| Ben Jeby | |
| Realname: | Benjamin Morris Jebaltowsky |
| Weight: | Middleweight |
| Height: | 5feet |
| Reach: | 5feet |
| Nationality: | American |
| Birth Date: | 27 December 1909 |
| Birth Place: | Lower East Side, New York |
| Death Place: | New York, New York |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 73 |
| Wins: | 54 |
| Ko: | 22 |
| Losses: | 14 |
| Draws: | 4 |
| No Contests: | 1 |
Ben Jeby (born Benjamin Morris Jebaltowsky, in 1909), was an American world champion middleweight boxer from the Lower East Side of New York City. He was managed by the legendary Hymie Caplin.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Jeby was born on December 27, 1909, near Clinton and Delancey Streets in New York's teaming Lower East side to Jewish parents.
He turned professional in 1927, at the age of 19.[4]
He defeated Joey LaGrey in an eight-round points decision on August 19, 1930, in at Queensboro Stadium in Long Island. Harry Ebbets fell to Jeby in a ten-round points decision at Madison Square Garden on November 14, 1930. There were no knockdowns in the bout.[8]
He drew in ten rounds with Dave Shade, the division's number one contender, on September 8, 1931, at Queensboro Stadium. In the close bout, Jeby had an edge in the third, fourth, and final three rounds.[9] The following month he lost to Shade in a twelve-round unanimous decision at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Jeby would become one of several Jewish title-holders of the time.[10] [11] [12] [13] On March 20, 1931, weighing 157.5 pounds, he defeated Len Harvey on points over 12 rounds in a unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Jeby fought a rushing, mauling, body punching battle, at close range, for which Harvey had no answer. His attempts to clinch were inadequate to stop the onrush of Jeby.[14] [15] [16]
My Sullivan fell to Jeby from a technical knockout in the ninth at Chicago Stadium before a crowd of 11,000 on February 26, 1932. Sullivan had built a substantial lead in the early rounds, but Jeby got to him with both hands in the later rounds, finally leaving him helpless on the ropes in the ninth.[17]
He had a difficult loss to Frank Battaglia in a first-round knockout at Chicago Stadium on March 18, 1932. The knockout loss, which came 1:30 into the first round, discouraged Jeby, but ultimately did not affect his plans to pursue the World Middleweight title. The two would meet again.[5] [4]
Chick Devlin fell soundly to Jeby in a fifteen-round points decision at New York's St. Nicholas Arena on November 21, 1932. The fifteen-round decision for Jeby upheld his contention hopes for the Middleweight title.[18]
From 1932 to 1933, Jeby was the New York Boxing Commission Middleweight Champion of the World.[3] [19] [20] Jeby defeated Canadian Frankie Battaglia, viewed as one of the world's best middleweights, by TKO at Madison Square Garden in a title fight on January 13, 1933. In the twelfth round, referee Jack Britton stopped the fighting due to a cut on Battaglia's eye. The injury was caused by a left hook from Jeby in the third round. Battaglia was down for a count of nine in the second.[21] [22] [23]
He defeated Paul Pirrone on January 30, 1933, in a sixth-round technical knockout in Cleveland. The quarterfinal match was for the NYSAC's World Middleweight Tournament. A crowd of 8,400 saw Jeby drop Pirrone seven times before the bout was stopped in the sixth.[24]
Jeby fought Vince Dundee to a draw over 15 rounds, keeping his title, at Madison Square Garden on March 17, 1933.[25] The crowd of 11,000 felt strongly that Dundee had won the bout and reacted with derision to the draw ruling. Jeby, who had twice previously lost to Dundee, looked far worse than his opponent at the end of the bout.[26]
Young Terry fell to Jeby in an NYSAC Middleweight Title bout at Dreamland Park in New Jersey in a fifteen-round points decision on July 10, 1933. Terry mounted a bristling two-fisted attack in the final two rounds that had many in the crowd of 12,052 unhappy with the final decision for Jeby. Jeby won six, Terry five, and four were even.[27]
On August 9, 1933, he was knocked out by Lou Brouillard in the seventh round of a scheduled 15-round title fight at the Polo Grounds, surrendering his NYSAC World Middleweight title.[28] [29] Although only twenty-five at the time, Jeby's career began to falter after the loss of his title.[4]
On April 6, 1934, he lost to Teddy Yarosz in a twelve-round points decision in Pittsburgh. The bout was a title match for the Pennsylvania version of the World Middleweight Title. Yarosz's powerful right continually assaulted Jeby with devastating results, but Jeby managed to hold off a knockout. The Pittsburgh Press credited Yarosz with nine rounds, with only one to Jeby.[30]
In 73 bouts, he was 54–14 with 22 knockouts.[31]
After he retired from the ring, Jeby obtained a plumber's license and worked in that field the rest of his life. He died on October 5, 1985, in New York, and was survived by wife Evelyn Siedman, a former chorus line dancer.[4] [32]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | Win | 54–14–4 | Jackie Aldare | PTS | 8 | Jul 15, 1934 | ||
| 72 | Win | 53–14–4 | Al Cocozza | TKO | 2 (10) | Jul 1, 1934 | ||
| 71 | Loss | 52–14–4 | Swede Berglund | PTS | 10 | Jun 20, 1934 | ||
| 70 | Win | 52–13–4 | Anson Green | UD | 10 | Apr 27, 1934 | ||
| 69 | Loss | 51–13–4 | Teddy Yarosz | PTS | 12 | Apr 6, 1934 | ||
| 68 | Loss | 51–12–4 | Vince Dundee | MD | 10 | Feb 16, 1934 | ||
| 67 | Loss | 51–11–4 | Al Diamond | PTS | 10 | Feb 8, 1934 | ||
| 66 | Loss | 51–10–4 | Young Terry | PTS | 10 | Jan 3, 1934 | ||
| 65 | Win | 51–9–4 | Joey LaGrey | PTS | 10 | Nov 17, 1933 | ||
| 64 | Win | 50–9–4 | Al Rossi | PTS | 10 | Nov 9, 1933 | ||
| 63 | Win | 49–9–4 | Joey LaGrey | PTS | 10 | Sep 5, 1933 | ||
| 62 | Loss | 48–9–4 | Lou Brouillard | KO | 7 (15) | Aug 9, 1933 | ||
| 61 | Win | 48–8–4 | Young Terry | PTS | 15 | Jul 10, 1933 | ||
| 60 | Win | 47–8–4 | Al Rossi | PTS | 12 | Jun 2, 1933 | ||
| 59 | 46–8–4 | Gorilla Jones | NC | 6 (12) | Apr 19, 1933 | |||
| 58 | Draw | 46–8–4 | Vince Dundee | PTS | 15 | Mar 17, 1933 | ||
| 57 | Win | 46–8–3 | Paul Pirrone | TKO | 6 (12) | Jan 30, 1933 | ||
| 56 | Win | 45–8–3 | Frank Battaglia | TKO | 12 (15) | Jan 13, 1933 | ||
| 55 | Win | 44–8–3 | Chick Devlin | PTS | 15 | Nov 21, 1932 | ||
| 54 | Win | 43–8–3 | Paul Pirrone | TKO | 6 (10) | Oct 13, 1932 | ||
| 53 | Win | 42–8–3 | Nick Palmer | TKO | 4 (10) | Aug 19, 1932 | ||
| 52 | Win | 41–8–3 | Leo Larrivee | KO | 1 (8) | Aug 4, 1932 | ||
| 51 | Win | 40–8–3 | Roscoe Manning | PTS | 10 | Jul 21, 1932 | ||
| 50 | Win | 39–8–3 | Billy Kohut | TKO | 3 (6) | Jul 15, 1932 | ||
| 49 | Loss | 38–8–3 | Frank Battaglia | KO | 1 (10) | Mar 18, 1932 | ||
| 48 | Win | 38–7–3 | Babe Marshall | TKO | 9 (10) | Feb 26, 1932 | ||
| 47 | Win | 37–7–3 | Babe Marshall | TKO | 4 (10) | Feb 22, 1932 | ||
| 46 | Win | 36–7–3 | Al Lamont | KO | 2 (6) | Jan 4, 1932 | ||
| 45 | Win | 35–7–3 | Eddie Whalen | KO | 3 (8) | Dec 29, 1931 | ||
| 44 | Win | 34–7–3 | Jackie Aldare | PTS | 8 | Dec 12, 1931 | ||
| 43 | Win | 33–7–3 | Buck McTiernan | TKO | 7 (10) | Nov 9, 1931 | ||
| 42 | Win | 32–7–3 | Charley Horn | KO | 6 (6) | Oct 26, 1931 | ||
| 41 | Loss | 31–7–3 | Dave Shade | UD | 12 | Oct 2, 1931 | ||
| 40 | Draw | 31–6–3 | Dave Shade | PTS | 10 | Sep 8, 1931 | ||
| 39 | Draw | 31–6–2 | Pete August | PTS | 10 | Aug 24, 1931 | ||
| 38 | Win | 31–6–1 | Ignacio Ara | PTS | 10 | Jul 23, 1931 | ||
| 37 | Loss | 30–6–1 | Young Terry | PTS | 10 | Jun 29, 1931 | ||
| 36 | Loss | 30–5–1 | Vince Dundee | PTS | 10 | Jun 4, 1931 | ||
| 35 | Win | 30–4–1 | Johnny Pilc | UD | 10 | Apr 24, 1931 | ||
| 34 | Win | 29–4–1 | Laddie Lee | KO | 5 (10) | Apr 10, 1931 | ||
| 33 | Win | 28–4–1 | Len Harvey | UD | 12 | Mar 20, 1931 | ||
| 32 | Win | 27–4–1 | Battling Tracey | PTS | 8 | Feb 2, 1931 | ||
| 31 | Win | 26–4–1 | Harry Ebbets | PTS | 10 | Nov 14, 1930 | ||
| 30 | Win | 25–4–1 | Babe McCorgary | PTS | 6 | Sep 30, 1930 | ||
| 29 | Win | 24–4–1 | Joe Dundee | PTS | 8 | Sep 11, 1930 | ||
| 28 | Win | 23–4–1 | Joey LaGrey | PTS | 8 | Aug 19, 1930 | ||
| 27 | Win | 22–4–1 | Dennis Golden | TKO | 6 (6) | Aug 1, 1930 | ||
| 26 | Loss | 21–4–1 | Vince Dundee | PTS | 10 | Apr 4, 1930 | ||
| 25 | Win | 21–3–1 | Floyd Hybert | KO | 1 (6) | Mar 22, 1930 | ||
| 24 | Win | 20–3–1 | Floyd Hybert | PTS | 6 | Mar 8, 1930 | ||
| 23 | Win | 19–3–1 | Billy Franklin | PTS | 10 | Feb 17, 1930 | ||
| 22 | Win | 18–3–1 | Joey LaGrey | PTS | 6 | Dec 30, 1929 | ||
| 21 | Win | 17–3–1 | Tony Vaccarelli | PTS | 10 | Nov 18, 1929 | ||
| 20 | Win | 16–3–1 | Alf Ros | PTS | 10 | Oct 11, 1929 | ||
| 19 | Win | 15–3–1 | Nick Palmer | KO | 8 (10) | Sep 18, 1929 | ||
| 18 | Win | 14–3–1 | Joe Salino | PTS | 10 | Aug 13, 1929 | ||
| 17 | Win | 13–3–1 | Jackie Horner | PTS | 8 | Jul 23, 1929 | ||
| 16 | Win | 12–3–1 | Charlie Rosen | PTS | 10 | Jul 2, 1929 | ||
| 15 | Loss | 11–3–1 | Alf Ros | PTS | 10 | Jun 6, 1929 | ||
| 14 | Loss | 11–2–1 | Cecil Harper | PTS | 10 | Mar 15, 1929 | ||
| 13 | Win | 11–1–1 | Cecil Harper | TKO | 2 (8) | Feb 1, 1929 | ||
| 12 | Win | 10–1–1 | Cecil Harper | KO | 3 (6) | Jan 18, 1929 | ||
| 11 | Win | 9–1–1 | Elky Miller | KO | 2 (6) | Jan 7, 1929 | ||
| 10 | Win | 8–1–1 | Justin Hoffman | PTS | 4 | Dec 22, 1928 | ||
| 9 | Win | 7–1–1 | Jack Kiernan | PTS | 6 | Dec 3, 1928 | ||
| 8 | Win | 6–1–1 | Joe Spatola | KO | 4 (6) | Nov 16, 1928 | ||
| 7 | Win | 5–1–1 | Howard Reddy | PTS | 4 | Oct 22, 1928 | ||
| 6 | Win | 4–1–1 | Frank Buchanan | PTS | 4 | Oct 20, 1928 | ||
| 5 | Win | 3–1–1 | Benny Bonavita | KO | 3 (4) | Oct 6, 1928 | ||
| 4 | Loss | 2–1–1 | George Daggett | PTS | 4 | Oct 4, 1927 | ||
| 3 | Draw | 2–0–1 | Jimmy O'Hara | PTS | 4 | Sep 29, 1927 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Frankie Bartels | PTS | 4 | Sep 24, 1927 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Sammy Schneider | PTS | 4 | Sep 3, 1927 | ||