Rocky Marciano - The Rock of His Times (2005)

In this captivating and complex portrait of an American sports legend, Russell Sullivan confirms Rocky Marciano's place as a symbol and cultural icon of his era. As much as he embodied the wholesome, rags-to-riches patriotism of a true American hero, he also reflected the racial and ethnic tensions festering behind the country's benevolent facade. Spirited, fast-paced, and rich in detail, Rocky Marciano is the first book to place the boxer in the context of his times. Capturing his athletic accomplishments against the colorful backdrop of the 1950s fight scene, Sullivan examines how Marciano's career reflected the glamour and scandal of boxing as well as tenor of his times.

In this portrait of an American sports legend, Russell Sullivan confirms Rocky Marciano's place as a symbol and cultural icon of his era. As much as he embodied the wholesome, rags-to-riches patriotism of a true American hero, Marciano also reflected the racial and ethnic tensions festering beneath the country's benevolent facade.

Publishers Weekly

Sullivan, a business writer and owner of a corporate education company, offers a solid if unspectacular biography of the only undefeated heavyweight champion in history. He recounts Marciano's career from his first professional fight in 1947 through his death in a plane crash in 1969, looking at the sports hero as a symbol of both the optimism and the darker cultural currents of the 1950s. Sullivan provides a detailed and complete history of Marciano's fights, as well as some rich contextual background on the characters and atmosphere of boxing during the 1950s. Marciano, the child of Italian immigrants, who grew up in working class Brockton, Mass., was presented by the press as the ideal '50s man: a wholesome, patriotic family man with an all-American rags-to-riches story and worshipped by his fans as such. He was another Great White Hope in a sport dominated by black men, and though many 1950s sportswriters strove for a colorblind approach, it was nonetheless clear that they rooted for Rocky. The cultural analysis is the strongest part of the book; Russell's portrait of the private man (sometimes ambivalent about his family and notoriously obsessed with collecting and never spending money) is well researched and complex, but hampered by his often clunky and repetitive writing style. Though Marciano never achieved the popularity of Ali or Louis, his story offers a fascinating glimpse of boxing at midcentury and boxing buffs will be glad to have this overdue biography. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

"Emerging from obscurity to win the heavyweight crown in the early 1950s, Rocky Marciano fought until 1955, retiring with a perfect 49-0 record - a feat still unmatched today. Yet as much as he embodied the wholesome, rags-to-riches patriotism of a true American hero, Marciano also reflected the racial and ethnic tensions festering beneath the country's benevolent facade. In this portrait of a complex American sports legend, Russell Sullivan confirms Rocky Marciano's place as a symbol and cultural icon of his era."--Publisher's description Presents the life story of boxer Rocky Marciano, undefeated heavyweight champion from 1952 through 1956 when he retired. Examines his popularity as a second-generation Italian-American in the context of the early 1950s when he was revered by immigrants and those who were uncomfortable with the increasing dominance of black men in boxing. 00.i-xviii 2 000.1-6 20 01.7-22 26 02.23-42 42 03.43-68 62 04.69-94 88 05.95-114 114 06.115-136 134 07.137-163 156 08.164-184 183 08A.PHOTOS 204 09.185-210 218 10.211-232 244 11.233-253 266 12.254-276 287 13.277-299 310 14.300-306 333 15.307-336 340 16.337-346 370 17.347-368 380 18.369-372 402 A portrait of an American sports icon retraces the rise of Marciano from obscurity to nail one of the greatest records in boxing - 49-0, while exploring his strengths and weaknesses as a boxer It was St. Patrick's Day in the year 1947, and the good, hard-working people of Holyoke, Massachusetts, had several options for their evening's entertainment.