Tony Zale: The Man of Steel

Book excerpt: In the 1940s, two-time world middleweight champion Tony Zale seemingly had it all. Battling colorful Rocky Graziano in bouts that are considered as among the most exciting trilogies in boxing history, "The Man of Steel" from Gary, Indiana convincingly won their third and final contest in 1948. The son of Polish immigrants, Zale was a shy and withdrawn young boy who learned boxing because of his older brothers. Once his professional boxing career had ended, botched financial investments and a bitter divorce left little to show for all his pain and sacrifice endured in the ring. But Zale never lost the Spirit within, and he touched the lives of countless young people, both as the head coach of the Chicago Catholic Youth Organization and Chicago Parks Department boxing programs.