I'm currently interested in older fighters from the 1890's and early 1900's, guys like Fitzsimmons, Gans, Ketchel, Attell, Leonard, McGovern, Dixon etc. I've already decided on my Greb and Langford books. So, for you in the know, what are the best books regarding those guys ? Articles, blogs or anything of similar ilk would also be appreciated.
I enjoyed the killings of Stanley Ketchel. I can't recall if it was that book, or a biography on Jack Johnson, but I recall reading (I can't remember from what source, perhaps a source claiming to have been told by one of the two) that the 2 of them spent the night in the same room with a couple of prostitutes before their fight. As I remember, Johnson asked Ketchel to hit the plaster wall as hard as he could, which he did leaving a dent. Johnson then hit next to it, leaving a bigger dent, and said words to the effect of "And power is your biggest attribute, it's not in my top 3, you're too small, but we'll put on a show".
Well we could interpret the thread title a little differently and say the best boxing books on older fighter would be George Foreman’s autobiography and whatever is considered the best tome on Archie Moore.
Everything by Adam Pollack (Formerly Adam De La Hoya) @apollack isn’t with us anymore his ghost writer recently finished the second book on JD though.
I really liked “Tunney” by Jack Cavanaugh…really well written and vivid accounts of other fighters in and around Tunneys era.
Internet Archive has a lot of boxing books on older fighters on offer. Sign up is easy and allows “virtual” borrowing of books for periods of time (usually 1 hour but you simply re-borrow once the 1 hour is up). Some books are free to read without signing up. An example of same is The Life and Battles of Jack Johnson by Richard K Fox - see per the link below. https://archive.org/details/lifebat...de/1up?q=the+life+and+battles+of+Jack+johnson
@McGrain What say you ? Aside from Adam Pollack's in the ring series, and Compton and Moyle's Greb and Langford books, what would your recommendations be ?
Depends on your goal. An awesome place to start where you will get a lot of value is the book Greatest Boxing Stories Ever Told: Thirty-Six Incredible Tales From The Ring. You need this book and "The Sweet Science" by AJ Liebling. These will get you right. The first book has tons of great articles from many of the authors mentioned past here. "Papa Jack" by Randy Roberts is probably the best Jack Johnson book short of Al-Tony Gilmore's seminal work, the title of which I will not reveal here, and since it is not in print any more, nobody here will secure a copy anyway. Nat Fleischer is necessary for his firsthand experience and if you can wrangle a full set of Black Dynamites, they sure are a fun read (dated but good). His Dempsey biography is pretty known, too. I have both and his other works are also very readable, including many Ring Magazines. Bert Sugar is kind of the same, his 100 Greatest Boxers book is an excellent place to start especially if you can secure an older copy (mine was from the 1970s I believe). You will want to read the Boxianas as well, and Black Ajax for pre-20th century learning. There are 3 editions of Boxiana and they are all worth a grab since most are cheaply mass produced. Same with Black Ajax, which is a necessary book to read. Really Black Ajax, The Professional, and The Knockout Artist are the only boxing fiction books I've enjoyed. I think Ring of Hate is a nice history book that contextualized Louis vs. Schmeling "Two Ton" the biography of Tony Galento was an awesome read, very entertaining.
“Sweet Thunder” is a book I believe Joe Rein advises for a Robinson book. It’s good I enjoyed it… OP I’d @ you but your name isn’t popping up and I can’t be bothered lol - read Lanky Bob and Roar Of The Crowd both good for Fitz and Corbett.
