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Chasing The Great Gatsby: Freddie Welsh’s Saga
397 pages, Paperback
Published October 17, 2024
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About the author
Gene Pantalone
5 books9 followersGene Pantalone is an inductee of the 2022 class of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame as a writer and historian. He was nominated for the 2021 Richard J. Hughes Award, which recognizes outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of New Jersey history. It is given annually to an individual in recognition of a series of contributions in the areas of scholarship, public history, conservation and preservation, and teaching. His acclaimed works include Madame Bey’s: Home to Boxing Legends and From Boxing Ring to Battlefield: The Life of War Hero Lew Jenkins.
Reviews of his books:
Too often the history of boxing boils down to tales about heavyweights, as if the exploits of Sullivan, Johnson, Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, Ali, and Tyson are all that matter. Well, Lew Jenkins—lightweight champion, war hero, and a danger to himself as much as any opponent—mattered. His is the story of survival in the ring, in two wars, and in life. Gene Pantalone’s biography of Jenkins richly recounts a fascinating life. ‘Only in America,’ as the great Don King always said.
—Randy Roberts, professor of history, Purdue University, and co-author, A Season in the Sun: The Rise of Mickey Mantle
The life of Lew Jenkins is the stuff of boxing legend. From his Depression era upbringing and carnival barnstorming to winning a world title and squandering it all before becoming a war hero, Jenkins is an epic pulp novel come to life. In the capable hands of Gene Pantalone the story brims with all the hardscrabble detail you want in a great boxing book. This is a must-read for fans of the squared circle's history.
—Chad Dundas, sportswriter, and award-winning author of Champion of the World
Reviews of his previous books:
I served in combat with Lew Jenkins during the Korean War when he received his Silver Star. Jenkins was a brave soldier who cared for his men. It was an honor to have served with him.
—Sergeant Ronald E. Rosser, Medal of Honor recipient, Korea 1951-52
Lew Jenkins had a howitzer of a right hand and sometimes fought drunk. What more could you ask for?
—Nigel Collins, ESPN Boxing analyst and columnist, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, and former editor-in-chief of The Ring magazine
Until the publication of Gene Pantalone’s biography, the annals of boxing have been missing a chapter—a chapter on Hall-of-Famer Lew Jenkins. Jenkins was a bony Texan who, as a world lightweight champion, mastered the stylized warfare of the ring as well as the real thing—WWII and the Korean War. A must-read for all students of the history of the sweet science, Pantalone’s richly-documented biography presents an arresting portrait of a boxer and soldier who was as wild as a pirate and as courageous as Achilles.
— Gordon Marino, veteran boxing trainer and award-winning boxing writer for the Wall Street Journal and HBO Inside Boxing
A full-length biography of boxer Lew Jenkins has been long overdue, and here Gene Pantalone does a good job of connecting Jenkins’ hardscrabble upbringing in rural Texas to the bright lights of Broadway to the grim realities of the battlefield. It’s an exceptional story of a fighter’s struggle, success, disgrace, and a sincere and hard-earned redemption.
—Clay Coppedge, author of Texas Singularities and Forgotten Tales of Texas
Gene Pantalone has done a remarkable job bringing lightweight champ and Hall of Famer Lew Jenkins to life in this most entertaining and informative biography. "The Sweetwater Swatter" was one helluva hard puncher... so's his biographer.
—Clarence George, boxing writer and historian
Reviews of his books:
Too often the history of boxing boils down to tales about heavyweights, as if the exploits of Sullivan, Johnson, Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, Ali, and Tyson are all that matter. Well, Lew Jenkins—lightweight champion, war hero, and a danger to himself as much as any opponent—mattered. His is the story of survival in the ring, in two wars, and in life. Gene Pantalone’s biography of Jenkins richly recounts a fascinating life. ‘Only in America,’ as the great Don King always said.
—Randy Roberts, professor of history, Purdue University, and co-author, A Season in the Sun: The Rise of Mickey Mantle
The life of Lew Jenkins is the stuff of boxing legend. From his Depression era upbringing and carnival barnstorming to winning a world title and squandering it all before becoming a war hero, Jenkins is an epic pulp novel come to life. In the capable hands of Gene Pantalone the story brims with all the hardscrabble detail you want in a great boxing book. This is a must-read for fans of the squared circle's history.
—Chad Dundas, sportswriter, and award-winning author of Champion of the World
Reviews of his previous books:
I served in combat with Lew Jenkins during the Korean War when he received his Silver Star. Jenkins was a brave soldier who cared for his men. It was an honor to have served with him.
—Sergeant Ronald E. Rosser, Medal of Honor recipient, Korea 1951-52
Lew Jenkins had a howitzer of a right hand and sometimes fought drunk. What more could you ask for?
—Nigel Collins, ESPN Boxing analyst and columnist, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, and former editor-in-chief of The Ring magazine
Until the publication of Gene Pantalone’s biography, the annals of boxing have been missing a chapter—a chapter on Hall-of-Famer Lew Jenkins. Jenkins was a bony Texan who, as a world lightweight champion, mastered the stylized warfare of the ring as well as the real thing—WWII and the Korean War. A must-read for all students of the history of the sweet science, Pantalone’s richly-documented biography presents an arresting portrait of a boxer and soldier who was as wild as a pirate and as courageous as Achilles.
— Gordon Marino, veteran boxing trainer and award-winning boxing writer for the Wall Street Journal and HBO Inside Boxing
A full-length biography of boxer Lew Jenkins has been long overdue, and here Gene Pantalone does a good job of connecting Jenkins’ hardscrabble upbringing in rural Texas to the bright lights of Broadway to the grim realities of the battlefield. It’s an exceptional story of a fighter’s struggle, success, disgrace, and a sincere and hard-earned redemption.
—Clay Coppedge, author of Texas Singularities and Forgotten Tales of Texas
Gene Pantalone has done a remarkable job bringing lightweight champ and Hall of Famer Lew Jenkins to life in this most entertaining and informative biography. "The Sweetwater Swatter" was one helluva hard puncher... so's his biographer.
—Clarence George, boxing writer and historian
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