BoxRec

Schoolboy Friedkin, 89, a Pro Boxer Who Fought Ex-Champs to Draws, Is Dead

By DENNIS HEVESI
Published: February 1, 2007

Bernie Friedkin, a native of Brownsville, Brooklyn, who was known as Schoolboy and who as a professional boxer in the late 1930s and early ’40s battled many of his opponents to a draw — including three former lightweight champions — died Jan. 18 in Brooklyn.

He was 89.

He died of natural causes at a hospice, his granddaughter Sabrina Saltz said.

Given the nickname Schoolboy because of his baby face and 5-foot-6 height, and because he used his older brother’s birth certificate to be admitted to local gyms when he was 14, Friedkin developed into a skilled tactical fighter, rather than a hard puncher, in a six-year professional career that began in 1935.

He started as a featherweight, at less than 126 pounds, but bulked up to 135 as a lightweight. According to records at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y., Friedkin won 48 fights, 9 by knockout, with 11 losses and 16 draws.

“He has more draws than losses,” the boxing historian Bert Sugar said. Referring to the heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan, Sugar said: “Sullivan had a line that went, ‘I can beat any man in the house.’ Friedkin could say, ‘I can draw with any man in the house.’ Sixteen draws is almost an unheard-of number.”

In March 1937, Friedkin fought the former lightweight champion Eligio Sardiñas, known as Kid Chocolate, to a draw. In January 1940, he faced Mike Belloise, another former lightweight champion, twice, with both bouts ending in draws. Five months later, he stepped into the ring with a third former lightweight champion, Petey Scalzo; another draw.

In November 1940, five months after their draw, Friedkin and Scalzo faced each other again. This time, Scalzo won an eight-round decision.

Bernard Friedkin was born on July 10, 1917, one of seven children of Morris and Bessie Friedkin. Besides his granddaughter Sabrina Saltz, of Staten Island, he is survived by his wife of 60 years, the former Lenore Bennett; two daughters, Donna Saltz and Marilyn Saewitz, both of Staten Island; and two other grandchildren.

Even before he bluffed his way into a local gym, Friedkin had set up a ring in his parents’ basement and begun sparring with friends.

On July 21, 1938, a bitter rivalry between Friedkin and Al Davis, known as Bummy, brought 6,000 fans to Madison Square Garden. Friedkin was knocked out in the fourth round.

“This was a turf war,” Sugar said, “two Jewish boxers from Brownsville.”