11/18/1947 - NY NEWSPAPER - BOXER JAKE LAMOTTA " FIXED FIGHT " PROBED BY DA

Description

Item up for sale is the rare, original, and complete (64 page,) November 18th, 1947, edition of the New York Daily News newspaper; the lead story from the sporting world came from the Middleweight ranks where the "Bronx Bull," Jake LaMotta had taken on Philadelphia pugilist, Jimmy "Blackjack" Fox at the old Madison Square Garden. The fight would turn out to be a complete fiasco as LaMotta was in the tank for Philly mobster, Frank "Blinky" Palermo, of the Philadelphia Crime Family. Although the "Raging Bull" had agreed to take a dive for a shot at the Title, and payed Palermo twenty thousand dollars, (0,000.00 in todays money,) no amount of Choreography could mask LaMotta's skillset. The New York City D.A., Frank Hogan, would scream for a Grand Jury presentation, after the sportswriters to a man told him the fight stunk to high heaven! LaMotta's opponent Fox had won an unprecedented 36 consecutive bouts by knockout, casting further suspicion on the Garden's festivities that night. Ultimately LaMotta would get his title shot in 1949, besting Frenchman, Marcel Cerdan in 10 rounds. Some years later LaMotta would lament: I began to panic a little; I was supposed to be throwing a fight to this guy, and it looked like I was going to end up holding him on his feet! This newspaper is fully described above. It has partial seperation of the front cover, but it is still a great rare displayable item and a period piece.