Attell, "Abe" (Abraham W.)
Boxing
b. Feb. 22, 1884, San Francisco, CA
d. Feb. 6, 1970
Like many boxers of his time, Attell learned to fight on the streets. In his case, he was protecting himself from Irish-American kids who didn't like having the son of Jewish immigrants living in the neighborhood. And, like many such fighters, he learned to punch first--but then he learned to box from experts such as George Dixon.
At 5-foot-4, Attell was a natural featherweight, but he fought and beat many of the best lightweights around, as well as several welterweights who outweighed him by twenty-five pounds or more.
His first professional fight was in 1900. He claimed the vacant featherweight championship after beating former champion George Dixon in a 15-round decision on October 28, 1901. Tommy Sullivan knocked Attell out in 5 rounds on October 13, 1904, and claimed the title but his claim wasn't recognized because he was over the weight limit.
Three of Attell's title defenses were classic fights against English boxers, none of which resulted in a decision. He fought a 25-round draw and a 23-round draw against Owen Moran in 1908, and on February 19, 1909, he and English lightweight champion Jem Driscoll fought a 10-round no-decision contest that Nat Fleischer of Ring magazine called "one of the best exhibitions of ring science ever seen in New York."
Attell lost the title on a 20-round decision to Johnny Kilbane on February 22, 1912. He continued fighting into 1915. An attempted comeback ended abruptly when he was knocked out by Phil Virgets in the 4th round on January 8, 1917.
Two years later, Attell became involved in baseball's "Black Sox Scandal" as the representative of gambler Arnold Rothstein. It was Attell who gave $10,000 to several Chicago White Sox players who had agreed to throw the World Series with Cincinnati. When the scandal broke in 1920, Attell went to Canada for a year to avoid being subpoenaed.
Attell won 91 of his 168 fights, 47 by knockout. He lost 10, 3 by knockout, and also had 17 draws and 50 no-decisions.