Toy Bulldog: The Fighting Life and Times of Mickey Walker

by John Jarrett

Overview

This is a cradle-to-grave biography of Mickey Walker, former welterweight (1922-1926) and middleweight champion (1926-1931) of the world, one of the greatest fighters in ring history. He fought at a time when boxing was a major sport with only eight championships, and he held two of them over a nine-year period. He fought at a time when each weight division was jammed with good fighters, and he fought them all from welterweight up to heavyweight, frequently being outweighed 20 to 30 pounds.

Walker was also a great personality who loved life and lived it to the fullest. He was married seven times to four different women, and he cavorted with movie stars and mobsters. When his boxing career ended in 1935, Walker ran saloons in various locations and eventually became an artist of some standing. He died in 1981 at age 79.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786470402
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	03/05/2013
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	525,996
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John Jarrett has been writing about boxing since 1951 and has been the Northern Area Secretary to the British Boxing Board of Control since 1978. He lives in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Preface 1

1 A Born Fighter 3

2 "You Need a Manager, Son" 8

3 Contender 14

4 Champion 24

5 Mickey and Marriage-Part One 33

6 Double Tragedy Hits Champ 41

7 Bootleg Booze and Boxing 48

8 Hollywood and Doc Kearns 53

9 One (or Two) Fights with Harry Greb 59

10 A Favor for Al Capone 69

11 A Shade Too Close 74

12 Backwoods to Broadway 81

13 Ex-Champ 90

14 "And New Middleweight Champion!" 98

15 Adventures Abroad 107

16 Death of the Tiger 114

17 Taming the Wildcat 120

18 Big Night in Chicago 127

19 Marriage, the Mob, and Mayhem in Louisville 136

20 Mickey the Giant Killer 148

21 Half a Heavyweight Champion 157

22 Schmeling-A Fight Too Far 166

23 Rock Bottom-Losing Liz and Doc 180

24 The End of the Road 190

25 Working on Canvas Again, and the Last Wedding 200

Epilogue 209

Chapter Notes 213

Bibliography 225

Index 229

Editorial Reviews

a well-researched and well-written interesting read”—East Side Boxing.

From the Publisher

a well-researched and well-written interesting read

East Side Boxing