The Wage Of Fame

As a young man in the mid 1930's, Abe Simon worked summers as a life guard at Coney Island. Girls would pretend to be drowning to meet the 6'5" hunk. The former high school star athlete was recruited to boxing by Jock Whitney, future Ambassador to Britain. Although amassing a winning record, absorbing punches from the likes of Buddy Bear, Jersey Joe Walcott and Joe Louis took their toll on Simon.

Simon's brother congratulates him after going 13 rounds with Louis in Detroit in March of 1941, earning a second shot at the Heavyweight Title.

ADDENDUM: Abe Simon, a heavyweight who fought in the early 1940's, was a cousin of my mother. In December of 2012, I chronicled the Joe Louis boxing era in a series of posts on this blog. I try and reprint a few each December.