Overview

Friday Night Fighter relives a lost moment in American postwar history, when boxing ruled as one of the nation's most widely televised sports. During the 1950s and 1960s, viewers tuned in weekly, sometimes even daily, to watch widely recognized fighters engage in primordial battle; the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports Friday Night Fights was the most popular fight show. Troy Rondinone follows the dual narratives of the Friday Night Fights show and the individual story of Gaspar ""Indio"" Ortega, a boxer who appeared on prime-time network television more than almost any other boxer in history. From humble beginnings growing up poor in Tijuana, Mexico, Ortega personified the phenomenon of postwar boxing at its greatest, appearing before audiences of millions to battle the biggest names of the time, such as Carmen Basilio, Tony DeMarco, Chico Vejar, Benny ""Kid"" Paret, Emile Griffith, Kid Gavilan, Florentino Fernández, and Luis Manuel Rodriguez. Rondinone explores the factors contributing to the success of televised boxing, including the rise of television entertainment, the role of a ""reality"" blood sport, Cold War masculinity, changing attitudes toward race in America, and the influence of organized crime. At times evoking the drama and spectacle of the Friday Night Fights themselves, this volume is a lively examination of a time in history when Americans crowded around their sets to watch the main event.

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9780252037375

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El Indio Gaspar Ortega will always be our first champion. We love him, we cherish him, and we respect him. --Carlos Santana Troy Rondinone masterfully and nostalgically captures the romance of boxing on television in the 1950s. It was a sport on the air, in your living room, and at its crossroads. The Friday Night Fighters may be gone--but they will never be forgotten. --Russell Sullivan, author of Rocky Marciano: The Rock of His Times

El Indio Gaspar Ortega will always be our first champion. We love him, we cherish him, and we respect him. --Carlos Santana<br>

Troy Rondinone masterfully and nostalgically captures the romance of boxing on television in the 1950s. It was a sport on the air, in your living room, and at its crossroads. The Friday Night Fighters may be gone--but they will never be forgotten. --Russell Sullivan, author of Rocky Marciano: The Rock of His Times El Indio Gaspar Ortega will always be our first champion. We love him, we cherish him, and we respect him. --Carlos Santana

Troy Rondinone masterfully and nostalgically captures the romance of boxing on television in the 1950s. It was a sport on the air, in your living room, and at its crossroads. The Friday Night Fighters may be gone--but they will never be forgotten. --Russell Sullivan, author of Rocky Marciano: The Rock of His Times El Indio Gaspar Ortega will always be our first champion. We love him, we cherish him, and we respect him. --Carlos Santana Rondinone unearths two important histories... He writes with a nostalgic eye, using sparkling prose, and he culls from diverse sources. --The Journal of American History

""Troy Rondinone masterfully and nostalgically captures the romance of boxing on television in the 1950s. It was a sport on the air, in your living room, and at its crossroads. The Friday Night Fighters may be gone--but they will never be forgotten.""--Russell Sullivan, author of Rocky Marciano: The Rock of His Times ""El Indio Gaspar Ortega will always be our first champion. We love him, we cherish him, and we respect him.""--Carlos Santana

Author Information

Troy Rondinone is an associate professor of history at Southern Connecticut State University and the author of The Great Industrial War: Framing Class Conflict in the Media, 1865-1950.

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