Ruby Goldstein
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Ruby Goldstein, (October 10, 1907 – April 23, 1984), was an American boxer and prize fight referee.
Before he became a referee, Goldstein boxed professionally from 1925 to 1937. Nicknamed the "Jewel Of The Ghetto", Goldstein was a smooth boxing, hard punching welterweight with a large following in his hometown of New York City. Unfortunately, Goldstein could not take a punch well and was stopped in the three major fights he fought against Jimmy McLarnin, Ace Hudkins and fellow New Yorker Sid Terris.
The Terris fight was a much hyped battle between the two rival Jewish New Yorkers. Each fighter had his legion of supporters, and their eagerly anticipated face-off produced a stirring one round fight. Goldstein seized the advantage when he floored Terris for a count of nine, and confidently seemed on his way to an easy victory. Terris, however, upon arising timed Goldstein's charge and caught him coming in with a powerful blow, knocking Goldstein out. Interestingly, Terris suffered from the same flaw as Goldstein (a glass jaw), and was himself KOed by McLarnin.
Later, Goldstein became a popular referee after his boxing career ended, and he was the 'third man' in several high profile fights. For example, he refereed the Sugar Ray Robinson-Joey Maxim light heavyweight title fight on June 25, 1952. The bout was held outdoors at famed Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Robinson, the reigning middleweight king was seeking to wrest Maxim's light heavyweight crown. Temperature at ringside measured a blistering 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), and it was even hotter in the ring under the lights.
A preview of the fight's ending occurred when Goldstein collapsed from the heat after the tenth round and could not finish refereeing the remainder of the match. Another referee, Ray Miller, was rushed into service so that the fight could be concluded. In the thirteenth round, Robinson, began wavering, and literally staggered around the ring on unsteady, wobbly legs. Overcome by the heat, he could not answer the bell for the fourteenth round, resulting in a fourteenth round TKO for Maxim. Robinson, who was ahead in the scoring, was thus deprived of an opportunity to win a world title in a third division. When asked if Maxim got lucky when Robinson collapsed from the heat, his colorful manager, Jack "Doc" Kearns replied: "It was just as hot for Maxim in there as it was for Robinson". Robinson commented: "I lasted longer than Goldstein, and nobody was hitting him".
Goldstein also refereed the first Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johansson world heavyweight championship fight. In the third round Johansson floored Patterson, who arose but appeared out on his feet. Goldstein was criticized for not immediately stopping the match and allowing Johansson to knock Patterson down six more times before ultimately awarding the bout to Johansson. Goldstein served as a referee for 21 years, and was the "third man in the ring" for 39 world title fights.
The biggest controversy involving Goldstein, as a referee, occurred in 1962 when he refereed the Benny "Kid" Paret-Emile Griffith world welterweight championship fight. In that nationally televised encounter, Griffith pinned Paret in a corner in the thirteenth round and delivered a barrage of unanswered punches to the head of the seemingly helpless Paret as Goldstein looked on. When Goldstein finally did intervene, Paret slumped to the canvas, unconscious. He died 10 days later from the injuries he suffered in that bout. Goldstein never refereed another fight. Some have said the reason Goldstein was ineffective in the fight was that he was recovering from a recent heart attack. Ironically, before the fatal bout, Goldstein had been regarded by many as the finest referee in boxing. His son Herb pointed out that he had often been criticized for stopping other fights too early.
