Tony Zale (left) and Rocky Graziano
June 10, 1948: For the 3rd time, Rocky Graziano and Tony Zale fight for the Middleweight Championship of the World.
Thomas Rocco Barbella was born on January 1, 1919 in Brooklyn, and grew up in Manhattan's East Village. He was a bad kid, in and out of reform schools, and deserted from the U.S. Army during World War II. He was dishonorably discharged, and sent to the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. His father was a boxer, and it was in Leavenworth that he took up boxing, and used the name Rocky Graziano. He was released, and built a record of 43-6-5 by the Spring of 1946, getting him his 1st title shot.
That shot would be against Anthony Florian Zaleski, born on May 29, 1913 in Gary, Indiana, a steel-producing city 30 miles southeast of Chicago. Because of his hometown, the fighter who shortened his name to Tony Zale became known as "The Man of Steel." Around the same time, the comic book character Superman gained the same nickname. Soviet dictator Joseph Jughashvili chose the name "Stalin" because it meant the same thing.
Zale built a 42-14-2 record by the Summer of 1940, when he got a shot at the share of the Middleweight Championship of the World that was sanctioned by the National Boxing Association (NBA). On July 19, he fought Champion Al Hostak at Civic Stadium in Seattle (torn down and replaced by Memorial Stadium in 1947), and knocked him out in the 13th round.
He won a rematch with Hostak in Chicago on May 28, 1941. On November 28, he faced Georgie Abrams at the old Madison Square Garden for the recognition of the Middleweight title by the New York State Athletic Commission and The Ring magazine, a.k.a. "The Bible of Boxing." It had been vacated by the retirement of Billy Soose, who had beaten Zale in a non-title bout. The Zale-Abrams fight went the distance, and Zale was named the winner in a unanimous decision. Now, he was the undisputed Middleweight Champion of the World.
Three months later, in a non-title fight, also at The Garden, Zale lost to Light Heavyweight Champion Billy Conn. Due to World War II, Zale didn't fight again for 4 years, serving in the U.S. Navy. He won his 1st 6 postwar fights, and then fought Graziano at Yankee Stadium. Zale knocked Graziano down in the 1st round, but that only seemed to make Graziano mad: Over the next 4 rounds, Graziano clobbered Zale, and seemed on the verge of knocking him out. But in the 6th round, Zale rallied, and knocked Graziano out, to retain the title.
Certainly, Graziano had earned a rematch. After 5 interim bouts for Zale, all knockouts 6 rounds or shorter, and 2 for Graziano, knockouts which totaled 6 rounds, they had their 2nd fight, July 17, 1947, at the Chicago Stadium. It was the reverse of the 1st fight: Zale took the early lead, opening a cut over Graziano's left eye that nearly led the referee to stop the fight. But Graziano rallied, and knocked Zale out in the 6th.
Graziano had his title. He took the ring microphone afterward, and overheard by millions over nationwide radio, announced to his mother, "Somebody up there likes me." It may have been the 1st time a professional athlete thanked God for helping him win.
Bert Randolph Sugar, the sports historian who knew more about boxing than anybody, once said, "Their first two fights are among the 10 greatest of all time." It seemed only natural the rivalry become a trilogy. To warm up, Graziano had 1 fight, a unanimous decision over Sonny Horne; while Zale had 3 fights, all knockouts, totaling 9 rounds.
The 3rd fight was held at Ruppert Stadium, home of minor-league baseball's Newark Bears, in the Ironbound section of Newark, New Jersey. It was (and remains) a hardscrabble area, and the fight was a match for it. The 1st 2 rounds were hard, but the 3rd would be harder for Graziano, as Zale plunged a right into his body, and then a left hook into his jaw. Graziano was out cold, and Zale had regained the title.
For most of boxing history, a professional fight was set for a maximum of 15 rounds. Tony Zale and Rocky Graziano fought 3 times, and they totaled 15 rounds. And they were as rough as any 3 fights between any 2 fighters in boxing history, including Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
But, just as the 3 fights with Frazier took a lot out of Ali, the 3 fights between them took a lot out of Graziano and Zale. Graziano commented that years later he would wake up in a cold sweat, having had the recurring nightmare of being back in the ring with Zale, who he said "really was a man of steel."
Indeed, Ray Zale recalled his uncle as "a very mild-mannered, non-egotistical person. He was not really outgoing, but would talk to any kid who came up to him." As a teenager, Ray was in the crowd at his uncle's last 2 fights with Graziano, and didn't recognize what he saw. "It was very difficult to believe this was the same guy," he said. "It was like Jekyll and Hyde. Once he got into the ring, he was like Mr. Hyde."
But the fights with Graziano got to Zale, too. Just 3 months later, at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, right across Newark Bay from Ruppert Stadium, Moroccan-French boxer Marcel Cerdan pounded him to the point that Zale had to quit in the 11th round. It was Zale's last fight: He was 35, and although many boxers have something left at that point, he felt he didn't.
Graziano kept fighting, but only got 1 more title shot, in 1952. By that point, the Middleweight Champion was Sugar Ray Robinson, who destroyed him in 3rd rounds. Graziano retired after losing his very next fight, a 10-round decision to Chuck Davey.
Graziano wrote an autobiography, titled Somebody Up There Likes Me, about his rise from street hoodlum to boxing champion. A film was commissioned, and James Dean was supposed to play him, but was killed in a car crash. The role went to Paul Newman, and made a star out of him. Director Robert Wise asked Zale to play himself, but when they rehearsed the boxing scenes, Newman was tentative, fearing that, if he hit Zale too hard, Zale would hit him harder. With that in mind, Wise replaced Zale with a professional actor, Courtland Shepard.
Graziano became an actor, and my generation knows him best from seeing him in commercials for OTB, New York City's now-defunct "Off-Track Betting" service for horse racing.
He was married to Norma Unger from 1943 until his death on May 22, 1990, at 71. They had 2 children.
Zale coached boxing, and one of his students was later heavyweight contender Ernie Terrell. In 1968, he campaigned with Senator Robert F. Kennedy, helping him win the Indiana Primary. He married late in life, in 1970, to Philomena "Frisco" Gianfranciso, who played from 1943 to 1947, as Philomena "Frisco" Gianfranciso, she played in the All-American Girls Baseball League from 1943 to 1947. They had no children, and she died in 1992. Tony Zale died on March 20, 1997, at 83.
Zale and Graziano were elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in Canastota, New York, together in 1991.
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June 10, 1948 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Giants lost to the Chicago Cubs, 6-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Carl Furillo hit a home run. The Dodgers' only other hit was a single by Gene Hermanski. Jackie Robinson went 0-for-3.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 15-7 at Fenway Park in Boston. Joe Dobson was the winning pitcher. Bob Feller was knocked out of the box in the 3rd inning. Ted Williams went 2-for-4 with with a walk and 2 RBIs.
* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-4 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.
* The Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.
* The Boston Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Stan Musial hit a home run.
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