Tony Morgano (August 19, 1913 – February 2, 1984) was an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

, iron worker, politician and boxing trainer' During the 1930's Morgano was a left-handed professional boxer who defeated Freddie Miller,

Baby Arizmendi Alberto "Baby" Arizmendi (March 17, 1914 – December 31, 1962) was a Mexican professional boxer and New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) featherweight world title holder in 1934. He also competed in the bantamweight and welterweight di ...

Tommy Paul Tommy Paul (4 March 1909 – 28 April 1991) was a world featherweight boxing champion from Buffalo, New York. He won the world featherweight championship in May 1932, defeating Johnny Pena in a boxing tournament in Detroit. He was inducted in ...

, Lew Feldman, and

Johnny Jadick John J. Jadick, better known as Johnny Jadick (June 16, 1908 – April 3, 1970) was an American light welterweight boxer and the NBA light welterweight world champion in 1932. In September of 1932, the NBA decided not to recognize junior divis ...

in non-title fights. After his retirement from boxing, Morgano worked as an iron worker. He later served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

committeeman in the Ninth Division of the 26th Ward of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Morgano provided training to approximately 1,250 young boxers, and assisted many retired fighters

Early years

Morgano was born and raised in Philadelphia on Montrose Street, to Paul and Concetta Morgano. Morgano had four brothers - Robert, Paul, Sam, and Edward and two sisters - Anne and Grace. His father Paul was an immigrant painter who died when he was five. Morgano started working after finishing the third grad. He spent his leisure time watching boxers train at the Olympic gym at Broad and Bainbridge streets.

Amateur career

When Morgano started boxing at age 12, he only weighed 88 pounds. According to the rules, all boxers had to weigh at least 100 lbs. In response, Morgano would fill his shoes with lead weights so that he could weigh in at 105 lbs. In his first year, Morgano won the Middle Atlantic AAU flyweight title. In the next three years, he won 21 fights. Whenever Morgano won a bout, he was awarded a Walton watch. In order to help his mother support his family, after winning a bout, he would be awarded "a Walton watch. He would then sell the watch to someone at ringside for $2 or $3 dollars and bring the money home to his mother. Morgano went undefeated as an amateur defeating 22 fighters.

Professional career

Still a teenager, Morgano's professional career started when a promoter in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

offered him $25 to be a stand-in boxer against Pee Wee Ross, an experienced fighter. On January 15, 1929, Morgano defeated Ross. He kept $5 dollars and gave $20 to his mother. Telegraphs revealed that much of his prize money in later fights would be sent home. When it became known that Morgano had fought for pay, his amateur days were done. At 15, he signed a contract with Max "Boo Boo" Hoff, a local promoter. Prior to going with Hoff, Morgano was managed by Vincent "Jimmy" Barbieri who at the age of 102 told stories of "his boy" Tony. Morgano boxed in the Philadelphia area until the age of 21, accumulating approximately 51 victories. He then teamed up with Frankie Caris, a

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

, and traveled the nation boxing. While in California, Morgano became popular with many Hollywood celebrities. He defeated Georgie Hansford,

, and Lew Feldman taking 9 out of 10 rounds on April 5, 1935. His only loss was against Jimmy Christy. In a later rematch, the two boxer had a draw. In 1935 Morgano participated in

Gold Diggers of 1935 ''Gold Diggers of 1935'' is an American musical film directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley, and starring Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart and Alice Brady. Winifred Shaw, Hugh Herbert and Glenda Farrell are also featured. The son ...

, a film with

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

, and a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. Upon his return to Philadelphia, Morgano won 13 fights and lost one (to Billy Maher). Morgano had entered the Maher fight with two broken ribs and a fractured ankle. Morgano then defeated Tommy Speigal on September 27, 1940 for lightweight title. However, because Morgano had come into the fight overweight, he was stripped of the title. Later in 1940, Morgano retired from boxing because of a shattered hand. Morgano finished his boxing career with 55 victories, 11 defeats and at 25 kos.Tony Morgano
boxrec.com. Retrieved March 2011

After Boxing

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Morgano worked as a

welder In a broad sense, a welder is anyone, amateur or professional, who uses welding equipment, perhaps especially one who uses such equipment fairly often. In a narrower sense, a welder is a tradesperson who specializes in fusing materials together ...

at the New York Shipyard in Camden. After the war he became an ironworker and worked on several major projects. He married a young woman by the name of Patricia and had three sons, Kevin, Tony and Michael. Morgano became active in Republican Party politics serving as a committeeman in the Ninth Division of the 26th Ward. He ran unsuccessfully for the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...

and for the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

. Morgano worked in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Police Athletic League The Police Athletic League (PAL; Police Activities League) is an organization in many American police departments in which members of the police force coach young people, both boys and girls, in sports, and help with homework and other school-rela ...

and the Southside Boys club. Ge trained some 1,250 boxers over 30 years. His Southside Boys club competed for and won on several occasions the Pennsylvania

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

tournament. Morgano served as longtime president of the Veteran's Boxing Association, and worked to better the lives of many ex boxers. Often staging events to support them.

Professional Record

Below represents a partial list of Morgano's professional bouts. Due to the incomplete record keeping of the time the list is unfinished and will be updated as more information becomes available.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgano, Tony 1913 births 1984 deaths Boxers from Philadelphia American male boxers