GOLDSTEIN, RUBY

GOLDSTEIN, RUBY (Reuven, "The Jewel of the Ghetto"; 1907–1984), U.S. boxing referee, one-time fighter, member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and World Boxing Hall of Fame. Born and raised by his widowed mother – his father had died when he was 10 days old – on the Lower East Side of New York City, the 5′ 4½″ Goldstein began boxing as an amateur at the Educational Alliance Building, fighting his first professional fight on December 30, 1924, and winning his first 23 fights, 13 by knockout. A hard puncher with a glass jaw, the welterweight fought his last fight on August 10, 1937, and retired with a 56–6–0 record, including 39 KOS. Goldstein began refereeing while in the Army in World War II and went on to a 21-year career that included officiating 39 world championship fights in all divisions – more than any other referee in history. They included the 1946 Zony Zale vs. Rocky Graziano classic; the first Joe Louis-Jersey Joe Walcott bout in 1947; Louis' last fight, against Rocky Marciano, in 1951; the Sugar Ray Robinson-Joey Maxim light heavyweight fight in 1952, when Goldstein collapsed in the 104-degree heat after the 10th round and could not finish the fight; and the first Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johansson world heavyweight fight in 1957. Goldstein is perhaps famous for being third man in the ring in the controversial championship fight between Benny "Kid" Paret and Emile Griffith on March 26, 1962. In that nationally televised encounter, Griffith pinned Paret in a corner in the 12th round and delivered a six-second barrage of 18 unanswered punches. When Goldstein finally intervened, Paret slumped to the canvas, unconscious, and died 10 days later. It was the first ring death seen by millions on American national television. While Goldstein was blamed for not stopping the fight, interviews years later with Paret's widow and son show that the family did not blame Goldstein for the death, but rather Paret's manager. Goldstein wrote an autobiography, Third Man in the Ring (1959). (Elli Wohlgelernter (2nd ed.)