The Nelson-Wolgast Fight and the San Francisco Boxing Scene, 1900–1914

During the early years of the 20th century, San Francisco promoters served up boxing’s grandest spectacles. On February 22, 1910, a crowd of more than 15,000 braved chilly, rainy conditions to witness one such match, pitting lightweight champion “Battling” Nelson against Ad Wolgast. That epic battle came to stand virtually unchallenged as the most brutal fight of all time. This volume recaptures that historic fight while vividly illuminating the geographic, historic, and political forces that made it all possible. In chronicling these colorful boxers and their vibrant era, this work also reveals the dangers faced by workman pugilists like Nelson and Wolgast, making their tale, at its heart, a cautionary one.

The editor-in-chief of The Sweet Science on-line boxing magazine, Arne K. Lang taught sociology at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas. A leading authority on the history of boxing and the history of American sports gambling, he lives and writes in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is his fifth book.

Arne K. Lang
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 199
Bibliographic Info: 36 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7003-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9039-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Introduction      1

1. Off to the Battle      5
2. Snapshot of a Fight Town      12
3. Movers and Shakers      16
4. Writers      38
5. Battling Nelson on the Rise      45
6. High Times for Battling Nelson      60
7. The Rise of Ad Wolgast      73
8. The Build-Up to the Show-Down      81
9. The Bloodbath in a Bog      87
10. Joe Gans and Battling Nelson      91
11. Ad Wolgast at His Peak      112
12. The Flickering Light of Nelson’s Boxing Career      124
13. Ad Wolgast’s Descent      137
14. Battling Nelson’s Later Years      149

Appendix 1: World Title Fights Promoted by Sunny Jim Coffroth      159
Appendix 2: Complete Ring Record of Battling Nelson      162
Appendix 3: Complete Ring Record of Ad Wolgast      166
Appendix 4: Boxing and the Newspapers      171
Chapter Notes      174
Bibliography      182
Index      185

“recommend”—Cyber Boxing Zone; “a very fun read and a wonderful addition to the library of any true boxing fan. Lang’s book is a masterful paean to a vintage era in boxing history…evocative prose…Lang manages to put his readers in the ring with these all-time greats during their most significant matches to the extent that one can almost feel the intensity of the fights they were in and the ferocity of the punishment they received. Lang’s book is as hard to put down as Battling Nelson in his heyday and the very rare photographs and illustrations in the book truly enhance the majesty of his words”—TheFightNetwork.com; “excellent…outstanding”—East Side Boxing; “fills in some blank pages regarding a significant fight and a little-known era in boxing history”—The Sweet Science; “using a variety of sources, Lang is able to stitch together a rich tapestry around the Nelson-Wolgast bout. It’s a period that’s not often discussed today, much less appreciated, and Lang does a great job of bring it to life”—The Die is Cast.