No, the title of this book does not mean this will be a literary review. It’s not often a book on boxing, or any sport for that matter, will have a significant influence on a famous work of literature but this book makes one. Great book on a lightweight champion and a famous F. Scott Fitzgerald work. Here is my review:
Title/Author:
“Chasing the Great Gatsby: The Freddie Welsh Story” by Gene Pantalone
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
It’s not often any sport or athlete will have close connections with a literary masterpiece. This book by Gene Pantalone is not only a very good biography of lightweight boxing champion Freddie Welsh, but it also illustrates how Jay Gatsby, the protagonist in “The Great Gatsby”, could have been based on the life of Welsh.
Pantalone shows circumstantial evidence that could prove Freddie was the inspiration of the Jay Gatsby character. This starts with a famous author who both Welsh and F. Scott Fitzgerald could call a good friend, Ring Lardner. There are also many instances where events in Welsh’s life match those of Gatsby’s. There is one very prominent piece of evidence that would make a clear connection between Welsh and Gatsby, but this review will not give away that spoiler. If one does want to find this out before reading about the life of Welsh, Pantalone does reference readers to Chapter XVIII if they wish to find the connection right away. I decided not to do that and it turned out to be the correct decision.
That is because Pantalone does a wonderful job of bringing the reader into Freddie Welsh’s world. From his upbringing in Wales (where his given name was Frederick Thomas) to his humble beginnings in boxing when he was a simple gym worker who was allowed to spar with customers, Welsh’s story was riveting. The excellent prose goes well beyond Welsh’s boxing career, although that was great, too. Having never heard of Welsh before reading this book, I appreciated learning more about the sport in that time in other weight classes. Welsh ended up doing quite well with defensive boxing his specialty and the jab as his best punch. but like many other pugilists, he tried make comebacks when he just was not able to recapture the past glory. There’s also interesting items about the sport that readers will learn, such as the involvement of Arnold Rothstein, the gambler most famous for fixing the 1919 World Series. This is the most notable of many interesting facts and anecdotes about the sport in that era.
Welsh’s life outside boxing is also told in writing that is just as good as that for bouts in the ring. Most notably, Welsh’s vision of a health “farm” where clients could come and get back to living healthy through exercise, diet and good living did come to fruition. In its heyday, many famous people entered its gates. Most notable of these was Jack Dempsey, who used Welsh’s health farm as his training site for his title bout against Georges Carpentier. But like his boxing career, the health farm eventually was no longer useful to clients and Welsh eventually lost it to the lenders when he could not afford the mortgage payments or find financial backing.
With all of this fame and fortune and eventual loss of it all, it’s not a stretch to see the connection between Freddie Walsh and Jay Gatsby. Whether a reader enjoys literature, boxing or just some good writing this book is highly recommended.
I wish to thank Mr. Pantalone for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
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