Barney Ross

Barney Ross

IBHoF Bio

Name: Barney Ross
Birth Name: Beryl David Rosofsky
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
Died: 1967-01-18 (Age:57)
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 170cm
Reach: 170cm
Referee: Record
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record

• Trainer: Ray Arcel
• Managers: Gig Rooney (1929-1930), Sam Pian & Art Winch, Sol Gold
• Barney Ross Gallery

Career Review

• Won the Chicago Golden Gloves Featherweight Championship on February 23, 1929, defeating Jackie Davis by a three-round decision.
• Won the Intercity Golden Gloves Featherweight Championship on March 27, 1929 in New York City, defeating Al Santora by a four-round decision. The bout was declared a draw after three rounds, so they boxed an additional round to decide the winner.
• Defeated Tony Canzoneri in 1933 to win the World Lightweight and Junior Welterweight Championships.
• Held the World Lightweight and Junior Welterweight Championships when he defeated Jimmy McLarnin to win the World Welterweight Championship in 1934. Ross and Henry Armstrong are the only two fighters to hold three world titles simultaneously, although some historians question the recognition of Ross's junior welterweight title at that time.
• Named The Ring Fighter of the Year for 1934 (along with Tony Canzoneri) and 1935.
• Ross's autobiography, No Man Stands Alone, was published in 1957.
• Inducted into the The Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1956.
• Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1981.
• Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
• Inducted into the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
• The May 1994 issue of The Ring ranked Ross as the third greatest junior welterweight and fourth greatest welterweight of all-time.
• In 1999, The Associated Press ranked Ross as the second best junior welterweight and fifth best welterweight of the 20th century.

Professional record

Championship record

• May has defeated 11 opponents (1 by KO) for the world title.
  • 3 opponents (0 by KO) for the World Welterweight Title.
  • 8 opponents* (1 by KO) for the World Light Welterweight Title.
  • 1 opponent* (0 by KO) for the World Lightweight Title.
  • One opponent (Tony Canzoneri) beaten twice, both times by decision, and in each fight two titles (World Lightweight & Light Welterweight) were on the line.

War Hero

Marine Barney Ross

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Ross enlisted in the U.S. Marines and became a much-decorated veteran. He was 32-years-old and had to obtain a special waiver on the usual requirement that Marines be 30 or under.

Although he was assigned to work as a boxing instructor, he requested that he be sent into combat. He was sent to Guadalcanal Island, one of the most brutal U.S. military engagements against the Japanese.

On November 19, 1942, Ross and three comrades were attacked by Japanese troops while on patrol. His three fellow Marines were wounded and Ross shepherded them into a crater where he protected them throughout the night. He fired over 200 rounds of ammunition and was credited with killing seven Japanese snipers and 10 probables. By the morning, two of his colleagues had died and though wounded, he managed to carry the sole survivor to safety. For his brave efforts, Ross received the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and a Presidential Citation.

While recovering from malaria and his wounds in a military hospital, he developed an addiction to the morphine he was treated with. At the height of his addiction as a civilian, he was spending $500 per day. In September 1946, he voluntarily appeared in the U.S. Marshal's office in New York and requested admittance to a federal drug treatment facility. Ross was admitted to the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital near Lexington, Kentucky, and was discharged by Dr. Victor M. Vogel in January 1947. Doctors predicted it would take a year to get clean, but, though agonizing, he kicked the habit in four months.

The 1957 movie Monkey On My Back was about his life and addiction to morphine. Ross approved the script but was upset with the advertising. "The advertising makes it seem that I am still a narcotics addict and that defeats the whole purpose of the picture," he said. He sued the producers for $5 million, claiming defamation of character, but settled out of court for $10,000 in 1960.

"Ross had style, combatively and socially. His manners were impeccable; his generosity and thoughtfulness have become almost legendary." Alan Ward (1967)

---

According to his 2013 autobiography, Anyone Who Had a Heart, p. 40, award-winning songwriter Burt Bacharach said that in the mid-1950s while on a USO tour in Libya with the Harlem Globetrotters, he had Ross as his roomate. Bacharach describes a night with Ross when the former champion tried to pick a fight with a couple of Arabs in Tripoli after having a few drinks.

Preceded by: George Root	Chicago Tribune Golden Gloves Featherweight Champion 1929	Succeeded by: Benny Goldblatt
Preceded by: Tony Caragliano	Intercity Golden Gloves Featherweight Champion 1929	Succeeded by: Joe Comforti

Preceded by: Tony Canzoneri	World Lightweight Champion 23 Jun 1933– 15 April 1935 Vacates	Succeeded by: Tony Canzoneri
Preceded by: Tony Canzoneri	World Junior Welterweight Champion 23 Jun 1933– 9 Apr 1935 Vacates	Succeeded by: Tippy Larkin
Preceded by: Jimmy McLarnin	World Welterweight Champion 28 May 1934– 17 Sept 1934	Succeeded by: Jimmy McLarnin
Preceded by: Jimmy McLarnin	World Welterweight Champion 28 May 1935– 31 May 1938	Succeeded by: Henry Armstrong

External Links

• "Barney Ross Defends One Title This Week" Associated Press, November 13, 1933
• "Little Barney Ross Slays The Giant; Beats Narcotics Habit In Four Months" International News Service, January 15, 1947
• "Barney Battles Movie Business" Associated Press, May 15, 1957
• JVL Biography
• Find a Grave