James Norris and The Decline of Boxing

New York: Bobbs Merrill, 1964. First edition. Hardcover. fine/fine. First edition stated. Fine (humorous notation in red pencil on the fropnt free endpaper, "This book stolen from Nick Boros". We didn't do it. Promise.) in fine dust jacket. Hardcover. 252 pp. with index. Noted boxing sportswriter Barney Nagler bemoans the level to which boxing fell by 1964--riddled with mobsterism, upset by a string of confessions of fixed fights, degraded by over 200 deaths in the ring. In this work, much blame is placed on James D. Norris and his International Boxing Club. Norris (1906-1966) was an American sports businessman with interests in boxing, hockey, and horse racing. His father was James E. Norris (after whom the NHL's Norris Trophy is named and James D. is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame), but James' first love was boxing and he began involvement with it as a promoted in Chicago. The IBC was established in 1949 and Norris was its president until 1958. During his tenure, the IBC was accused of being a monopoly over the boxing game and was ordered dissolved by a court. Norris was involved with a number of organized crime figures (particularly Frankie Carbo) and was responsible for the fixing of numerous fights. He also strong-armed a number of boxers into having him act as their unofficial manager and to hire some of his associates.