Without Ray Arcel (1899–1994), the 20th century world of boxing would have been markedly different. The credibility of it as a sport would have been greatly lessened. Arcel’s prominence is all the more interesting because he made his mark not as a fighter, promoter, or manager, but as a trainer. From Benny Leonard to Roberto Duran and Larry Holmes, Arcel stood in the corner for champions of every weight division that existed in his lifetime, a record that remains unequalled. This biography chronicles Arcel’s life inside the ring—and outside, where he was a highly secretive man who maintained relationships with some of the chief mob figures of his day. Through a wealth of information from Arcel’s unpublished memoir, this work offers an extraordinary portrait of one of boxing’s most influential and enigmatic figures.

Donald Dewey is the author of 30 books of fiction, nonfiction, and drama, including biographies of actors James Stewart and Marcello Mastroianni and works in baseball history. He lives in Jamaica, New York.

Donald Dewey

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 219
Bibliographic Info: 14 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6968-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9087-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      ix
Introduction      1

1. The Spare Man      5
2. The Boy from Indiana      9
3. Settling In      18
4. Jungle Gyms      25
5. Training Wheels      31
6. Travels with Charlie      34
7. New Rules      43
8. Valgarisms      46
9. Partners      50
10. The Family Man—Not      60
11. Paybacks and Comebacks      66
12. Citizens of the Depression      74
13. Out on Limbs      79
14. The Cool and the Crude      90
15. Bums of the Month      97
16. Home Away from Home      103
17. Other Wars      110
18. In Black and White      115
19. Short Memories, Long Memories      123
20. More Champions      129
21. Separated from the Mob      139
22. Vows and Disavowals      149
23. Panama Hats      158
24. No More      171
25. The Final Rounds      179
26. After the Ring      187

Epilogue      193
Arcel as Medic      195
Arcelisms      196
Chapter Notes      197
Bibliography      205
Index      207

“a darn good book…entertaining and well-written informative read…well researched and a very good read…highly recommend it”—Cyber Boxing Zone.