TONY ZALE GAVE IT ALL HE HAD
by Bill Kelly

Facing Tony Zale in the ring was depressing, like sitting next to Don King in a life boat. Slugging it out with Zale was tantamount to being locked in a closet with a Doberman pinscher. He was the greatest charge of the light brigade to ever step into the ring.

A fighter named Steve Mamakos paid Zale the ultimate accolade. He said being in the ring with Tony Zale was like being inside a volcano.

Zale could be meaner than a peach orchard boar; he cleaned up the middleweight division like Wyatt Earp cleaned up Tombstone. He took to fighting like Carrie Nation took to bars. Most of his fights were as one-sided as a drive-by shooting. He was like a serial killer on a rampage. He was more savage than scientific.

And yet, the record books might not have been polite to Tony Zale if it were not for his three unforgettable battles with Rocky Graziano. None of three private wars inside of 21 months went over six rounds. The punishment they absorbed finished them both as fighters. In Zale's case, his fight with Marcel Cerdan three months after he regained the title from Rocky on June 10, 1948, was his finale.

Fifty-two years should be long enough to dim memories, but the pictures of their three furious assaults simply won't turn off. Quantrill's burning of Lawrence, Kansas was a standoff compared to these barn-burners.

It is suffice to say that both Zale and Graziano would have vanished into the ring record books virtually unnoticed if they never would have faced each other in the ring. Lucky for us, fate maneuvered them into one of the most exciting rivalries on the modern era, a feud comparable to Pep vs. Saddler, Robinson vs. LaMotta, Ali vs. Frazier, Ketchel vs. Papke. It put them on the map the way Knute Rockne put Notre Dame on the map. Or Bela Lugosi immortalized Dracula. Otherwise, they would have rode off into the sunset as forgotten as an abandoned puppy in an animal shelter.

Tony Zale was not the best middleweight to ever step into the battle pit but he was a goring, stomping bull of a man who dodged no one. He walked the plank at a time when the middleweight division was known in boxing lore as "Death Valley." They controlled the battlefield: Rocky Graziano, Al Hostak, Billy Soose, Fred Apostoli, Steve Belloise, Georgie Abrams, Marcel Cerdan, Nate Bolden, Marty Servo, Solly Krieger. The twilight didn't belong to the gods, it belonged to these guys.

Born Anthony Florian Zaleski on May 29, 1913, in Gary Indiana, Tony spent most of his time at the local amateur boxing club when he wasn't working in the steel mill. He developed a body as hard as a banker's heart. He won 50 of his 95 amateur bouts inside the distance losing only eight fights.

An over anxious manager had him fight 28 times the first year. That sort of arithmetic would discourage Einstein. After losing five of his last nine scraps he lost interest and retired at age 21. Art Winch and Sam Pian, two renown managers convinced Zale to make a comeback. From 1937 to 1948, under their guidance, he ran up an impressible streak of wins, before fighting three murderous fights with the great Al Hostak.

The first fight was held on June 29, 1940 in Chicago. Although Hostak was NBA middleweight champion, it was a non-title fight. Zale won a 10-round decision, which earned him a title shot in Seattle. Hostak was a powerful puncher who had racked up 47 kayos. Along the way he developed broken and cracked knuckles that proved a permanent handicap.

Hostak piled up an early lead in the title scrap in Chicago on July 19, but Zale caught up with him in the 13th. Zale was middleweight champion to most of the world -- the New York Commission recognized Ceferino Garcia. Hostak and Zale fought for the last time on May 28, again in Chicago. Zale knocked out Hostak in two rounds.

Garcia lost his title to Ken Overlin in 1940 and Overland lost it to Billy Soose a year later. When Soose moved up to the light heavyweight class, the New York Commission declared its title vacant. It was decided to match Zale with the No. 1 contender, Georgie Abrams, for the undisputed middleweight championship.

The Zale camp studied films of Abrams and recognized him as a fighter with the speed of ocelots -- but no power behind his punches. He was taken as much for granted as a janitor. You imagine Buster Douglas felt like this. Abrams dropped Zale for the nine count in the first round. The Man of Steel staggered back to his corner like a drunk looking for a place to crash.

His handlers were able to revive him between rounds. In the second round an accidental butt ripped Abrams' left eye open. To his credit, Abrams finished the fight and lost a close 15 round decision. Tony Zale was crowned World Middleweight Champion.

On February 13, 1942 Zale moved up to the lightheavyweight division and lost a decision to Billy Conn. He served out the war as a petty officer keeping sailors in sharp while stationed in Puerto Rico. While keeping in shape, he remained inactive until his discharge in December 1945. Returning to the ring, he scored 6 fast knockouts over worthy opponents before defending his title against a fight-fan's fighter named Rocky Graziano on September 27, in New York. Rocky had made headlines by knocking out unbeaten Billy Arnold, Al "Bummy" Davis, Freddie "Red" Cochrane, Harold Green. and Marty Servo. Neither man had an intention of going 15 rounds.

Zale told this writer, "We both knew it was the end of the line for the loser."

The "Man of Steel" was thirty-two, with twelve years ring experience under his belt and a champion who hadn't defended his title since 1941. Graziano was twenty-four, a local brawler and favorite who had never been knocked out. Since turning pro in 1942 he had racked up 32 kayos in 54 bouts, losing six fights by decision.

The excitement generated by the thirty thousand fans who had gathered at Yankee Stadium that night crackled like sparks on a San Francisco trolley wire.

Rocky was magnificent during the early rounds. He dropped Zale in the second round and had the champion soaking up punches and holding on for dear life. It seemed impossible that Zale could survive rounds three, four, and five; bursting, bone-hurting punches carved up his face and Graziano built a bonfire in his ribs.

The crowd was in an uproar as the clang of the bell signaled the start of the sixth round. Zale told this writer, "I came out in the sixth with a broken right hand. I knew I had to finish him or I was through."

A desperate "broken" right hand to the breadbasket forced Rocky to drop his guard. A stunning left hook to the jaw sent Graziano kicking. The crowd went wild. They each received $78, 892.82 -- a record for a middleweight fight.

"We earned every cent of it," Zale said. "Rocky hurt me plenty. It took me weeks to recover from that fight."

The rematch was held in Chicago on July 16, 1947 in a scorching 105 degree heat. "Tony was the only fighter that had ever knocked me out," said Graziano. "I was there for revenge. It was no boxing match. It was a private war, and if there hadn't been a referee, one of us would have wound up dead. The fight lasted only 18 minutes, but I still get nightmares thinking about it!"

Smothering punches came with blinding speed and neither man gave ground. The heat was so intense that by the fifth round, Zale said, the Vaseline used to protect his eyes had melted and "was running into my eyes." Tony floored Rocky but New York's favorite delinquent bounced up without a count and waded into another barrage. It was Pier Nine-like punishment. Between rounds, the referee wanted to stop it. Rocky pleaded for one more round. That's all he needed.

The two sluggers beat one another until the older Zale couldn't raise his arms to defend himself. Zale's eyes were globs of creole gumbo. Graziano's face looked like the inside membrane of eggs. Tony was hanging over the ropes as helpless as a tackling dummy on chains. The referee stopped it. Zale's seven year reign as champion was over.

Eleven months later, on June 10, 1948, Zale and Graziano fought for the last time. They fought in Newark, New Jersey. No one since Stanley Ketchel had ever regained the middleweight championship from the man to whom he lost it. But after three rounds of fighting in the tradition of Basilio-Robinson, or Hearns-Hagler, Graziano went down for the count.

Following their mind-boggling series, Graziano continued to walk through minor opponents before being knocked out by Sugar Ray Robinson in his last hurrah. He was elected to Boxing Hall of Fame in 1971, 13 years after Zale received the same honor.

Zale, meanwhile, defended his crown against Marcel Cerdan. But, as Zale admitted to me, the Graziano fights had taken everything out of him. On September 21, 1948, in Jersey City, the Frenchman hammered Zale around as if he were a bean bag. Before the start of the 12th round, Zale pitched forward off his stool and hit the canvas. Marcel Cerdan was the new middleweight champion of the world.

Zale said he had not given himself enough time to recover from the Graziano series before fighting Cerdan only three months later. "Or I would have beaten the Frenchman easily."

Tony Zale died on Thursday, March 20, 1997, leaving behind a record of 67-18-2 with 44 knockouts.

I asked Zale what his most memorable fight was. He said it was his rubber match with Graziano, when they drew 21,497 fans and $335, 646. "I can't think of any fights where I didn't give the fans their money's worth," he said.

And I couldn't either. **********

A Bit About Bill Kelly

From 1965 to present Bill Kelly has written for dozens of magazines and newspapers either as a staff writer or free-lancer. His 15,000 published articles include modern crime and gangsters, celebrity interviews, old West gambling stories, treasure stories, tales of the old West, and boxing. His most memorable interviews were conducted with John Wayne (Wayne's last interview), Henry Fonda, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Ike Williams.

His California tabloid experience includes The Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Orange County Register, Valley Tribune, and Valley Star, where he doubled as Managing Editor and feature writer.

Kelly's magazine experience includes Gambling Scene Magazine, Poker Digest, Treasure Search, Oklahoma State Trooper, California State Trooper, Virginia State Trooper, Boxing Digest, Boxing Illustrated, KO Magazine, Hollywood Studio, Country Review, Sports Illustrated, and too many true crime magazines to list here.

Kelly's true crime stories, and his book, Homicidal Mania, can be viewed on http://www.cybersleuths.com/

For additional true crime by Bill Kelly: editor@crimemagazine.com

His stories on New Mexico History are currently running in the On-Line New Mexico Magazine: http://www.southernnewmexico.com

Autographed copies of Bill Kelly's books, Gamblers of the Old West ( $25 plus $3.50 shipping & handling) and Treasure Trails and Buried Bandit Booty ($14.95 total) can be purchased by contacting the author at: wildbill@cosmoaccess.net

Bill is currently looking for a publisher for his manuscript, Empty Saddles. This book contains interviews with 50 of the 1940 B-cowboy movie stars including Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Bob Steele, Sunset Carson, and many more. This book is the result of 25 years research and writing, and Kelly considers this his finest work to date.

Bill Kelly is a writer for hire. His Kelly's Korner was at one time syndicated and well received. He is especially interested in reviving this column for an interested tabloid.