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to Jewish parents of Polish descent and raised in St. John's Ward, a low class residential area of
Toronto that was home to both Jewish and Italian immigrants. His father attempted to make a living as a bootlegger prior to prohibition, and the family struggled to raise six children under difficult
235:
Park following tensions that occurred during a series of amateur softball games between two rival teams. The riot continued for six hours, and eventually attracted 10,000 locals, mostly spectators. The initial antagonists were a group of young Jewish and
Italian men on a local team who started a
315:
In 1938, Luftspring knocked out Frank
Genovese before a Toronto crowd of 10,000 in the 13th of 15 rounds to win the Canadian welterweight championship. Genovese was down at least three times in the final rounds for counts of 9. The fight was his first in Canada under the management of
361:
He began refereeing on occasion at the end of his boxing career, and within five years finally established himself as a respected
Toronto referee who would eventually oversee 2,000 bouts. Some of the prominent and memorable fights he refereed between 1941 and 1984 include:
343:, an inoperable condition, that resulted in nearly complete loss of vision. The fight was intended to be a tune up for a potential championship bout against Armstrong. The injury forced Luftspring to quit boxing and ended his contention for the world welterweight title.
334:
Luftspring lost to Greek
American boxer Steve Makamos, a Middleweight contender, on February 14, 1940, in a ten-round split decision in Toronto. Makamos led in the early fighting, and a late rally by Luftspring in the closing rounds was not enough to gain the decision.
338:
In a fight at New York's Bronx
Colliseum on May 27, 1940, against Steve Belloise, Luftspring received an eye injury in the fourth round from a looping right punch that unintentionally caught his left eye with the thumb of the glove. The medical diagnosis was a
31:
270:. 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".
410:
Luftspring, along with three partners, Harry Eckler of the baseball hall of fame, Joe Krol of the football hall of fame and their friend Lou Cadsby, opened the
Mercury Club in 1948, a dining establishment on
431:. Luftspring helped to host and operate the club, which had its peak years in the 1950s and 1960s, while simultaneously working as a referee. He subsequently ran other nightclubs such as the Tropicana.
176:. 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
285:
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
434:
After a lengthy illness, Luftspring died at
Toronto East General hospital on September 27, 2000. He was buried at the Interment Slipia Synagogue Section of Dawes Road Cemetery in Toronto.
197:
circumstances. Luftspring 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
346:
Details of his career record are unclear. Different reports have him winning 50 of either 55 or 56 pro bouts. More detailed records list him as 32–8 with 14 knockouts.
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That same year, he was ranked as the third best welterweight boxer in the world. He was subsequently offered a chance to fight world champion
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324:. Genovese and Luftspring's rivalry was extremely competitive and one of the dominant story lines of Toronto boxing in the late 1930s.
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Nearing the end of his prolific refereeing career around 1981, he began work as a boxing judge though 1991, judging nearly 100 bouts.
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in which an upset Trottman, thinking Luftspring was interfering with his style, took a swing at him. Luftspring responded with a
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260:. At the encouragement of his parents, he refused to attend the Games in protest over the poor treatment Jews were receiving in
453:
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Luftspring and another boxer, Norman "Baby" Yack, attempted to participate in an alternate event being hosted that summer, the
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fight when a Gang unfurled a Swastika, a symbol that had been displayed the previous day and on other occasions by the local
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for the Canadian welterweight championship. He lost to Wallace in a 10-round decision at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens.
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on his trunks. Over the next four years, he fought 105 times (attaining a record of 100–5) and captured
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off the side of Trottman's head, forcing Trottman's manager to race into the ring and intervene.
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Stars in the Ring: Jewish Champions in the Golden Age of Boxing: A Photographic History
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Luftspring began to box professionally in the fall of 1936. A year later, he fought
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Luftspring struggled to establish himself immediately after boxing. He became a
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Luftspring, disappointed at not having a chance to compete, returned to Toronto.
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1936 – Named to the Canadian Olympic Boxing Team (Elected not to compete)
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He married his wife Elsie in 1938 at Toronto's McCaul Street synagogue.
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815:"Hawthorne, Tom, The Canadian Boxers Who Thumbed Their Noses at Nazis"
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January 27, 1970 – A bout between Humberto Trottman and Clyde Gray at
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1112:"Sammy LUFTSPRING Obituary (2000) - Toronto, ON - The Globe and Mail"
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Mercury club opened in 1948 in Dulmage, Jack, "Between Whistles",
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September 15, 1958 – The Canadian heavyweight title match between
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champion and regarded as one of the best amateur boxing talents.
264:. He made his views on the subject public in a letter to the
966:"Canada Sports Hall of Fame – Honoured Members: Profile"
793:"Canada Sports Hall of Fame – Honoured Members: Profile"
951:
Happened in Round 4 in "Belloise Wins Split Verdict",
256:
Luftspring was named to Canada's Olympic team for the
1138:, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, pg. 80, 29 September 2000
929:, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, pg. 14, 20 February 1940
205:Tournaments in various weight classes ranging from
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942:, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, pg. 61, 29 October 1975
938:MacCabe, Eddie, "Sammy Luftspring Writes a Book",
916:, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, pg. 19, 4 October 1938
443:1933 – Ontario Amateur Lightweight Boxing Champion
227:In 1933, he was involved in the infamous Toronto
1174:Sammy Luftpring's Obituary: Canadian Jewish News
358:and then a representative for a liquor company.
860:
858:
320:, who had managed the exceptional welterweight
1037:. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 199–200.
955:, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, pg. 17, 28 May 1940
240:Club, a group of Canadian Nazi sympathizers.
8:
1065:. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012
704:"Sammy Luftspring | Ontario Jewish Archives"
449:1938 – Canadian Welterweight Boxing Champion
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231:. A wild street brawl first broke out at
168:(May 14, 1916 – September 27, 2000) was a
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925:"Luftspring Defeated by Washington Boy",
674:– Sammy Luftspring with Brian Swarbrick,
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384:title match between George Chuvalo and
1101:, Ontario, Canada, pg. 24, 23 May 1964
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1169:Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Profile
837:"Speaker Series – The Nazi Olympics"
759:
757:
1152:Boxing record for Sammy Luftspring
14:
866:"Uc_Hilal : Jews In Sports"
311:Canadian Welterweight Champion
1:
1199:Jewish Canadian sportspeople
1033:Silver, Mike (Mar 4, 2016).
658:List of select Jewish boxers
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497:
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454:Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
244:1936 Berlin Olympics boycott
178:Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
839:. Ushmm.org. Archived from
736:Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
182:Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
1235:
992:"Sammy Luftspring – Boxer"
968:. Cshof.ca. Archived from
888:"Sammy Luftspring – Boxer"
1083:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
912:"Luftspring Cops Title",
817:. The Tyee. July 26, 2016
708:ontariojewisharchives.org
159:
120:
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89:
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645:Eye injury ended career
564:For Canad. Welter Title
544:Former Jr. Welter Champ
1159:(registration required)
605:Won Canad. Welter Title
370:and James J. Parker at
192:Luftspring was born in
1164:BoxRec Referee Profile
892:Geni, Sammy Luftspring
388:at Maple Leaf Gardens.
377:October 1, 1965 – The
253:
894:. Geni. 14 March 1915
452:1985 – Inducted into
251:
1214:Canadian male boxers
1020:May 9, 2005, at the
972:on February 25, 2011
843:on September 2, 2007
769:Boxrec Boxing Record
258:1936 Berlin Olympics
216:By 1933, he was the
1219:Welterweight boxers
1209:Boxers from Toronto
1134:"Luftspring Dies",
742:on 12 November 2014
296:Professional career
953:The Ottawa Journal
940:The Ottawa Journal
927:The Ottawa Journal
868:. Jewsinsports.org
765:"Sammy Luftspring"
728:"Sammy Luftspring"
678:Canada Ltd., 1975—
372:Maple Leaf Gardens
254:
252:Luftspring in 1937
229:Christie Pits riot
63:September 27, 2000
649:
648:
592:Frankie Genovese
572:Frankie Genovese
513:Frankie Genovese
438:Career highlights
350:Life after boxing
283:Spanish Civil War
275:People's Olympics
180:in 1985, and the
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166:Sammy Luftspring
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1067:. Retrieved
1063:www.canoe.ca
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996:. Retrieved
994:. Boxrec.com
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974:. Retrieved
970:the original
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896:. Retrieved
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870:. Retrieved
845:. Retrieved
841:the original
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819:. Retrieved
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797:. Retrieved
774:23 September
772:. Retrieved
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746:23 September
744:. Retrieved
740:the original
731:
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711:. Retrieved
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595:Oct 3, 1938
555:Apr 2, 1937
535:Feb 3, 1937
516:Jan 5, 1937
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429:Tony Bennett
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397:bare-knuckle
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262:Nazi Germany
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211:welterweight
207:bantamweight
191:
188:Early career
165:
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128:Total fights
121:
103:Welterweight
90:
65:(2000-09-27)
45:May 14, 1916
1194:2000 deaths
1189:1916 births
998:January 20,
976:January 20,
898:January 20,
872:January 20,
847:January 20,
821:January 20,
799:January 20,
541:8 Round UD
484:Opponent(s)
382:heavyweight
222:lightweight
199:Magen David
82:Nationality
1183:Categories
1121:2024-08-27
1116:Legacy.com
1069:3 February
795:. Cshof.ca
713:2024-08-27
690:References
684:0131126490
639:Bronx, NY
584:Non-title
581:10 Rounds
561:10 Rounds
425:Vic Damone
417:Bay Street
322:Lou Ambers
144:Wins by KO
91:Statistics
642:8 Rounds
331:in 1940.
184:in 1996.
172:Canadian
98:Weight(s)
1079:cite web
1018:Archived
732:oshof.ca
652:See also
620:Toronto
598:Toronto
578:Toronto
558:Toronto
538:Toronto
519:Toronto
499:Duration
494:Location
472:3 Losses
318:Al Weill
238:Swastika
220:amateur
194:May 1916
112:Orthodox
85:Canadian
415:, near
281:. The
218:Ontario
75:Ontario
71:Toronto
53:Ontario
49:Toronto
1156:BoxRec
1041:
682:
479:Result
468:4 Wins
170:Jewish
152:Losses
109:Stance
1154:from
630:Loss
569:Loss
549:Loss
504:Notes
399:left
174:boxer
1085:link
1071:2022
1039:ISBN
1000:2011
978:2011
900:2011
874:2011
849:2011
823:2019
801:2011
776:2019
748:2014
680:ISBN
611:Win
589:Win
529:Win
510:Win
489:Date
427:and
401:hook
136:Wins
60:Died
38:Born
379:WBA
277:in
209:to
1185::
1114:.
1081:}}
1077:{{
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1008:^
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