Puncher from the Past: Eddie Booker

Name: Hilton Edward (Eddie) “ Black Dynamite” Booker

Born: 5 November 1917

Died: 26 January 1975

Career: 1935 to 1944

Record: 81 fights, 68 wins (34 by KO/TKO), 5 Losses (all points) 8 draws.

Division: Welterweight, Middleweight

Stance: Orthodox

Titles:  Californian State middleweight champion

Major Contests

Scored wins over: Jackie Burke, Al Manfredo, Shorty Hogue (twice), Izzy Jannazzo, Lloyd Marshall, Harry Matthews, Archie Moore**, Holman Williams

Lost to: Fritzie Zivic**, Cocoa Kid, Shorty Hogue, Holman Williams,

Drew with: Holman Williams, Archie Moore (twice)**, Shorty Hogue, Jack Chase

**Past/ future holder of a version of a world title

* Unsuccessful challenger for a version of a world title

Eddie Booker’s Story

Although born in Texas Booker moved to San Jose, California with his family at an early age. He started boxing in the San Francisco Bay area and had quite a bit of success as an amateur at lightweight winning the San Francisco Golden Glove and Pacific North West titles. He beat Harry Moyer, the father of Denny and Phil Moyer, for the Pacific North West title He turned professional in January 1935 at 17. He crammed 18 fights into his first 12 months as a professional winning them all 9 by KO/TKO. He was still fighting four and six round preliminary bouts but was already beating far more experienced opponents. He was  8-0-1 in his 9 fights in 1936 drawing with Jimmy Wakefield and outpointing Wakefield in a return match. In 1937 he was fighting ten round bouts and had a 25-0-1 record. It was getting harder to find opponents as Booker class scared opponents away. He was held to a draw by both Jackie Burke and Micke Duris although the newspapers reported Booker as a clear winner in both fights. By the end of 1938 he was unbeaten in 40 fights being 37-0-3 and was on the fringe of the Ring Magazine ratings and with only ten rated in each division competition for places was tough. Top class opposition saw him stutter a few times in 1939 as he drew with rated Homan Williams and lost decisions to future world champion Fritzie Zivic, ending Booker’s undefeated run at 43 fights, and Cocoa Kid. Booker, Holman and Cocoa would go on to be regarded as members of “Murderers’ Row” (see note at end of profile).  Booker got back on track after the Cocoa Kid defeat closing 1939 with four more wins taking his record to 43-2-4. Booker had just one fight in 1940 which was put down to hand injuries although it was suggested it was for eye surgery . He did not fight again until February 1941 and went 13-1-2 in his 16 fights drawing with Archie Moore and going 1-1-1 in three fights against Shorty Hogue. He was unbeaten in 1942 beating Hogue and former world lightweight title challenger Izzy Jannazzo as well as fellow “Murderers’ Row” fighter Lloyd Marshall and drawing again with Archie Moore. By this time Moore was rated No 1 middleweight by Ring Magazine with Booker at No 8. It was less activity and mixed success for Booker in 1943. He lost his State title on points to Jack Chase, the first 15 round fight in California since 1914, and was then inactive for seven months due to surgery required to repair to his damaged hands. He lost on points to Holman Williams but stopped Harry Matthews in five rounds becoming the first fighter to beat Matthews inside the distance. Matthews would be unbeaten in his next 52 fights before being stopped by Rocky Marciano in a heavyweight title eliminator in 1952. Although the Matthews win was big by far his best result came in January 1944 when he floored Archie Moore four times and stopped Moore in the eighth round. The first time in 71 fights that Moore had been beaten inside the distance. Booker achieved all of this with rapidly deteriorating eyesight. It should have been onwards and upwards for Booker but after getting a revenge win over Holman Williams his eye problems caught up with him. He had been fighting for a good few years with defective eyesight, said to have been caused by a “doctored” glove, and his licence was revoked. It was rumoured that Booker’s eye problems went all the way back to his fight against Fritzie Zivic when thumb work by Zivic saw Booker end the fight with injuries to both eyes. Booker’s career was over at the age of 26 and had not even reached his peak. His sight in both eyes deteriorated so much that he lived much of late life blind in both eyes. Who can say what he would have gone on to achieve.

World Champion Archie Moore thought the world of Booker saying, “I’ve had some rough fights in my time,” Moore said, “but all things being equal, when I was in my prime, one of my toughest had to have been against Eddie Booker, a fighting machine who shot out punches with deft precision Booker was one of the great fighters of my time. He had me fighting for dear life”. Ironically Booker helped Moore fight for his life as he  donated blood when Moore underwent an operation and Moore became a godfather to one of Booker’s sons. After his retirement, Booker helped several fighters with their training and he assisted Charley Burley in his preparations for his fights with Oakland Billy Smith. Booker was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2000 and to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.

He died in San Francisco on January 26, 1975 at the age of 57.

Murderers’ Row

Back in the late 1920’s the term Murderers’ Row was used to described the batting line up of the New York Yankees widely considered to be the greatest ever Major League Baseball team. It featured Hall of Fame names such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Herb Pennock, Earle Combs, Waite Hoyt and Tony Lazzeri and the Yankees batting order was labelled Murderer’s Row for the way it murdered other team’s pitchers.

It was originally applied to boxing by the author Budd Schullberg to described a group of black fighters in the 1940’s who were feared and respected but also dodged by the champions of their era and never awarded a title shot.  Eddie Booker was member as was Charley Burley but they never met each other which is a pity. Burley was considered the most talented member of Murderers’ Row and when Booker was asked how a fight with Burley might have turned out he said he would fight Burley if he had to but he wouldn’t be too happy about it because he thought that Burley was just about the best there was. Burley was reported as saying that Booker would be the hardest fight he’d ever have.”