Tony Zale

Zale in 1940
Personal information
Nickname	Man of Steel[1]
Nationality	American
Born	Anthony Florian Zaleski (1913-05-29)May 29, 1913 Gary, Indiana, U.S.
Died	March 20, 1997(1997-03-20) (aged 83)
Height	5 ft7+1⁄2 in (1.71 m)
Weight	Middleweight
Boxing career
Reach	69 in (175 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	87
Wins	67
Win by KO	45
Losses	18
Draws	2

Anthony Florian Zaleski (May 29, 1913 – March 20, 1997), known professionally asTony Zale, was an Americanboxer.^[2] Zale was born and raised inGary, Indiana, asteel town, which gave him his nickname, "Man of Steel",^[3] reinforced by his reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win. Zale, who held the world middleweight title multiple times,^[4] was known as a crafty boxer and punishing body puncher who wore his opponents down before knocking them out.^[5] In 1990, Zale was awarded thePresidential Citizens Medal by President George. H. W. Bush.^[6]

The 1941 bout between Zale and Billy Pryor atJuneau Park,Milwaukee, attracted 135,132 spectators, a figure that remains the highest attendance in boxing history.^[7]

Zale metGeorgie Abrams inMadison Square Garden in a world middleweight championship match on November 28, 1941, before a crowd of nearly 10,000. Despite knocking Zale down in the first round, a poke in the eye from Zale's glove left him with pain and blurred vision. From the fourth round on, Abrams fought with his left eye nearly closed. Blood from a cut opened above his right eye in the third from an accidental head butt from Zale caused additional vision problems from blood that dripped from the wound. Despite fighting half blind, Abrams fought courageously for fifteen rounds. Abrams lost in a close match, due to the incessant body attacks of Zale in the late rounds, particularly the ninth where he received a severe two handed attack to the midsection.^[8][9] The Associated Press judged Abrams the winner with eight rounds to Zale's seven.^{[citation needed]}

Zale was a two-time worldmiddleweight champion and madeThe Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Zale is best remembered for his three bouts over a 21-month period withRocky Graziano for the middleweight crown. These three bouts were among the most brutal and exciting middleweight championship matches of all time. The first match took place inYankee Stadium,New York City. Zale had served inWorld War II, was thirty-three years old, and had been inactive for about four years. Graziano was on a winning knockout streak and seemed to be in his prime. In their first match (September 27, 1946), after flooring Graziano in the first round, Zale took a savage beating from Graziano, and was on the verge of losing the fight byTKO. However, he rallied and knocked out Graziano in the sixth round to retain his title. The rematch, a year later inChicago (July 16, 1947), was a mirror image of their first fight. Graziano was battered around the ring, suffered a closed eye and appeared ready to lose by a knockout, then rallied and knocked Zale out in the sixth round, becoming middleweight champion of the world.

Their last fight was held inNew Jersey the following year (June 10, 1948). Zale regained his crown, winning the match by a knockout in the third round. The knockout blows consisted of a perfect combination of a right to Graziano's body, then a left hook to Graziano's jaw. Graziano was knocked unconscious. This fight was Zale's last hurrah. His age and the many ring wars he fought seemed to catch up with him in his next fight against European ChampionMarcel Cerdan later that year, who stopped him in the eleventh round to win the middleweight championship of the world (September 21, 1948). 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.

Edith Piaf, who at the time was having an affair with Cerdan, was in the audience, praying toSaint Therese for his victory. Two of the three Graziano fights and the Cerdan fight were namedThe Ring magazine Fight of the Year.

Zale was a 1991 inductee to theInternational Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF). In November 2015, his championship belts were stolen^[10] from the IBHOF. The belts were on loan from Zale's family, and have yet to be returned.

Zale was originally cast to play himself in the movieSomebody Up There Likes Me. According to directorRobert Wise,Paul Newman (playing Graziano) was hesitant to fully engage Zale during rehearsal, fearing that Zale might reflexively knock him out if Newman inadvertently hit him too hard. As Newman had to appear aggressive against Zale in the film, Wise felt it was necessary to replace Zale with actor Courtland Shepard for the final fight scene.^[11]

• NYSACmiddleweight champion (160 lbs) (2×)
• NBA (WBA) middleweight champion (160 lbs) (2×)

• The Ring middleweight champion (160 lbs) (2×)

• Undisputed middleweight champion (2×)

• List of middleweight boxing champions

Wikimedia Commons has media related toTony Zale.

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• World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductees

• 1913 births
• 1997 deaths
• Middleweight boxers
• Boxers from Indiana
• Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana
• American people of Polish descent
• American male boxers
• American military personnel of World War II
• International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees
• 20th-century American sportsmen

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