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The Roar of the Crowd
The True Tale of the Rise and Fall of a Champion, with a foreword by Robert Gordon Anderson. Twenty-one chapters, from "My First Fight and How I Wanted To Run Away" to "Curtain" told by Corbett "in his conversational way" to Anderson.
329 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1926
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 12, 2026
One of the best autobiographies I've ever read, and a top-10 or top-5 sports/boxing memoir as well. This is the story of James J. Corbett -- "Gentleman Jim" -- a late 19th century heavyweight champion. Many uninterested in the sport will be turned off by the idea of a boxing memoir, but this is as lovely a picture of the time-period in which Corbett lived (late 19th, early 20th centuries) as it is a discussion of the career of the boxer credited with inventing the left hook.
I came to this forgotten book by way of a superb Errol Flynn movie called GENTLEMAN JIM (1942). The movie plays fast and loose with history, but it made me curious about the guy who started boxing on a lark, strictly for the fun of it, and eventually discovered he had a natural talent for the sport. Indeed, young Jim Corbett, one of ten children born to Irish immigrants in San Francisco, worked at a bank and wore a top hat and kid gloves, and his main ambition in life was to enter "society" by way of social club life. It so happened the club in question had a boxing ring, boxing instructors, and held regular amateur bouts. Corbett eventually became club champion and dallied with money fights, never seriously intending on a boxing career until he belatedly realized just how good he was, and how much money he could rake in via the prize ring.
Over his 20 year career, Corbett not only faced just about everybody, black or white, who really mattered during that era, but he is also credited with pioneering many modern boxing techniques, such as the left hook and a modern style of training, which included roadwork, sparring, proper diet and clean living, which are used to this day. In the ring, his defense and footwork (his specialty) were so good that as a sixty year-old man, he was able to spar playfully with Gene Tunney, then reigning heavyweight champion, who marveled that the old guy was nearly impossible to hit. But his main claim to legend status comes from the fact that he was "the man who beat the man": he crushed the seemingly invincible John L. Sullivan to take the title. Sullivan's reputation was essentially that of Mike Tyson in the 80s: a beast that devoured everyone without mercy. Corbett's victory over him, a victory won by scientific boxing technique and masterful footwork, shocked the world and ushered in a new era of boxing.
As I said above, Corbett paints a vivid and often hilarious picture of the at once incredibly civilized and half-savage 1880s - 1900s. The formal clothing, strict manners, and gentlemanly conventions of the era slam headfirst into the savagery of the prize ring, the rampancy of gambling, and endemic corruption of the day. Corbett, though proud as any Irishman and as fight-loving as any Irishman, is a surprisingly gentle man, deeply loyal to his friends, enamored of his wife, and worshipful of his parents. His Irish temper, while formidable, is generally reserved for the ring. He's no bully and will not suffer a bully, as a few bullies quickly found out. Nor did he allow his status as champion to define his life. Once dethroned and ultimately retired, he had a successful career in vaudeville, the stage, and on film. In short, he was the sort you can easily root for, and a man who never lost his sense of humor, which is part of what made this book so enjoyable.
In the end, I highly recommend this book as readable, informative, touching, and just plain fun.
I came to this forgotten book by way of a superb Errol Flynn movie called GENTLEMAN JIM (1942). The movie plays fast and loose with history, but it made me curious about the guy who started boxing on a lark, strictly for the fun of it, and eventually discovered he had a natural talent for the sport. Indeed, young Jim Corbett, one of ten children born to Irish immigrants in San Francisco, worked at a bank and wore a top hat and kid gloves, and his main ambition in life was to enter "society" by way of social club life. It so happened the club in question had a boxing ring, boxing instructors, and held regular amateur bouts. Corbett eventually became club champion and dallied with money fights, never seriously intending on a boxing career until he belatedly realized just how good he was, and how much money he could rake in via the prize ring.
Over his 20 year career, Corbett not only faced just about everybody, black or white, who really mattered during that era, but he is also credited with pioneering many modern boxing techniques, such as the left hook and a modern style of training, which included roadwork, sparring, proper diet and clean living, which are used to this day. In the ring, his defense and footwork (his specialty) were so good that as a sixty year-old man, he was able to spar playfully with Gene Tunney, then reigning heavyweight champion, who marveled that the old guy was nearly impossible to hit. But his main claim to legend status comes from the fact that he was "the man who beat the man": he crushed the seemingly invincible John L. Sullivan to take the title. Sullivan's reputation was essentially that of Mike Tyson in the 80s: a beast that devoured everyone without mercy. Corbett's victory over him, a victory won by scientific boxing technique and masterful footwork, shocked the world and ushered in a new era of boxing.
As I said above, Corbett paints a vivid and often hilarious picture of the at once incredibly civilized and half-savage 1880s - 1900s. The formal clothing, strict manners, and gentlemanly conventions of the era slam headfirst into the savagery of the prize ring, the rampancy of gambling, and endemic corruption of the day. Corbett, though proud as any Irishman and as fight-loving as any Irishman, is a surprisingly gentle man, deeply loyal to his friends, enamored of his wife, and worshipful of his parents. His Irish temper, while formidable, is generally reserved for the ring. He's no bully and will not suffer a bully, as a few bullies quickly found out. Nor did he allow his status as champion to define his life. Once dethroned and ultimately retired, he had a successful career in vaudeville, the stage, and on film. In short, he was the sort you can easily root for, and a man who never lost his sense of humor, which is part of what made this book so enjoyable.
In the end, I highly recommend this book as readable, informative, touching, and just plain fun.
January 30, 2019
This was the 1st book I ever completed as a teenager and was gripped to it from start to finish..unputdownable ..Hard to come across these days .
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews