LEONARD, BENNY

LEONARD, BENNY (Benjamin (Dov B'er) Leiner; "The Ghetto Wizard," "The Great Bennah"; 1896–1947), U.S. boxer, lightweight champion from 1917 to 1925, among the greatest lightweight fighters of the 20th century and one of the greatest Jewish sports figures of all time; member of the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Born to Yiddish-speaking religious Russian immigrants Minnie and Gershon, a tailor, Leonard was raised in the East Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York and first fought with gloves at age 11. He turned pro at 15, and when the ring announcer mangled his last name, the nervous Leonard did not correct him, and that helped keep his parents from finding out about his career. His mother was opposed to his fighting, which she considered dangerous and unseemly for an Orthodox Jewish boy. Leonard carried a picture of his mother with him every place he went, called her after every fight, and never fought on a Jewish holiday. Leonard beat Freddie Welsh for the lightweight crown on May 28, 1917, holding the title until he voluntarily retired on Jan. 15, 1925, a span of seven years and eight months – the longest uninterrupted lightweight title reign in history. During that period, Leonard was said to be the most famous Jew in America. The stock market crash of 1929 wiped out Leonard's wealth, and he returned to the ring on October 6, 1931, to recoup his fortunes. He did not lose in his first 20 fights, but he retired after Jimmy McLarnin stopped him on October 7, 1932. Leonard also fought a bout against Jack Britton for the welterweight title on June 26, 1922, but lost on a foul in the 13th round. His official record is 89–5–1, with 69 knockouts and 121 no decisions, and his record including newspaper verdicts, according to one source, is 164–11–5, with 36 no decisions. After his boxing career was over, Leonard became a popular referee. On April 18, 1947, he suffered a heart attack while refereeing a match in St. Nicholas Arena, and died in the ring. He was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1955 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Nat Fleischer considered Benny Leonard the No. 2 all time lightweight in 1958; Sporting News, in its 75th anniversary issue in 1997, named Leonard Best Boxer of the Last 75 Years; the Ring magazine ranked him No. 2 in its list of the greatest lightweights of all time in September 2001, 71 years after Leonard fought his last fight; and boxing historian Bert Sugar ranks him fifth on his list of 100 greatest boxers of all time. Leonard wrote a small pamphlet My Greatest Ring Battles (1939). He is also the subject of Nat Fleischer's biography Leonard the Magnificent (1947). (Elli Wohlgelernter (2nd ed.)