Author Description

Ringside with Runyon Would you like a ringside seat to some of the most exciting, ferocious and contentious world heavyweight title fights in boxing history by a man who understands the psychology, the science, and the art of fistiana? Damon Runyon overheard Jack Johnson talking to Jess Willard as they fought. He saw Jack Dempsey cut Jess Willard down to size in Toledo, and was there when the Wild Bull of the Pampas Luis Ángel Firpo knocked Dempsey out of the ring. Runyon was at The Battle of the Long, Long Count, when Gene Tunney took 14 seconds to get up when Dempsey knocked him down. He saw underdog James J. Braddock, “The Cinderella Man,” defeat Max Baer, and was ringside when Joe Louis faced German Max Schmeling in one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the century. Damon Runyon reported on 26 of the 34 world heavyweight championship fights between 1915 and 1946, collected here for the first time, edited by Paul Duncan. The Author: Damon Runyon became a worldwide literary figure after the publication and subsequent film adaptations (like Guys and Dolls) of his Broadway short stories in the 1930s, but before, during and after that time he was first and foremost one of America's greatest newspaper columnists. THE COMPLETE JACK DEMPSEY by Damon Runyon is also available. The Editor: Paul Duncan has edited and written over 150 books achieving sales of over one million copies worldwide.