Review of “Boxing’s Greatest Controversies”

Having not read a book on boxing for awhile, I was scouring libraries and ARC lists for one and came across this gem that will be published in February 2025. Excellent book on some of the most controversial fights in the sport.

Title/Author:

“Boxing’s Greatest Controversies: Blunders, Blood Feuds and Mob Corruption” by Louis Joshua Eisen

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: 

Boxing has always had controversy - whether it was claims of fixed fights, influence by organized crime or illegal acts by fighters in the ring, it seems like there’s always something suspicious that gets boxing fans talking.  This book by Louis Joshua Eisen takes a look at some of these events that are still talked about many years after that particular incident.

What stood out for me with this book was Eisen’s excellent research and writing on this topic for two fights prior to the 20th century. One involved a fixed fight in the 1770’s and one was about the racism against Black fighters in the 19th century. That topic carries over to the 20th century with two of Jack Johnson’s fights discussed. Eisen makes a compelling case about Black boxer Joe Gans in his account of the second fight discussed in this book as being one of the best boxers of all time. Having never heard of Gans before reading this book, I appreciated the information on not only Gans, but about the sport in general during that time. 

Of course, some of the most famous controversial bouts are included. Eisen writes with the same level of detail on fights such as the “long count” match between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney, the early knockout of Sonny Liston by Muhammad Ali in their second match and the famous “bite fight” between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Each fight discussed follows a format of a brief description to set the scene, portraits of each fighter, events that led up to the controversial fight, then the fight itself. After that, Eisen breaks down what was the controversy, explains why it was judged the way it was (or may still be inconclusive) through a breakdown of film on the fight. This makes the book very informative, detailed and enjoyable to read as Eisen gives the reader education on the issues of the fight. Highly recommended for any boxing fan or historian.

I wish to thank Dundurn Press for providing a review copy of the book The views expressed are strictly my own. 

Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Boxings-Greatest-Controversies-Blunders-Corruption/dp/1459754867/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= 

Review of "The Chalmers Race"

A new year usually means organizing and looking to see what to keep and what has been just laying around - including books.  This is a book I had been provided by the publisher some time ago, so it became my first piece in my organizing for 2022.  Here is my review of the 2014 book "The Chalmers Race"

 

Title/Author: "The Chalmers Race: Ty Cobb, Napoleon Lajoie and the Controversial 1910 Batting Title That Became a National Obsession" by Rick Huhn

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (good)

Review: One of the closest, and most controversial, baseball batting titles took place in 1910 when two future Hall of Fame hitters, Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers and Napoleon Lajoie of the Cleveland Naps (later Indians, now Guardians) battled for the title down to the last day of the season when Lajoie, thanks to some help by the St. Louis Browns, collected eight hits in a double header to edge out Cobb for the title – or so it appeared.  The stories of these two men as well as others and the craziness of the entire episode is captured in this well-researched and detailed book by Rick Hahn.

The title is so stated because 1910 was the first year in which the hitting leader in each major league would be awarded a new automobile from the Chalmers Motor Company, a generous offer by Hugh Chalmers who saw the tremendous advertising potential by donating a car to the winner.  The book starts off with short biographies of Chalmers, Cobb and Lajoie, followed by how both of the players fared for most of the 1910 season.  This part of the book is informative and very detailed, requiring careful reading to fully understand the complexities of all three men.

Once the final week of the 1910 season comes, which is about a third of the way through the book, that is when things get more interesting and Hahn's attention to detail really assist the reader in gaining a clear picture of not only what happened on the field, especially in that St. Louis-Cleveland doubleheader but also why Cobb really took the last two days off instead of playing.  He was accused of doing so in order to not lose the title to Lajoie, but that was not what he or anyone else was stating.  While that was part of the interest and controversy, that was minor compared to Lajoie.

Hahn here does his best work in the book, taking the reader to the field that day when the Browns let Lajoie bunt down the third base line as the rookie third baseman played deep on each at bat so that Lajoie would easily reach base on a base hit.  Immediately it was questioned if Lajoie, the Browns players or their manager Jack O'Connor, were part of a plan to make sure that Lajoie won the Chalmers.  There was also some bad history between O'Connor and Cobb (something both men denied) that fueled this speculation. 

More good writing is done when the final determination after gathering all official scorekeeper sheets is done when American League President Ban Johnson, who at the time was considered the most powerful man in baseball, declared Cobb the winner of the title.  That didn't end the controversy, however, and it lasted well into 1912, when O'Connor sued the Browns over his dismissal following the 1910 season when he contended that his contract stated he would have the job in 1911 as well. Some felt he was fired because of the Cobb-Lajoie batting race controversy, and the court case did nothing to dispel that even though the judge ruled in O'Connor's favor. 

Hahn finishes the book by showing that this was not the only time at batting title ended in controversy, most notably the 1976 American League title won by George Brett of Kansas City over teammate Hal McRae, who claimed that racism played a factor in that title.  There was also a study in 1981 by the Sporting News that questioned some of the calculations and concluded that Lajoie was indeed the batting title champion.  However, this again was never fully concluded and today, more than a century later, the 1910 American League batting championship is still cloudy.  Also, it should be noted that thanks to the generosity of Hugh Chalmers and his wish to put any controversy aside that would tarnish his or his company's name, both players received automobiles.

A book that illustrates not only the batting title but the state of baseball in the early twentieth century, this is a book that requires careful reading but will leave the reader much more knowledgeable about the entire controversy.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Links: The Chalmers Race : Nebraska Press (unl.edu)

Review of "Phantom Punch"

As I have stated here before, I find books on boxing to be some of the best sports books around.  So when I saw this book offered for review on NetGalley, I immediately requested it and on the same day the publisher approved my request, I received an email from the author asking if I was interested in reviewing the book.  Double yes!   I am very glad that they sent me the book as  this was a great book on one of the most controversial heavyweight fights in boxing history. Here is my review of "Phantom Punch." 

Title/Author:

“The Phantom Punch: The Story behind Boxing’s Most Controversial Ending” by Robert Sneddon

Tags:

Boxing, history, controversy, Ali, Liston

Publish date:

October 4, 2015

Length:

240 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

The second heavyweight title fight between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston ended with one of the strangest and controversial endings in boxing history.  Considering the history of the sport and its seamy underbelly, this is quite a statement. However, this outstanding book by Robert Sneddon makes the case for this statement and tells of the background of all aspects of this fight held in a small town in central Maine.

The book read much like a bout between two champion boxers that may start with a flourish, and then slow down as the two opponents feel each other out. In a boxing match that will often lead to more punches landing, more flurries by both fighters and eventually reach an exciting finish.  This book did the same thing as it started with how many people view the ending of that fight today. Then there came a lot of background information on not only Ali and Liston but also about the town of Lewiston, Maine and the politics and officials that either helped bring the fight there or wanted to keep it away.

This portion of the book doesn’t sound like it would be exciting or of much interest to readers who are interested in the actual fight. However, that is not the case as much of this information is well researched and written in such a manner that a reader will be both well-informed and well-entertained while reading it.  Sam Michael and the Nilon brothers are just a few of the people who may not be household names to boxing fans or historians but they played important roles in this fight.

The sections on boxing, especially for both Ali-Liston fights, were excellent reads as well.  I was especially impressed with Sneddon’s account of the first fight between them in Miami, as that information was especially important when it came time to talk about the rematch.  As for the punch that is the center of the controversy even to this day, Sneddon does report on it fairly, writing about views from both sides.  He is careful to emphasize that there were many who felt the punch did land on Liston as well as report on those that believed it never connected.  

Because of this, I felt that this book was not one that tried to sway readers one way or the other, especially those that already have their minds made up. Instead, it seemed that the target audience would be for readers like me who have never seen the punch or the films of it and instead wanted to learn about this controversy.  For this goal, the book hits its mark and is an excellent account of a heavyweight championship fight that will be talked about as long as boxing remains a sport.

I wish to thank Down East Books for providing an advance review copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Punch-Behind-Boxings-Controversial/dp/1608933652/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444003847&sr=1-1&keywords=phantom+punch

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-phantom-punch-robert-sneddon/1121754452?ean=9781608933655