For more on Burley read my book (now in paperback)

'Charley Burley and the Black Murderers' Row'
(Published by Tora Books 15th November 2006, ISBN 095439241

charleyburley.com

For the uninitiated, some information.

THE CYBER BOXING ZONE:
"This book is a classic of its kind and no good boxing library
should be without a copy."

http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/w0804-otty.html

Book Description

Charley Burley and the Black Murderers' Row was written with the co-operation of Charley's family and friends. It is a revised and expanded version of the individually numbered, limited edition hardback run of 300 copies that was released in 2002. It contains twenty pages of photographs, many of which are from the private collection of the Burley family. Some of which are unique to this edition.

Charley Burley and the Black Murderers' Row follows a trail from the 1936 Barcelona ‘Friendly’ Olympics in war-torn Spain to top ten contender status for world title honours during the 1940s. From the disappointment of being avoided by Henry Armstrong, Fritzie Zivic, Tony Zale, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano, Billy Conn and Sugar Ray Robinson to hauling garbage for the city of Pittsburgh for over thirty years.

Charley Burley was forced to fight out of his weight class with monotonous regularity (by today's standards he would be a light-middleweight), yet he knocked out fighters from welterweight to heavyweight. Burley beat three world champions in three different weight categories, but was denied a chance to fight for any title.

* Elected to the Ring Magazine Hall-of-Fame in 1983
* Inducted to the World Boxing Hall-of-Fame in 1987
* International Boxing Hall-of-Fame inductee in 1992

Charley Burley and the Black Murderers' Row contains many rare and unseen photographs that trace the career of this often overlooked fighter from his amateur days to his retirement and beyond.

The revised edition has an expanded record for Burley that includes a
'Tale-of-the-Tape', venues and weights for Burley and his opponents.

From the Publisher

Since the release of the initial run of 300 hardback copies of the Charley Burley story the author has expanded his research and, in addition to more fight reports, has included more information on Burley's managerial problems, his career in California and his personal life. There is also much more detail on the careers of the infamous 'Black Murderers' Row'.

From the Author

I was fortunate enough to meet Charley Burley shortly before his death in 1992. Due to the dearth of information available of this great fighter I decided to compile as many facts, figures and personal stories about him as I could. The idea was to create a scrapbook that his family could enjoy.

As the press clippings, photographs and personal stories grew I decided to write this book. While the information on his boxing career is very detailed, what I wanted was to present a more rounded picture of this (extra)ordinary man.

Thanks to the generosity (and hospitality) of his family and friends, I think that I have achieved this.

From the Back Cover

"You know, people ask me who was the greatest fighter I ever met and I tell them Rocky Marciano, because that's what they want to hear. Hell, Marciano beat me when I was 42 and I gave him a great battle. Eddie Booker and Charley Burley were the best. They beat me in my prime. Booker broke my ribs and Burley gave me a boxing lesson."
Archie Moore (World light-heavyweight champion 1952-1962)

"Too good for his own good" a statement that was made by many boxing managers and promoters of the 1940s when referring to Pittsburgh's Charley Burley. Arguably the greatest boxer never to win a world title, Burley was the most feared fighter of his generation and the most avoided fighter in the history of boxing. Writer Budd Schulberg ('On the Waterfront') christened them "The Black Murderers' Row". Charley Burley, Eddie Booker, Jack Chase, Bert Lytell, Lloyd Marshall and Aaron 'Tiger' Wade terrorised boxings middleweight division in the 1940s and were avoided to such an extent that they had to fight amongst themselves simply to remain active and earn a living.

"Charley Burley is a legend in boxing, but the public doesn't know him because he never got the credit."
Eddie Futch

charleyburley.com