Tag Archives: Benny Leonard
Jack Kearns
Jack Kearns (Boxing. Born, Waterloo, MI, July 17, 1883; died, Miami Beach, FL, June 17, 1963.) One of the celebrated characters of boxing for decades, Jack Kearns (born John Leo McKernan) managed six world champions. Kearns managed heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey for eight years (1917-25) and combined with Tex Rickard to promote Dempsey into a million-dollar gate […]
Rocky Kansas
Rocky Kansas (Boxing. Born, Buffalo, NY, Apr. 21, 1895; died, Buffalo, NY, Jan. 10, 1954.) Born Rocco Tozzo, Kansas was a lightweight who fought 165 times in a 21-year career (1911-32) and won the division championship in 1925. Kansas fought just seven times in New York but earned headlines for two bouts against champion Benny […]
Leonard Lewin
Leonard Lewin (Sportswriter. Born, The Bronx, NY, Jan. 23, 1917; died, Tampa, FL, Mar. 22, 2004.) For more than a half-century, the byline of Leonard Ralph Lewin topped sports stories in New York newspapers. Lewin began with the Daily Mirror in February 1937, thanks to his uncle, Murray Lewin, the paper’s boxing editor. Leonard Lewin […]
Benny Leonard
Benny Leonard (Boxing. Born, New York, NY, Apr. 7, 1896; died, New York, NY, Apr. 18, 1947.) Benny Leonard’s pro career began and ended with knockout defeats, but in between, he reigned as world lightweight champion for eight years from 1917-25. Befitting a native New Yorker (born Benjamin Leiner), many of Leonard’s most famous fights […]
Sammy Mandell
Sammy Mandell (Boxing. Born, Rockford, IL, Feb. 5, 1904; died, Oak Park, IL, Nov. 7, 1967.) Though he fought mainly in the Midwest early in his career, Sammy Mandell (born Samuel R. Mandella) had several of his most important bouts in New York. Lightweight champion from 1926-30, he was a major contender when champion Benny […]
