New York in 1967. Mosberg (sometimes spelled Mossberg) was a pro for just under three years and had at least 31 fights. His prizefighting career featured mixed results including a 12-round loss on points to the respectable Mel Coogan. Mosberg served as the U.S. boxing coach in the 1953 Maccabiah Games.

Moe Herscovitch - 1920 - Middleweight - Canada - Bronze
Born in Montreal, Canada in 1897 and died in Montreal in 1969. He fought at least 27 fights in three and a half years as a pro. He went 3-1 against Bert Schneider, who won a gold medal at welterweight in the same Olympics. Herscovitch was stopped by future middleweight and light heavyweight champion Mickey Walker in 1923. He also had a career as a rugby player. After his pro career, he became a boxing coach at the local YMHA.

Jackie Fields - 1924 - Featherweight - USA - Gold
Born in 1908 in Chicago, Illinois, he died in 1987 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fields was the youngest even Olympic gold medalist in boxing. He was an all-time great as a professional boxer. He won the world welterweight championship twice and was inducted in the Boxing Hall of Fame. He had at least 86 prizefights in his eight year career. He spent the next two years as a referee. He later coached the 1965 U.S. boxing team at the Maccabiah Games.

Harry Isaacs - 1928 - Bantamweight - South Africa - Bronze
Born in 1908 in Johannesburg, South Africa and died in 1961 in Johannesburg. Isaacs was initially declared the winner of his semifinal match in Amsterdam against American John Daley. But American fans were so upset about the decision they rioted. Despite a counterriot in favor of Isaacs, the decision was overturned and Isaacs was relegated to the bronze medal match. Isaacs didn't fight as a pro but trained Jewish orphans when he returned home. He later trained famed South African boxer Alf James.

Harold Devine - 1928 - Featherweight - USA - Bronze
Born in 1909 in New Haven, Connecticut and died in 1998 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Devine was a good regional boxer, winning the New England welterweight title. The southpaw split fights with Chick Suggs early in his career and later fought Baby Joe Gans and Jack Portney. Four times he beat the not-so-legendary Pancho Villa (of New Bedford, Mass). After 60 pro fights, Devine stayed in boxing as a trainer, manager, and judge.

(Michael) Jacob Michaelsen - 1928 - Heavyweight - Denmark - Bronze 
Born in 1899 in Sundby, Denmark and died in 1970 in Frederiksberg, Denmark. Michaelsen won bronze in the 1927 European championships and gold in the 1930 European championships. There is no record of him turning pro.

Nathan Bor - 1932 - Lightweight - USA - Bronze
Born in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1913 and died in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1972. As a pro, Bor was a solid regional fighter, campaigning mostly in New England with two sustained trips out to California during his eight-year, 50-fight career. He started 30-2 as a pro against mediocre competition. Nat's success in the ring dwindled as the opponents' level slightly increased. He joined the marines and fought overseas during World War II.

Gyula Torok - 1960 - Flyweight - Hungary - Gold
Born in Kispest, Hungary in 1938 six years after the previous Jewish boxing Olympic medalist and died in 2014 in Budapest. Torok never turned pro, but had a long and distinguished amateur career. He won silver at the 1959 European championships. He fought in the 1964 Olympics as a bantamweight, but lost in the opening round due to injury. After retiring in 1967, he became a boxing coach and helped the Hungarian national team.

Gyorgy Gedo - 1972 - Light flyweight - Hungary - Gold
Born in 1949 in Budapest, Hungary, he is 72 years old. He fought in the 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980 Olympics. He was the first boxer to fight in four, and no boxer has fought in more. Gedo won the 1969 and 1971 European championships and finished third in 1975. The aggressive southpaw made the quarterfinals in the '76 & '80 Olympics. Gedo never fought as a pro.

Victor Zilberman - 1976 - Welterweight - Romania - Bronze
Born in 1947 in Bucharest, Romania, he is 73 years old. Zilberman fought in the 1968, 1972, and 1976 Olympics. He earned silver medals in the European championships in 1969 and in 1975. His citizenship was revoked shortly after winning his medal and found a new home in Montreal, Canada. He didn't turn pro. He moved to Toronto to help Adrian Teodorescu train boxers, including Lennox Lewis when he was an amateur. His Romanian citizenship was later restored.

Shamil Sabirov - 1980 - Light Flyweight - Soviet Union - Gold
Born in 1959 in Karpinsk, Soviet Union, he is 62 years old. Sabirov (also spelled Sabyrov) won gold at the 1979 European championships and bronze at the 1981 European championships. He retired from boxing in 1985 and didn't fight as a pro. He earned a PhD in exercise science and spent some time as a boxing referee.


Notes:
*I included boxers on this list that are featured on other lists of this kind as long as there was no information excluding them from being Jewish. For info on Bert Schneider please check out a forthcoming post Olympic Boxers: Jew or Not, 

*Most of the boxers on this list obviously identified as Jewish according to profiles of these men. 

*Michaelsen is included on most of the lists of Jewish Olympic medalists in boxing. His name is sometimes written with Jacob, Jakob, or Michael as his first name. Sometimes Jacob or Michael is included as a middle name. After an extensive search, I could find no record in which he identified as Jewish, but I couldn't find anything to suggest he didn't identify as Jewish, either. 

*Sabirov is also on most of the lists of Jewish boxing Olympic medalists. After much research, I could find nothing that proves or disproves whether he identifies as Jewish. Some sources describe his ethnicity as Tatar.

*Any concrete information about Michaelsen or Sabirov is welcomed.

*There is a Victor Zilberman, born in 1947, who immigrated to Canada in the mid-1970s, settling in Montreal and became a well-respected wrestling coach. Believe it or not, this is not that same Victor Zilberman who won the bronze medal at the '76 Olympics.

The wrestler, born in March of ''47 in Chisinau, Soviet Union (now Moldova), won a bronze medal as a wrestler for Israel in the 1974 world (wrestling) championships. He won silver at the 1978 Commonwealth Games for Canada. He earned his PhD and coached the Canadian Olympic team on multiple occasions. His son David wrestled in the 2008 Olympics. He also trained Georges St-Pierre.

The boxer was born on September 20, 1947 in Bucharest. After a falling out with Teodorescu, he became an optometric technician and still enjoys watching the fights. Some sources confuse the two Victor Zilbermans.

Some additional information:
Article on Samuel Berger
Article on Sam Mosberg
Article on Moe Herscovitch
Article on Jackie Fields
Article that includes Harry Isaacs (second bio down)
Article on Harold Devine
Article on Nathan Bor
Article on Gyula Torok
Paragraph on Gyorgy Gedo
Article on Victor Zilberman (in Romanian)

Review of Newark Minutemen

Newark Minutemen: A True 1930's Legend About One Man's Mission to Save a Nation's Soul Without Losing His Own: A Novel
By Leslie K. Barry
Morgan James Publishing, 2020.

If nonfiction history books provide the foundation for knowledge of the past, historical fiction adds the color. Barry's novel paints vibrant strokes of life in Newark, New Jersey during the 1930s. The book traces the rise of the German-American Bund, a Nazi-allied group, and the efforts of the Newark Minutemen to stop them.

The Minutemen, a group of Jewish boxers, served as mob boss Longie Zwillman's enforcers. During this period the group, aided by the FBI, focused on protecting the community against the rise of Nazism in America. Part of that protection involved pummeling Nazis at rallies in the Tri-state region. Eventually it morphed into infiltrating the American Nazi ranks.

The novel is written in first person vignettes primarily from the points of view of a Jewish boxer named Yael, a young German-American woman called Krista, Zwillman, and the leader of the Bund Fritz Kuhn. The description within those vignettes is extremely vivid. and the story is enthralling. Yet, it is not a light read.

The Nazis, as more and more people sadly seem to forget, were bad people who did bad things. Those despicable deeds can be excruciatingly painful to recall. Barry's evocative writing makes reading about those instances all the more difficult.

The tensions between the Minutemen and the Bund provide the background for a forbidden love story. Despite being a central component of the story, it felt like an unnecessary addition to the already fascinating struggle of the Minutemen to defeat Nazism's encroachment into America. And yet, paradoxically, the centrality of this superfluous love story doesn't detract much from the quality of the novel. It's a credit to Barry's ability as a writer that it doesn't.

As striking as Barry's writing is, it isn't perfect. There are moments when it's too good. From Jewish boxer to 17 year old girl to mob boss, each first person account reads like it's by an accomplished novelist- and is quite distinct in tone from the dialogue. In the beginning, the expressive verbs and adjectives create a distracting disconnect between what is being said and who is saying it. But as the suspense picks up, that disconnect gradually vanishes.

As for the dialogue, it seems to fit the characters better than the first person monologues, but the language of the boxers can be a bit stereotypical at times. The word "Palooka" is used just once, but  the dialogue can fall into Palooka-like tropes on occasion.

One last quibble deals with anachronisms. Historical novels are wonderful because good authors include those little nuggets of information that can only be found through extensive research- and Newark Minutemen contains many golden ones- but there are moments when some of them misfire.

One German teen is said to be "drinking the Kool-Aid" (pg. 173). That phrase originated in the aftermath the Jonestown Massacre in 1978, in which hundreds of cult members were forced to drink a poisoned Kool-Aid type of beverage in Jonestown, Guyana. Later, a Jewish boxer is described "as cool as the other side of the pillow" (pg. 217). The origin of this phrase can be traced back to Stewart Scott, of ESPN's SportsCenter fame, who coined it when he first started out in broadcasting in late the 1980s.

While historical novelists are well within their rights to play with facts and chronology, the "drinking the Kool-Aid" and "as cool as the other side of the pillow" lines can prevent a reader from accepting the other interesting bits of historical information. And that would be a shame, because it's clear that the book is well-researched.

Minor issues aside, if you are a fan of Jewish boxers beating up Nazis and working towards saving the United States from fascism, you will enjoy this book. And as a bonus, actual Jewish boxers Nat Arno, Maxie Fisher, his brother Al Fischer, Puddy Hinkes, Abie Bain, and the author's uncle Harry Levine, a New York Golden Gloves champ, are all featured in this tale.

Successful Night for Gloves and Doves in Israel

Gloves and Doves, a program run by former professional boxer Tony Milch that promotes peace and coexistence in the Middle East, hosted a successful night of boxing in Isfiya, Israel this past evening. Former world champion Rabbi Yuri Foreman along with former world title challenger and current promoter Dmitriy Salita both sent their support for the event.

A current pro, Yotham Shalom, boxed in a three round exhibition while another active boxer Igor Lazarev refereed. Sagiv Ismailov, who is 2-0 as a pro, also laced up the gloves. Members of the Israeli national amateur boxing team also showcased their skills in the ring. They are of different backgrounds and religions but represent one country. The featured attraction of the evening was Adham Kayouf, a Druze fighter from Isfiya.

Gloves and Doves is an endeavor worthy of support regardless of one's politics. Peace benefits us all and while sports may not work miracles, it can create progress. Ping-pong diplomacy helped thaw relations between China and the United States during the 1970s ultimately leading towards an economic relationship between the two nations. Cricket has helped direct tensions between India and Pakistan to the pitch instead of the battlefield. And athletes such as Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis, and Bill Russell helped bridge the racial divide in the United States and set the stage for increasing integration.

With the recent deadly conflict in Israel, an initiative that promotes peace and coexistence in the Middle East is needed now more than ever. Boxing is an apt avenue to create progress towards that goal. Boxers pound each other during the fight and yet often form a lifelong friendships after the final bell has rung. To donate visit their crowdfunding page and follow Gloves and Doves on Instagram. A replay of the event can be watched here.