Abe Attell
Born	Abraham Washington Attell February 22, 1883 San Francisco,California, U.S.
Died	February 7, 1970(1970-02-07) (aged 86) New Paltz, New York, U.S.
Other names	The Little Hebrew
Statistics
Weight(s)	Featherweight
Height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Reach	66 in (168 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	154
Wins	110
Wins by KO	38
Losses	17
Draws	25
No contests	2

Abraham Washington Attell (February 22, 1883 – February 7, 1970), often referred to by newspapers as "The Little Hebrew", was an Americanboxer who became known for his record-setting, six year consecutive reign as World Featherweight Champion from 1906 to 1912, and his nearly consecutive ten-year reign starting in 1902. Said to be a friend of the gangsterArnold Rothstein, Attell was charged with game fixing in theBlack Sox Scandal in 1919, but the charges were dismissed before trial. He also was suspected of other infractions including fixing fights, and using drugs during a fight.^[1]

Attell was born inSan Francisco, California, the son ofJewish parents. Many sources give his year of birth as 1884, but in an article published in the October 1961 issue ofCavalier magazine, he stated that he had turned 78 that year. A copy of his passport also gives his birth year as 1883, and the 1900 U.S. Census gives his age as 17. Growing up in a mostlyIrish neighborhood, he was often involved in fights with neighborhood boys. He said as a kid, he sometimes had up to 10 bouts each day. After his father abandoned the family when Attell was 13, he sold newspapers to earn money. Selling at the corner of 8th and Market, near the Mechanics Pavilion, a frequent venue for important boxing matches, Attell watched the fight between Solly Smith andGeorge Dixon for the world's Featherweight championship. With that, Attell and his brothers Caesar andMonte became convinced they might have futures in boxing.

Attell's first professional fight was at age 17 on August 19, 1900, when he knocked out Kid Lennett in two rounds at theSan Francisco Athletic Club.^[2] His mother, who strongly opposed his boxing, later became one of his staunchest supporters, betting on him to win.

After winning 10 fights in a row byknockout, Attell moved toDenver, Colorado. At the age of 18, he foughtGeorge Dixon and beat him in a 15-round decision after having drawn with him twice before. In 1903, he beat Johnny Reagan in a 20 round decision to claim the previously vacated featherweight title one year afterYoung Corbett II vacated.

Attell successfully defended his title twenty-two times between 1906 and 1912, which to this day remains a division record. Among other opponents, Attell beatBattling Nelson andJohnny Kilbane during this period. He was often called "The Little Champ" or "The Little Hebrew" by newspapers. From 1909 to 1910, his brother Monte Attell, called the "Nob Hill Terror", held the Bantamweight Championship, making them the first brothers to hold world titles simultaneously. His brother, Caesar Attell also fought and was called "Two and a Half," for always giving that amount whenever the hat was passed for charity at a boxing event, which he attended faithfully. During his time as world featherweight champion, Attell was allegedly involved with gambler/gangsterArnold Rothstein. According to some accounts, they became good friends during this period.

Attell defeated American 1905 World Bantamweight ChampionJimmy Walsh three times in title matches; on September 12, 1907, for a ten-round decision in Indianapolis, on December 7, 1906, in a ten-round TKO in Los Angeles, and on February 22, 1906, for a fifteen-round decision in Chelsea, Massachusetts, in which Attell "badly punished" Walsh. Not surprisingly, Attell was the odds on favorite for the December 1906 fight. He met Attell twice in non-title matches on April 3, 1913, in New York in a ten-round loss by decision and on October 24, 1912, in a twelve-round draw in Boston. After the April 3, 1913, New York bout, Walsh's manager Eddie Keevin filed charges against Attell with the New York boxing commission stating that Attell had used eye gouging against Walsh during the fight.^[3][4][5]

Attell lost his World Featherweight Title to Johnny Kilbane in 1912, in a 20-round decision. Kilbane claimed that Attell's handlers put chloroform on the fighter's glove to blind him. Other witnesses claimed other illegal tactics were used in the fight.^[6] On July 4, 1913, Attell accidentally hit a referee during a win against Willie Beecher. He finally retired in 1917. Attell managed one boxer,Marty Goldman. He coached him to a 33 Win (10 ko's), 11 Loss, 3 Draw record in 47 career fights.^[7]

After his professional boxing career ended, Attell operated a shoe store in New York City, doing a good business selling to customers, fans and sporting people who came in to see him. He gave up the shoe business around June 1916 to go into vaudeville.

His name was later linked to the infamous Black Sox baseball scandal of 1919. He was alleged to have been the bag man for gamblerArnold Rothstein and to have given $10,000 to several Chicago White Sox players. They had in return 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. Rothstein was never indicted for the crime.

In 1920 Attell was accused of being the messenger between the gangster Rothstein and players of theChicago White Soxbaseball organization, during the planning stages of thefix of the1919 World Series. Prior to the series, Attell had been approached by former fighterBilly Maharg and formerMajor League Baseball pitcher"Sleepy" Bill Burns in their bid to get Rothstein to financially back the fix. TheBlack Sox scandal was considered a major outrage in sports and Attell's name appeared in newspaper headlines related to the scandal. He and many White Sox players were formally charged with several counts, including fixing the event, however Rothstein was never charged. All were eventually acquitted at trial, but Major League Baseball banned them from participating in baseball activities at any level. Attell denied having been involved in any talks about fixing the series and convinced the jury that the wrong Abe Attell was accused.

Attell died inNew Paltz, New York, on February 7, 1970.^[7][8]

Following the 1919 Major League Baseball gambling impropriety, which did much to taint a spectacular featherweight career, Attell lived a full and extraordinary life.

In 2017,McFarland & Company published the first comprehensive biography of Attell,The Fighting Times of Abe Attell, by author Mark Allen Baker.^[7]

Attell was inducted posthumously as a member of various halls of fame:

• 1955, the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame^[9]
• 1982, National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame;
• 1983, theInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame^[9]
• 1981, World Boxing Hall of Fame.
• 1985,San Francisco Boxing Hall of Fame;
• 1990, first class of theInternational Boxing Hall of Fame
• His record of 92 wins, 10 losses, 18 draws and 45 no-decisions, with 51 wins by knockout, earned him a place on the list ofRing Magazine: "Fighters with 50 or More Knockout Wins".

All information in this section is derived fromBoxRec,^[10] unless otherwise stated.

Allnewspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Record with the inclusion ofnewspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.

• List of select Jewish boxers
• Black Sox Scandal

• Boxing record for Abe Attell fromBoxRec(registration required)
• Abe Attell - CBZ Profile
• Biography at Jewishsports
• Abe Attell atFind a Grave

• 1883 births
• 1970 deaths
• Featherweight boxers
• International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees
• Jews from California
• Boxers from San Francisco
• World boxing champions
• World featherweight boxing champions
• Jewish American boxers
• International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees
• People from New Paltz, New York
• American male boxers

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