Sammy Luftspring was a
Jewish Canadian
boxer. A former
Canadian Welterweight Champion and highly ranked in the
Welterweight class during his career, Luftspring was forced to
retire from the sport due to an eye injury. He was inducted into
Canada's Sports Hall of
Fame in 1985.
Early career
Luftspring was born and raised in a low class residential area of
Toronto. It was home to many Eastern European (primarily Jewish)
and Italian immigrants. He began his boxing career in 1932 out of
Brunswick Talmud Torah, a local Toronto Jewish community and
recreational centre. Throughout his career, he wore a
Magen David on his trunks. Over the next four
years, he fought 105 times (attaining a record of 100-5) and
captured
Golden Gloves Tournaments in
various weight classes ranging from
bantamweight to
welterweight.
[477866]
By 1933,
he was the Ontario
amateur
lightweight champion and regarded as one
of the best amateur boxing talents. [477867]
In 1933, Luftspring was involved in the infamous Toronto
Christie Pits Riots.
A riot occurred at
Christie
Pits
Park following tensions that occurred during a
series of amateur softball games. Fighting broke out between
a group of young Jewish and Italian men and the local
Swastika Club, a group of Canadian Nazi
sympathizers.
See
Christie
Pits article and the reference for more information on
the incident. [477868]
1936 Berlin Olympics Boycott
Luftspring was named to Canada's Olympic team for the
1936 Berlin Olympics. At the
encouragement of his parents, he refused to attend the Games in
protest over the poor treatment Jews were receiving in
Nazi Germany. He made his views on the subject
public in a letter to the
Toronto
Globe. In the letter, he protested that "the German government
was treating its Jewish brothers and sisters worse than dogs". He
even went as far as to say that "the German government would
exterminate Jews if they had the opportunity".
[477869]
Luftspring
and another boxer, Norman "Baby" Yak, attempted to participate in
an alternate event being hosted that summer, the People's Olympics in Barcelona,
Spain
[477870]. The
Spanish Civil War broke out prior to the
Games' opening ceremonies. The event caused the cancellation of the
People's Olympics.
By the time Luftspring found out about the
cancellation, he had already reached Dieppe, France
. [477871]
Luftspring, disappointed at not having a chance to compete,
returned to Toronto.
Professional career
Luftspring began to box professionally in the fall of 1936. A year
later, he fought
Gordon
Wallace for the Canadian welterweight championship. He lost to
Wallace in a 10-round decision.
In 1938, Luftspring knocked out Frank Genovese in the 13th round to
win the Canadian welterweight championship. This was Ontario's
first-ever scheduled 15-round fight. Luftspring held the Canadian
title for two years. That title fight was one of four times
Luftspring defeated Genovese in his career. Their rivalry was
extremely competitive and one of the dominant storylines of Toronto
boxing in the late 1930s.
That same year, he was ranked the number three welterweight boxer
in the world. He was subsequently offered a chance to fight world
champion
Henry Armstrong in
1940.
In a fight in New York against Steve Belloise, Luftspring was
injured. He was thumbed in the eye. The medical diagnosis was a
detached retina resulting in
significant loss of vision in the eye. The fight was supposed to be
a tune up for the championship bout against Armstrong. Luftspring
was forced to quit boxing.
Details of his career record are unclear. Different reports have
him winning 50 of either 55 or 56 pro bouts.
[477872] More detailed records list him as 32-8 with
14 knockouts.
[477873]
Post-Boxing Activities
Luftspring struggled to establish himself immediately after boxing.
He became a
taxicab driver and then a
representative for a liquor company.
[477874]
Eight years later, however, he became an accomplished referee based
out of Toronto. Some of the prominent and memorable fights he
refereed include:
- September 15, 1958 - The Canadian heavyweight
title match between George Chuvalo
and James J. Parker at Maple Leaf Gardens
.
- October 1, 1965 - The WBA heavyweight title match between George Chuvalo
and Ernie Terrell at Maple Leaf
Gardens.
- January 27, 1970 - A bout
between Humberto Trottman and Clyde Gray at Royal York
Hotel
in which an upset Trottman, thinking Luftspring was
interfering with his style, took a swing at him. Luftspring
responded with a bare-knuckle
left hook off the side of Trottman's
head, forcing Trottman's manager to race into the ring and
intervene. [477875][477876]
Luftspring was also a
nightclub owner in
Toronto.
He, along with three partners Harry Eckler of
the baseball hall of fame, Joe Krol of the football hall of fame
and there friend lou, opened the Mercury Club on Dundas Street, near Bay Street
, in Toronto. It was a successful club, which
saw acts such as
Henny Youngman,
Vic Damone and
Tony Bennett.
[477877]
After a lengthy illness, Luftspring died on September 27,
2000.
Career Highlights
- 1933 - Ontario Amateur Lightweight Boxing Champion
- 1936 - Named to the Canadian Olympic Boxing Team (ELECTED NOT
TO COMPETE)
- 1938 - Canadian Welterweight Boxing Champion
- 1985 - Inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of
Fame
Autobiography
- Call Me Sammy -- Sammy Luftspring
with Brian Swarbrick, Prentice-Hall
Canada Ltd., 1975 -- ISBN 0131126490
References
Wikis
Map
Search
