Abe Attell
Abraham Washington Attell (born
February 22,
1884 in
San Francisco, California,
United States â€" died
February 6,
1970 in
New Paltz, New York), better known in the
boxing world as
Abe "The Little Hebrew" Attell, was a
boxer who became known for his record-setting period as world Featherweight champion, as well as for his involvement in the
Black Sox scandal and other scandals.
Attell was a member of a
Jewish family, but he grew up in an Irish neighborhood. Because of that, he often found himself involved in fights, and according to him, he would get involved in as many as 10 bouts each day as a kid. Attell's father abandoned his family when Attell was 13, and Attell had to find a job selling newspapers to support his family. He used to sell them on the streets and corners, and while selling newspapers, he got a chance to witness the fight between
Solly Smith and
George Dixon for the world's Featherweight championship. With that, Attell and two of his brothers were convinced that maybe they had a future in boxing.
Attell's first fight was on
August 19,
1900, when he knocked out
Kid Lennett in two rounds. His mother, who strongly opposed Attell's idea of being a boxer, later became one of Attell's staunchest supporters, even betting on her son to win. He gained the nickname "The Little Hebrew" in these early fights.
Attell won ten fights in a row by
knockout and later moved to
Denver, Colorado, where he met Dixon for the world's Featherweight championship in
1903, when Attell was 18. He beat Dixon by a decision in fifteen rounds, and became world Featherweight champion. He lost the crown in his second defense, being knocked out in five rounds by
Tommy Sullivan. However, he regained the crown from Sullivan by beating him in their rematch by knockout. Attell then went on his streak of 18 defenses in a row (a division record until
Eusebio Pedroza broke it in
1985). Attell beat, among others,
Battling Nelson and
Johnny Kilbane during that streak. His nicknamed changed into the "The Little Champ" during this streak.
During his time as a world champion, Attell was allegedly involved with
mafioso Arnold Rothstein. According to some legends, they became very good friends during this period.
Attell went on to lose his world Featherweight title to Kilbane in
1912, losing by a 20 round decision, in a fight where Kilbane declared that Attell's handlers put a substance on Attell's glove to make Kilbane blind. According to live witnesses, Attell also tried an assortment of other illegal methods to win the fight.
On
July 4,
1913, Attell accidentally hit the referee on the face during a win against
Willie Beecher. He finally retired in
1917.
Attell was involved in one of
sport's largest scandals of all time, when he was accused in
1920 of being the messenger between Rothstein and players of the
Chicago White Sox baseball organization, during the planning stages of the alleged
fix of the
1919 World Series, also known as the
Black Sox scandal. Attell's name made it back to the newspaper headlines, and he along with Rothstein and many White Sox players, were formally accused of many charges, including fixing the event. All were eventually found not guilty but banned from participating in baseball activities. Attell subsequently denied being involved in any talks about fixing the series, and he alleged that the wrong Abe Attell was accused.
As a consequence, Attell is, alongside Rothstein,
Shoeless Joe Jackson and
Pete Rose, one of the few people banned from joining the
Baseball Hall of Fame. He was, however, a member of the original boxing Hall of Fame, a member of the
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the
San Francisco Boxing Hall of Fame, and of the
International Boxing Hall Of Fame. In the latter, he was inducted as a member of their original class, in
1990.
Attell had a record of 92 wins, 10 losses, 18 draws and 45 no-decisions, with 51 wins by knockout, making him a member of
Ring Magazine's list of fighters with 50 or more knockout wins.
*
Biography at Jewishsports
