Paul Berlenbach
Name: Paul Berlenbach
Alias: Astoria Assassin
Hometown: New York, New York, USA
Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
Died: 1985-09-30 (Age:84)
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 178cm
Reach: 183cm
Referee: Record
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record
Manager: Dan Hickey
Paul Berlenbach Gallery
Paul Berlenbach was born a deaf-mute to French and German parents. When he was 18, while working as an instructor at a Westchester County institution for deaf-mutes, he went to the aid of a boy whose kite had become entangled in an electric wire 12 feet above the ground. Climbing a pole, he released the kite, but came in contact with the wire, received a shock, and fell to the ground. Those who came to his rescue feared him dead. First aid revived him. When he came to, he immediately found that he now had normal hearing. Subsequent treatment developed his speech.
He started as a wrestler but soon tired of grappling and became a boxer, winning 13 knockouts and three decisions as an amateur, earning an amateur boxing championship as well. In time, as a professional, Berlenbach became the World Light-Heavyweight Champion.
After his boxing career ended, he went back to wrestling for awhile. (He had first retired from boxing to enter the lumber business.)
Odds & Ends
- April 27, 1927, he married Rosanna O'Reilly, a 24-year-old Los Angeles nurse at the Mexicali City Hall.
- Also known by the alias of "Paralyzing Paul"
- He formed the "Berlenbach's All-Stars" basketball team circa December 1925. 24 Dec. 1925 Brooklyn Daily Star, p. 8
External Links
- Cyber Boxing Zone: [1]
- Boxing Biographies: [2]
- "Wrestling with History: Setting the Record Straight on Paul Berlenbach" by Pete Ehrmann: [3]
| Preceded by: Mike McTigue |
World Light Heavyweight Champion 30 May 1925–16 Jul 1926 |
Succeeded by: Jack Delaney |