Jack Bernstein (November 5, 1899 – December 26, 1945) was an American

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

given the birthname John Dodick. He became World

Junior lightweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New Y ...

Champion, on May 30, 1923, against Johnny Dundee at the Coney Island Velodrome in Brooklyn. When he lost the title to Dundee on December 17, 1923, in a fifteen-round split decision at Madison Square Garden, many newspapers felt Bernstein clearly had the edge in the bout and should have retained the title.

Early life and boxing career

John Dodick was born on December 5, 1899, in New York's Lower East Side, the second of seven children. He was compelled to drop out of elementary school to help his father, a fruitseller, support their large family. K. O. Brown, a leading lightweight contender, was reputed to be his first mentor at the Boys Club he attended, and a source of encouragement. According to one source, Dodick's third bout was with future lightweight legend Benny Leonard in a no decision six rounder. Dodick debuted in the New York fight clubs under the name "Young Kiddy" at age 15. While stationed on the Mexican border after joining the army during World War I, he defeated Nick Gundy, Mexican Champ, in a tough twenty-round match in El Paso. As victor, he was given the title Featherweight Border Champion.''The Jewish Boxer's Hall of Fame'', Blady, Ken, (1988) Shapolsky Publishers, Inc., New York, NY, pgs.133-138 Returning to his family's new home in Yonkers, Dodick continued fighting in local clubs, but discouraged, quit for a while to drive a truck. A new manager, druggist Lou Hirsch, took Dodick on, giving him the name Jack Bernstein, using the surname of the former local legend, Jewish featherweight contender, Joe Bernstein. In a bout in which several papers wrote he deserved at least a draw, Bernstein lost to French Jewish boxer

Benny Valger Benny Valgar, frequently spelled "Valger" (September 24, 1898 – October 1, 1974), was a French boxer. On February 25, 1920, he faced the reigning featherweight champion, Johnny Kilbane, in a 8 round non title bout which, without a disqualifica ...

, a serious lightweight contender, on December 1, 1921, in a slashing twelve round-match in Yonkers, New York. Valger would come close to winning the lightweight championship against Johnny Kilbane in 1920, and would complete his long career without a single loss by knockout.

Jr. Lightweight champion, 1923

A contender by 1922, Bernstein won fourteen of his sixteen bouts that year, and beat known contenders Solly Seeman, Pal Moran, Kid Wagner, and Babe Herman. Winning a string of bouts in 1923, he finally met Jr. Lightweight Champion

Johnny Dundee Johnny Dundee (November 19, 1893 – April 22, 1965) was an American featherweight and the first world junior lightweight champion boxer who fought from 1910 until 1932. He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1957 and the Int ...

on May 30, in the Velodrome, in front of a crowd of 15,000. Though an underdog, he won a unanimous fifteen-round decision and took the title after coming back from a third-round knockdown.

Loss of Jr. Lightweight title, 1923

Seven months later on December 17, 1923, in one of his first sanctioned defenses of the title, Bernstein lost to Johnny Dundee at Madison Square Garden in a highly controversial split decision. BoxRec noted that several newspaper sources, including the prestigious ''New York Times'', believed the judges made the wrong decision in the bout. Author Ken Blady wrote that several of the judges may have been influenced to vote against Bernstein. Not all papers believed the fight was a runaway win for Bernstein, however. Although the ''Milwaukee Journal'' noted that Dundee finished strong in the bout, and agreed with the decision they also noted "the sentiment of the crowd, based on the fighters' round-by-round showing, was that Bernstein had won easily." Typical of the strong language of the many papers that disagreed with the decision was the ''Milwaukee Sentinel'', who wrote "By probably the worst decision in local boxing history, Johnny Dundee of Jersey City regained his Junior Lightweight championship from Jack Bernstein." In their third and final meeting Bernstein would beat Dundee decisively on September 15, 1924, in fifteen rounds in Queensboro Stadium in Queens. In 1924, Bernstein fought

Sammy Mandell Sammy Mandell (a.k.a. Samuel Mandella; February 5, 1904 – November 7, 1967) was an American World lightweight boxing champion from 1926-1930. Born in Rockford, Illinois, and named Salvatore Mandala, he was known as the "Rockford Sheik" due to ...

and

Rocky Kansas Rocky Kansas was an Italian-born American tough, short (5'2" tall) former world lightweight champion boxer. He was born Rocco Tozzo on April 21, 1893, in Italy and came to America in 1898. Rocky Kansas was the brother of champion Joe "Kid" Kansas ...

to draws. Mandell would hold the Lightweight World Championship from July 3, 1926 – July 17, 1930. After first drawing with Mandell in the Garden on January 11, 1924, in fifteen rounds, he lost to Mandell on May 16, 1924, in Louisville and on November 27, 1924, at Madison Square Garden. He drew with Kansas on February 18, 1924, in Buffalo, previously having beaten him on October 23, 1923, in the Garden. Kansas would later hold the Jr. Lightweight title for the first half of 1926. From 1924-27, Bernstein defeated Tommy O'Brien, Cuddy DeMarco, and Ray Miller. Bernstein defeated

Jimmy Goodrich Jimmy Goodrich became the World Lightweight Champion when he defeated Chilean boxer Stanislaus Loayza in a second round TKO at Queensboro Stadium in Queens, New York on July 13, 1925. He retained the title only five months, losing it by unanimous ...

twice in both February and April 1927. Goodrich held the Lightweight Championship from July 13, 1925 – December 7, 1925. After defeating Goodrich, Bernstein had fought all three successors to Benny Leonard's lightweight crown, Mandell, Kansas, and Goodrich in competitive full length matches.

Decline and retirement

Noticing he was losing stamina in late rounds, and feeling more fatigued than usual, Bernstein sought medical treatment on the advice of his handler "Doc" Lou Hirsh at the Battle Creek Sanatorium in Michigan around 1927, taking four months off. He fought well for a year, and then began losing a number of fights, again suffering from exhaustion. Bernstein's extremely rare knockout loss to Bruce Flowers on December 1, 1928, influenced his decision to leave boxing. It is quite possible that the fatigue he felt were the early signs of the heart condition with which he was diagnosed in 1945.Silver, Mike, ''Stars in the Ring, Jewish Champions'', (2016) Rowman and Littlefield, Guilford, Connecticut, pgs. 123-124 He retired as a competitor around the end of 1931, and promoted boxing around Westchester, New York, often benefiting philanthropic causes. On December 26, 1945, Bernstein died of a heart attack at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers, New York. He had suffered from a heart ailment for many years and was aged 46 at the time of his death.

Honors

Bernstein, who was

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish, was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere arou ...

in 2000.Jack Bernstein (John Dodick)
at www.jewishsports.net

Selected fights

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 15 Wins, 9 Losses, 2 Draws , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent(s) , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Duration , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , - , Win , Nick Gundy , Dec 1918 , Fort Bliss, El Paso , 20 Rounds , "Border light title" , - , Loss , Nick Gundy , Dec 2, 1918 , Fort Bliss, El Paso , 10 Rounds , , - , Loss ,

, Dec 1, 1921 , Yonkers , 12 Rounds , Strong Lightwt. contender , - , Loss , Archie Walker , May 6, 1922 , Brooklyn, NY , 12 Rounds , Rare early loss , - , Win , Archie Walker , June 28, 1922 , Yonkers, NY , 12 Rounds , , - , Win ,

Solly Seeman Solomon Frederick "Solly" Seeman (February 26, 1902 – March 11, 1989) was the 1920 AAU National Featherweight Amateur Champion. He was a legitimate contender for the Lightweight Champion of the World during March and April 1925, when he won the f ...

, Jul 8, 1922 , New York , 12 Rounds , Strong Lightwt. contender , - , Win , Pal Moran , Oct 14, 1922 , New York , 12 Rounds , Strong Lightwt. contender , - , Win ,

Babe Herman Floyd Caves "Babe" Herman (June 26, 1903 – November 27, 1987) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder between and , most prominently as a member of the Brooklyn D ...

, Nov 28, 1922 , New York , 12 Rounds , Strong Lightwt. contender , - , Win , Eddie Wagner , Dec 11, 1922 , Mad. Sq. Gard., NY , 10 Rounds UD , Strong Lightwt. contender , - , Win ,

, May 30, 1923 , Brooklyn, NY , 15 Rounds UD , Won World Jr. light title , - , Win , Freddie Jacks , Jun 25, 1923 , Brooklyn, NY , 8 Rounds KO , Kept Jr. light title , - , Win , Harry Kabakoff , Jul 10, 1923 , Brooklyn, NY , 10 Rounds NWS , Non-title , - , Loss , Harry "Kid" Brown , Jul 31, 1923 , Brooklyn, NY , 8 Rounds NWS , Non-title , - , Win ,

, Oct 12, 1923 , Mad. Sq. Gard., NY , 15 Rounds UD , , - , Loss ,

, Dec 17, 1923 , Mad. Sq. Gard., NY , 15 Rounds SD
Close fight , Lost World Jr. Light Title , - , style="background: #dae2f1", _Draw ,

, Jan 11, 1924 , Mad. Sq. Gard., NY , 15 Rounds , Mandell broke hand , - , style="background: #dae2f1", _Draw ,

, Feb 18, 1924 , Buffalo, NY , 10 Rounds , , - , Win ,

Jack Zivic John A. Zivic (June 23, 1903 – May 22, 1973) was an American boxer who competed in the featherweight class in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. He was a serious contender for the world lightweight championship in 1924, but was defeate ...

, Jul 23, 1924 , Buffalo, NY , 12 Rounds , Elim. Bout for Light title , - , Win ,

, Sep 15, 1924 , Queens, NY , 12 Rounds , , - , Win ,

, Sep 15, 1924 , Queens, NY , 12 Rounds , , - , Loss ,

, Nov 7, 1924 , Mad. Sq. Gard., NY , 12 Rounds , , - , Loss ,

Sid Terris Sidney Terris (September 7, 1904 – December 30, 1974) was a top rated American lightweight boxing contender from the lower East Side of Manhattan. He excelled as an amateur, winning fifty straight bouts and taking Metropolitan, New York State, ...

, Aug 31, 1925 , Queens, NY , 12 Rounds , , - , Loss ,

, Dec 12, 1925 , Polo Grounds, NY , 10 Rounds , , - , Win ,

, Feb 21, 1927 , Brooklyn, NY , 10 Rounds , , - , Win ,

, Apr 1, 1927 , Buffalo, NY , 10 Rounds ,

References

External links

*
Jewish Sports bio
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Jack 1899 births 1945 deaths Jewish boxers Jewish American boxers Boxers from New York City Super-featherweight boxers Featherweight boxers World super-featherweight boxing champions World boxing champions American male boxers 20th-century American Jews United States Army personnel of World War I