Gene Pantalone - From Boxing Ring to Battlefield: The Life of War Hero Lew Jenkins

Praise for From Boxing Ring to Battlefield

The life of Lew Jenkins is the stuff of boxing legend. From his Depression-era upbringing and carnival barnstorming to winning a world title and squandering it all before becoming a war hero, Jenkins is an epic pulp novel come to life. In the capable hands of Gene Pantalone, the story brims with all the hardscrabble detail you want in a great boxing book. This is a must-read for fans of the squared circles history.Chad Dundas, sportswriter and award-winning author of Champion of the World

I served in combat with Lew Jenkins during the Korean War when he received his Silver Star. Jenkins was a brave soldier who cared for his men. It was an honor to have served with him.Sergeant Ronald E. Rosser, Medal of Honor recipient, Korea, 195152

Too often the history of boxing boils down to tales about heavyweights, as if the exploits of Sullivan, Johnson, Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, Ali, and Tyson are all that matter. Well, Lew Jenkinslightweight champion, war hero, and a danger to himself as much as any opponentmattered. His is the story of survival in the ring, in two wars, and in life. Gene Pantalones biography of Jenkins richly recounts a fascinating life.Randy Roberts, professor of history, Purdue University, and coauthor of A Season in the Sun: The Rise of Mickey Mantle

Until the publication of Gene Pantalones biography, the annals of boxing have been missing a chapteron Hall-of-Famer Lew Jenkins. Jenkins was a bony Texan who, as a world lightweight champion, mastered the stylized warfare of the ring as well as the real thingWWII and the Korean War. A must-read for all students of the history of the sweet science, Pantalones richly documented biography presents an arresting portrait of a boxer and soldier who was as wild as a pirate and as courageous as Achilles.Gordon Marino, veteran boxing trainer and award-winning boxing writer for the Wall Street Journal and HBO Inside Boxing

Lew Jenkins had a howitzer of a right hand and sometimes fought drunk. What more could you ask for?Nigel Collins, ESPN Boxing analyst and columnist, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, and former editor-in-chief of The Ring magazine

A full-length biography of boxer Lew Jenkins has been long overdue, and here Gene Pantalone does a good job of connecting Jenkins hardscrabble upbringing in rural Texas to the bright lights of Broadway to the grim realities of the battlefield. Its an exceptional story of a fighters struggle, success, disgrace, and a sincere and hard-earned redemption.Clay Coppedge, author of Texas Singularities and Forgotten Tales of Texas

Gene Pantalone has done a remarkable job bringing lightweight champ and Hall of Famer Lew Jenkins to life in this most entertaining and informative biography. The Sweetwater Swatter was one helluva hard puncher... sos his biographer.Clarence George, boxing writer and historian

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

ISBN 9781538116746 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 9781538116753 (ebook)

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

The two toughest opponents I had were Jack Daniels and Harley Davidson.Lew Jenkins (Abdo, 1981)

Lew Jenkins, 1941. Smithsonian American Art Museum.

John DiSanto

Im a lifelong boxing fan who is especially intrigued by the sports history and the many fascinating personalities that make up its colorful roll call, so a new book like this represents, to me, another exciting contribution to fight-game literature and the ongoing record kept by boxing writers like Gene Pantalone. Here, the author has delved into one of the sports true characters, and he sets the record straight on the unlikely and controversial story of boxer Lew Jenkins.

Not many members of the sweet science fraternity can compare to Jenkins, with his crazy life and legendary career. The former world lightweight champion was wild and unruly inside the ring and even more so outside it. As a boxer, he was a brutal puncher who faced many of the very best fighters of his eraarguably the finest period of the sport. At his peak, he toppled Lou Ambers for world title honors, but before long his undisciplined lifestyle cost him his crown and set the stage for much of the remainder of his life. Still, his brief prime as the best 135-pounder in the world is a classic tale of a natural-born fighter punching his way to the top. Although infamous for much of his life beyond the ropes, Jenkins also served with valor in two wars. The shifting balance of his story is compelling to say the least, and its all here.

As the founder of PhillyBoxingHistory.com, I am primarily interested in the ring heritage of Philadelphia, one of boxings greatest fighting cities. Although Jenkins, a Texan who made his name mostly in New York, was not a cornerstone of Philly history, the Sweetwater Swatter still touched Philadelphias narrative in important ways.

Jenkins faced many Philly fighters, fought several times in the City of Brotherly Love, and even relocated to Philadelphia late in his career. His story includes brushes with notorious racketeer Blinky Palermo, and his savage two-bout series with the Philadelphia Bobcat, Bob Montgomery, stands out as a treasured rivalry of the sports pastso unlike anything we now see, even among todays most competitive boxers. Further, Jenkinss Hall of Fame career intersects with those of so many all-time great fighters and memorable events that a book about his troubled life serves as a primer on the sports golden era. Such a publication will certainly be a welcome addition to my library.

Gene Pantalone has, for the second time, tackled an interesting and specific slice of boxing history in his writing. His first book, Madame Beys: Home to Boxing Legends, tells the nearly forgotten story of perhaps the greatest of all training camps, which became the prefight tradition of and second home to champions and contenders alikeJoe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Max Schmeling, Tony Galento, and a host of other giants. Pantalones From Boxing Ring to Battlefield: The Life of War Hero Lew Jenkins tells another tale of boxings better days, when the sport commanded the attention of the masses, and its participants captured the imagination of every sports fan.