Ben Jeby

Benjamin Morris Jebaltowsky, better known as Ben Jeby, was an American middleweight from New York’s Lower East Side who briefly held the New York State Athletic Commission version of the world championship during 1933. An orthodox boxer standing 5ft 10in, Jeby fought professionally from September 1927 until July 1934. His complete record was 54 victories, 14 defeats, and four draws, with 22 wins by knockout and one no-contest.

Jeby was born on December 27, 1909, near Clinton and Delancey Streets in the Lower East Side, the son of Jewish parents. He was one of several Jewish fighters who became leading attractions in American boxing during the period between the world wars. Managed by Hymie Caplin, he made his professional debut at Ridgewood Grove in New York on September 3, 1927, defeating Sammy Schneider on points over four rounds. His early development took place almost entirely in the busy New York clubs and arenas, including St Nicholas Arena, Queensboro Stadium and Madison Square Garden. He was beaten in only his fourth contest, by George Daggett, but thereafter acquired experience rapidly against men such as Cecil Harper, Alf Ros, Joey LaGrey and Vince Dundee.

By 1930, Jeby had established himself among the better young middleweights on the eastern circuit. He defeated former welterweight champion Joe Dundee over eight rounds at Yankee Stadium and followed with victories over LaGrey and Harry Ebbets. His reputation advanced considerably on March 20, 1931, when he outpointed the respected British champion Len Harvey over 12 rounds at Madison Square Garden. Jeby weighed 157½lb and fought an aggressive contest at close quarters, crowding Harvey, working to the body and preventing the Englishman from settling into his more orderly boxing. He later drew over ten rounds with leading contender Dave Shade at Queensboro Stadium before losing their return at Madison Square Garden. Those contests showed both sides of Jeby: he was a strong, determined pressure fighter, but he could be outboxed by clever opponents able to control the range.

His progress was interrupted in March 1932 when Frank Battaglia knocked him out after only 90 seconds at Chicago Stadium. It was a severe defeat, but Jeby recovered with a run of victories which carried him towards the championship. He stopped Paul Pirrone in six rounds, outpointed Chick Devlin over 15 and was then matched again with Battaglia for the vacant NYSAC middleweight title at Madison Square Garden on January 13, 1933. Jeby reversed their earlier result decisively. He dropped Battaglia for a count of nine in the second round and opened a cut over his eye with a left hook in the third. Referee Jack Britton eventually stopped the contest in the twelfth because of the injury, making Jeby the commission’s recognised world champion.

Jeby’s championship period was short and not without argument. Seventeen days after defeating Battaglia, he stopped Pirrone again in Cleveland, flooring him seven times before the sixth-round intervention. On March 17, he defended his title against Vince Dundee at Madison Square Garden and retained it through a 15-round draw. The crowd of approximately 11,000 strongly disapproved of the verdict, believing Dundee had done enough to win. Jeby had already lost twice to Dundee and finished the contest looking the more distressed of the pair. A scheduled 12-round bout with former champion Gorilla Jones in Cleveland the following month was declared a no-contest in the sixth because the local commissioners considered that neither man was making an adequate effort.

Jeby made another title defence against Young Terry at Dreamland Park in Newark on July 10, 1933. The official reckoning gave Jeby six rounds, Terry five and four even, although Terry’s strong finish brought another hostile reaction from sections of the crowd. The champion’s pressure, physical strength and capacity for sustained work had carried him through, but he was not an impregnable title-holder. He was effective when he could force opponents backwards and fight at close quarters, yet his defence was ordinary, and his willingness to exchange left him open to cleaner, heavier punchers.

Lou Brouillard exposed those weaknesses at the Polo Grounds on August 9, 1933. The experienced former welterweight champion knocked Jeby out in the seventh round of their scheduled 15-round contest and took the NYSAC middleweight crown. Jeby was only 23, but the defeat effectively marked the end of his best period. He continued fighting frequently and twice outpointed Joey LaGrey after losing the title, but his results deteriorated during 1934. Young Terry reversed their earlier result, while Al Diamond and Vince Dundee also defeated him. Teddy Yarosz comfortably outpointed Jeby over 12 rounds in Pittsburgh in April in a contest for Pennsylvania’s version of the middleweight championship. Contemporary reports credited Yarosz with nine rounds and Jeby with only one.

Jeby fought four more times after the Yarosz defeat. He beat Anson Green, lost on points to Swede Berglund and then finished with victories over Al Cocozza and Jackie Aldare. His last appearance came at the Coney Island Velodrome on July 15, 1934, when he outpointed Aldare over eight rounds. He retired after fewer than seven years as a professional, but within that compressed career he completed 73 contests and met a substantial list of recognised middleweights. His leading opponents included Harvey, Shade, Battaglia, Pirrone, Dundee, Young Terry, Gorilla Jones, Brouillard and Yarosz. He was stopped only twice, by Battaglia and Brouillard, and avenged the first of those defeats when the championship was at stake.

After leaving boxing, Jeby obtained a plumber’s licence and worked in that trade for the remainder of his working life. He did not pursue a prominent public career in the sport and largely disappeared from the championship scene which he had occupied so briefly. He died in New York on October 5, 1985, aged 75, and was survived by his wife, Evelyn Siedman, a former chorus-line dancer. Jeby’s title reign lasted only seven months, and two of its decisions were disputed, but he had earned his opportunity in the hard New York middleweight competition of the early 1930s. His record shows a capable, rugged contender who recovered from a damaging knockout defeat, won a recognised world championship title and retired before reaching his 25th birthday.