Judah left school as soon as it was permissible as he hadn’t set the classroom alight with his impudent nature. He was apprenticed as a lather boy in a barber’s shop but his continuing development at the boxing club set in stone a change of direction and career for Judah. He made his professional debut three weeks before his 15th birthday at the Premierland Boxing venue, a fertile breeding ground for East End fighters in the boom years of the 1920s. Judah’s first bout ended in an eighth round stoppage of Johnny Gordon. Judah’s strict and religiously devout father was appalled at his son partaking in a sport such as boxing as he felt it was a rejection of his authority and at odds with Jewish values and Jewish heritage. Ever the pragmatist, Judah changed his name to Jack Kid Berg, which was the English equivalent of his given name with the added moniker of Kid in homage to another great Jewish warrior from London’s East End, Ted Kid Lewis. Paying homage to Lewis was a smart move on Jack’s part. Born Gershon Mendeloff, Ted Kid Lewis became one of Britain’s greatest boxers of all time, being the first from the land to claim a world title on American soil. Lewis defied his family to embark on a remarkable journey through the boxing panorama. Using Lewis as his template, Jack managed to assuage his father’s disappointment. The extra money from the purses also eased any reticence on the elder Bergman’s part as it was far in excess of an apprentice lather boy!
Jack cut a swath through the local landscape. In his first two years in the paid ranks he won 35, drew three and lost three, all decisions to vastly more experienced opponents. The 110-bout savvy veteran Harry Corbett managed to quell the exuberant style of Jack by continuously tying him up in clinches and cunningly pinching his biceps whilst doing so. The prodigious output of punches Jack produced during his bouts was curtailed to such an extent he could hardly lift his arms at the end of the 15th stanza. Upon drawing with Corbett in a return, Jack embarked on a 19-fight win streak. The frenetic all-action style favored by Jack was more rapier-like than bludgeon and it earned him the ‘Whitechapel Windmill’ moniker, endearing him to boxing fans. The forward-thinking Berg saw a bright future west over the pond and 1928 saw Jack throw some speculative leather in the lucky country, the United States of America. He was nineteen years of age!
Despite having undoubted raw talent, Jack’s great fortune was being able to call upon the nous of one of the most fabulous trainers of his age, or for that matter any age, Ray Arcel. Whether it was a fellow Jew in need of direction or more likely Arcel liked the cut of Jack’s gib, the two certainly made an impression on the American scene. If first impressions count, Arcel’s hopes for a potential superstar were found wanting. The fresh-faced limey was more akin to a girl as he stepped off the cruise ship, but Jack’s combative talent soon assuaged Arcel of those fears. His first contest saw Berg up against the awkward Pedro Amador who confused the Londoner with angles for the first few rounds. Jack had never encountered such trickery, as the European style of boxing was more upright and conservative. Jack soon got to grips with this unorthodox style and eventually overpowered Amador with his relentless pressure and won a unanimous decision.
Whether it was a deliberate ploy on Jack’s part or perhaps the astuteness of his handlers, he began to overtly display his Jewishness before his bouts – in marked contradiction to his actual beliefs as he wasn’t particularly religious. What it did do was market him to the huge Jewish fraternity in the USA. Ben Sharav noted in The Ring how Berg entered the ring wrapped in tallis, the prayer shawl worn in synagogues. Around his right arm and on his head he wore tefilin, the small leather box containing scripture, trailed by leather straps, which observant Jews put on for early morning prayers. Jack would then go through an elaborate ritual of slowly unwinding the leather straps from around his body, tenderly kissing them and placing them in a gold-embossed velvet bag which he then carefully handed to Arcel. The Star of David was always adorned on his trunks like many other fistic protagonists of his faith. If it was for the benefit of his deeply religious father or a ploy to garner popularity or infamy it surely succeeded. The audiences loved the commitment the Londoner brought to the squared circle.
Jack’s rising profile and popularity had introduced a damaging distraction from his ring exploits. He was devilishly handsome and quite the bon vivant and the fairer sex were naturally drawn to the suave pug. Three more victories saw Jack matched with the Fargo Express, Billy Petrolle in Chicago. A 10-round draw resulted in a rematch one month later that resulted in Berg receiving a monumental beating. Nine times on the canvas in the first round, once more in the third and finally a technical knockout in the fifth mercifully halted proceedings. Jack later explained away the humiliating defeat on his dalliance with ‘a broad’. In fact it should be noted that in his later years, Jack blamed all his defeats bar one, which will be dealt with later, on his trysts with the fairer sex. ‘Weakened the legs’ he claimed and who can argue with that?
The reverse didn’t deter the Londoner and he commenced upon a series of bouts in both the US and England. Going unbeaten in 18 fights, Jack took on the supremely talented Tony Canzoneri and delivered a fantastic performance in securing a split decision over 10 rounds. The general consensus was that Jack had administered one of the worst whippings Canzoneri ever experienced, yet the referee made the final verdict interesting to say the least. Jack Kid Berg’s finest hour came on February 18 1930. He stopped the world champion Mushy Callahan in the 10th round at the Royal Albert Hall in London for the light welterweight title. Typical of the Machiavellian politics of boxing, Callahan had been stripped of his National Boxing Association title prior to the bout, possibly in anticipation of defeat at the hands of the Englishman. At this time there was also differing bodies recognizing weight classes in the UK and the US. Observing the light-welter division, the New York State Athletic Commission ceded Jack as the world champion. Universally recognized or not, the Whitechapel Windmill was atop the world! Berg was officially sanctioned as the NBA’s world champ when he defeated Joe Glick in Madison Square Garden two months later.
Perhaps the stiffest challenge Jack Berg would ever face was an opponent many considered not only the finest lightweight lacing up the gloves but possibly the best pound-for-pound at the time, Cuba’s Kid Chocolate. Coming in with a stellar 55 victories and a draw, Chocolate was a massive favorite. Before a huge crowd at the Polo Grounds in New York, Berg took Chocolate’s unbeaten record and sent a seismic wave through boxing’s cognoscenti. 1930 was an incredible year for the East End pugilist. He’d defeated the top five lightweight contenders, which is an astonishing feat as there was only one world champion at the time. The $66,000 purse he received for beating the Cuban phenom set him up for life.
Whilst defending his crown a further four times and avenging his loss to Petrolle in a non-title fight, it appeared the whirlwind of flurries Berg produced was on the wane. Sure he was a crowd favorite both in the land of his birth and the States but he had to face a former victim in the dogged, tough man Canzoneri for the lightweight strap. Despite being only 21, Jack’s buzzsaw attack was nullified and he was battered to defeat in three rounds. Jack didn’t blame the fairer sex for this reverse; he admitted to being beaten by the better man. As it was for the lightweight title, Jack still retained his own disputed title in the light welter class, yet Canzoneri relieved him of this in a third battle with a contentious 15-round decision several months later. A further defeat of Kid Chocolate and a win over Harry Mizler for the British lightweight title were the remaining highlights of this incredible man’s career. He continued to fight into his mid-30s, finally retiring with a stoppage over the unheralded Johnny MacDonald.
It’s perhaps fitting of the man that not only the prodigious talent he exercised in the ring be celebrated but also his magnificent character outside the squared circle. Ray Arcel loved his lightweight charge like a son, but the dapper womanizer had to be watched like a hawk. Whilst engaging in ferocious sparring sessions and always being the consummate professional with his gym work, the Londoner had a weakness of the flesh! His celebrity was a magnet for the stars of the day and Jack filled his boots with their affections. It’s rumored he even made the acquaintance of Mae West, who had a penchant for boy toys. In fact Arcel had mentioned that Jack had caused a most unpleasant situation with the flamboyant but dangerous gangster, Jack Diamond. Berg had attempted to impart his well-oiled charms upon the hoodlum’s moll but received short shrift. Unfortunately ‘Legs’ Diamond, as he was known either for his prowess on the dance floor or his ability to evade multiple shooting attempts, had been notified of the Englishman’s entreaties. Two armed gangsters entered Berg’s residence in the Harding Hotel to ‘discuss’ Jack’s foibles and it took incredible mediation on Arcel and Berg’s part to suffocate the angst!
Jack Kid Berg’s life story doesn’t end in the usual depressing mire of squandered earnings, ill-advised decisions and tragic conclusions that so many of his fellow heroic prizefighters endured. His many admirers within the film industry enabled him to pursue a career as a movie stuntman, which would have endured his zest for stimulation. Whether it was leading ladies extolling his virtues or the actors who admired his leitmotif through his career, Jack made a success of his life after boxing, which is a rarity in this, the most brutal of trades.
Jack finally settled down with the love of his life, Moira, in 1943 and had a beautiful daughter. His hell-raising days were well behind him. The swordsman had settled on his scabbard and his life was replete. The final chapter on this remarkable character is where is he to be placed in the boxing landscape? He attained 157 victories, 61 by stoppage, drew nine and lost 26 which is an incredible ledger. Take into account he traveled to the hardest testing ground for a professional boxer, which was the United States and bested the finest that wonderful country could accommodate. Taking into account he was English, he was a huge draw with American audiences who flocked to see his all-action administrations. Such affection is testament to the qualities that he brought into the ring. His exploits saw him inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, which is the true barometer of his aptitude. He lived a long and full life, finally passing away April 22, 1991. The boxing community lost a wonderfully charismatic man, but his deeds are treasured in perpetuity.
Judah Bergman, more commonly known as Jack Kid Berg rose, from the privation of the East End of London and conquered the world. Rest in peace Jack, you were truly inspirational. Boxing.com online article 3 December 2012 Ben Hoskin
The story of Jack ‘Kid’ Berg’s childhood belongs to the Victorian age when small boys were sent up chimneys – not the 20th century.
It certainly could have come from the pen of Charles Dickens. Because the kind of inhumane exploitation he was subjected to would have had today’s social workers reaching for the smelling salts.
Yet, despite his brutal beginning, Jack became one of Britain’s greatest fighters.
He had 192 battles and was world junior welterweight champion – as famous in America as he was here.
The tale of his remarkable transition from the gutter to the ring is told in great detail in the paperback Whitechapel Whirlwind by John Harding published this month.
It should be compulsory reading for all our professional boxers, from Anthony Joshua to the humblest novice, as it will make them realise how lucky they are they were not fighting nearly 100 years ago.
Jack’s real name was Judah Bergman, born in the East End of London in 1909, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants.
He grew up like many others who came here escaping persecution, in dire poverty, sharing two rooms with his parents and four siblings in a bleak tenement.
Jack was a typical street urchin of his time. He soon got the reputation in his Whitechapel neighbourhood as a feral tearaway.
He may have looked as angelic as Oliver Twist but he was in fights every day and he would fearlessly sort out boys and men much bigger than himself.
Berg’s notoriety soon reached the ears of Victor Berliner, who owned Premierland, East London’s biggest boxing arena.
There were no universal credits back then and the money Berliner offered him was a fortune to Jack who was earning pennies lathering the faces of men in his local barber shop.