Monte Attell

Monte Attell (July 28, 1885 – November 11, 1960), was an American boxer who held the world bantamweight title from 1909 to 1910. Born in the Nob Hill in San Francisco, he was the younger brother of featherweight champion Abe Attell. In 1909, the brothers became the first siblings to hold world boxing titles at the same time. Attell won the vacant bantamweight title by defeating former champion Frankie Neil on June 19, 1909, and lost it to Frankie Conley on February 22, 1910.

Early life and career Attell was born on July 28, 1885, to a struggling Jewish family that, by one account, eventually had eighteen children. As a poor Jewish kid of diminutive stature raised in a tough Irish neighborhood, Attell began his career as a fighter from a very early age. As his older brother Abe Attell (1884–1970) was the Featherweight Champion of the World during the same period, Monte and Abe became the first brothers to simultaneously hold world boxing titles. Their brother, Caesar, also fought and was called "Two and a Half," for always giving that amount whenever the hat was passed for charity at boxing events. Like his brother Abe, Monte spent some of his youth and likely some of his later life selling newspapers for a living. At the age of 14, Attell was treated for burns to the face and hands from a childhood accident with a toy cannon which may have contributed to his decline as a boxer as he aged.

From fighting for survival in the streets, Monte Attell turned professional by 1902, winning his first five bouts. He lost several of his early bouts, but between February 1906 and May 1909, he won ten continuous matches. His performance earned him a chance to fight for the vacant Bantamweight championship in 1909.

Before his world Bantamweight championship bout, Attell defeated Dusty Miller on November 5, 1904, in a six-round points decision at the Chicago Athletic Club. Two weeks later, Attell defeated Miller again at the West End Athletic Club in St. Louis, in a ten-round points decision. In their bout in St. Louis, Attell had the lead throughout, boring in constantly, and defending with skill. Miller fought back gamely, but Attell clearly held the better hand. In the fifth to the ninth rounds, Miller stalled, and though he rallied in the tenth, the round finished even. Attell received the decision for his ability to penetrate Miller's defenses with stronger, if at times less frequent blows.

Attell knocked out Johnny Reagan on December 22, 1904, in seventeen rounds in St. Louis. Though the first nine rounds were close, and Reagan knocked down Attell in the sixth, from the thirteenth through the seventeenth, Attell took the advantage. In the seventeenth, a left and right to the jaw, preceded by a single blow to the chin sent Reagan to the canvas for the full count. In two previous meetings at St. Louis's West End Club, Attell had won in a close fifteen round points decision in St. Louis on December 15, 1904, and in an eighth round points decision the previous month.

Loss to flyweight champ Owen Moran, 1905 Attell lost to accomplished British boxer Owen Moran (pictured) on May 15, 1905. Attell lost to accomplished British boxer Owen Moran on May 15, 1905, in a twenty-round points decision at the Pallisades in New York before a private, affluent crowd of around 150, who paid as much as $10 to see the fight, a princely sum in that era. Moran held the BBBC Flyweight Championship of Great Britain in 1903 and would compete several times for the Bantamweight Championship of his native land. Moran fought with more telling blows which won him the decision. By the sixth, both fighters were fatigued, and in the seventh, Moran hooked a strong left to the jaw of Attell staggering him and causing him to fall against the ropes as the round ended. Moran tried to finish Attell through the final ten rounds, but was unable, as his opponent would retreat or clinch to save himself. The bout caused a serious eye injury to Attell which became permanent and eventually led to blindness.

On March 29, 1905, Attell fought Jimmy Walsh in Philadelphia in what many sources considered a World Bantamweight Title match that ended when the referee called a disqualification against Walsh in the sixth round for a low blow. One source noted that Walsh, "had the better of the bout from the start", and that the blow which occurred two minutes into the sixth round was accidental. Attell claimed to have been injured, and a foul was called by the referee, but Walsh was recognized as the Bantamweight Champion, by the National Boxing Association.

In an early loss against a known competitor, Attell lost to Freddie Weeks on September 3, 1906, in a fifth-round knockout at the Grand Opera House at Victor, Colorado. Weeks was a quick and scrappy competitor who fought some of the best, including Monte's brother Abe in October 1907 and January 1909 in unsuccessful title matches for the World Featherweight Championship.

Attell defeated Mike Kutchos on November 25, 1908, for the Pacific Coast Bantamweight Title, winning in a fifteen-round points decision. In the fifteenth, Walsh battered Attell badly making up any lead Attell enjoyed, and Attell's face appeared far more battered at the end of the bout.

World bantamweight champion, 1909

On June 19, 1909, Monte Attell won the World Bantamweight title defeating former champion Frankie Neil at Coffroth's Arena, in an eighteenth-round knockout in Colma, California. The bout was billed as a championship for the world bantamweight title. According to W. W. Naughton writing for the Oakland Tribune, Attell won every round of the eighteen round bout, which was ended by a full left handed blow to the chin of Frankie Neil. Neil reportedly "took a terrible mauling without flinching. From the very first it was apparent that the only chance Neil had was to outgame Attell and wear him down by persistent rushing for he was being outpunched at least two to one and the blows of the Hebrew fighter (Attell) were not the easiest either." Though Neil was the aggressor through much of the bout, Attell "peppered Neil with straight lefts", brought crushing rights to the jaw, and delivered solid rights to the midsection that eventually took their toll on his opponent. In the fifteenth, Neil was down from a left to the stomach, and twice he stumbled to his hands and knees in the clinches. He was nearly finished at the end of the round from lefts and rights but was saved by the fifteenth's closing bell. Though Attell could not finish Neil in the next two rounds, but in the eighteenth, as Neil first approached, Attell finished him with a straight left to the jaw that put him down for the count. Neil had last held the title in 1904, before losing it to British bantamweight Joe Bowker.

Daniel Webster Attell drew with Daniel Webster on October 12, 1909, in another bantamweight title match. In this no decision bout, a win required agreement by two of three newspapers as to who had won the match, and since two Los Angeles newspapers called the fight even, it was officially declared a draw. Attell drew with Webster twice more in bantamweight title matches, once in a ten-round match in Los Angeles in November, 1909 and once in a twenty-round match in San Francisco in December of that year. The New York Tribune wrote that Attell traded punches with McGovern at three to one, and used his advantage in height and reach as well as a hard, straight punch that crossed inside to win their newspaper decision. Attell was down in the second as well from a swing to the jaw, though he rose quickly after his trip to the mat. McGovern sensed a quick victory, but Attell stood him off with straight lefts. McGovern's aggressiveness made the bout look like a contest, and his ability to take his time with his opponent and effectively use lefts to the face, won him the decision of the New York Tribune. Newspapers were divided on who had won the bout, but the local papers, The New York Times, and Brooklyn Daily Eagle favored Attell as the winner. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote that Attell used stabbing lefts to counter McGovern's advances in the fourth and fifth. After the fifth, Attell's left to the face and right cross to the jaw dominated the bout, and took the steam from McGovern. In the ninth and tenth, McGovern staged an ineffective rally, and was stopped by Attell's counterpunches.

Johnny Daly Attell defeated Johnny Daly in a world bantamweight title match on October 2, 1911, in a close ten round points decision in New Orleans, Louisiana. The decision was not popular with the crowd, and the police stepped into the ring to protect the boxers. Attell, having a longer reach, used his left to shove back Daly's face to gain an opening, and then connected with his right to the chin or chest on multiple occasions. Daly's strong left failed often to reach its target against the rapid maneuvers of Attell, who showed better defensive ringcraft. By the tenth round, Attell's right eye was a frequent object of Daly's who connected with two lefts.

Bouts with Jimmy Carroll Attell defeated Jimmy Carroll in a ten-round newspaper decision on October 26, 1909, at Piedmont Pavilion in Oakland. The Los Angeles Times wrote that "from the tap of the bell in the first round, he (Attell) took the aggressive and never once allowed Carroll the upper hand." Attell, who had been training and taking fights in the months preceding the contest, unlike Carroll, showed greater endurance and by the fifth this showed most strongly as he began to throw the most telling punches against Carroll. Carroll was down for a count of seven in the fifth. In the tenth round, Carroll tried to score enough points to gain a draw decision, but Attell was too far ahead on points and won the decision of most newspapers. Attell came in close with both hands, fighting a successful bout from the first to the final rounds. In their first meeting on January 12, 1904, Attell knocked out Carroll, only 1:59 seconds into the first round at Colma, California. In a subsequent meeting with Carroll on February 15, 1907, he fought a four-round draw in a points decision in San Francisco. Only two months later, on April 5, 1907, he lost to Carroll in a four-round points decision at Dreamland Pavilion in San Francisco. Carroll, who was much slimmer than Attell, scored repeatedly with straight lefts, but did more poorly in the infighting, where Attell excelled. In the only knockdown of the fight, Attell sent Carroll to the canvas with a hard right to the chin, but was unable to score knockdowns in the subsequent rounds, where Carroll defended well, except in the infighting, making a draw decision a reasonable choice.

Loss of Bantam title, 1910

Attell lost the world bantamweight championship to Frankie Conley on February 22, 1910, at the Pacific Athletic Club in Vernon, California, when Conley knocked him out in the 42nd round of a scheduled 45-round bout.

Conley's knockout win was something of a surprise to the audience, as he was only 20, and Attell was a well established champion. Conley staggered Attell with a right to the jaw in the thirteenth, but the first twenty rounds seemed rather even. By the 33rd round Attell seemed physically diminished from a blow to the chest from Conley. Astonishingly, neither men were down in the grueling bout until Attell took his final dive in the 42nd round. Attell's left eye was closed, and he appeared to have taken worse injuries than his opponent. The grueling three hour spectacle ended when Conley knocked out Attell with a strong right. Some sources may give an earlier date as to when Attell first relinquished the World Bantamweight Title.

After losing the title, Attell continued to fight regularly. On February 11, 1911, he fought a six-round draw with Joe Biderberg, known as Louisiana, at Old City Hall in Pittsburgh. Louisiana held frequently in clinches, likely tired and wary of the blows of Attell. Louisiana had the better of the outside boxing, showing great defense and ducking, but Attell excelled at the infighting, as was typical of his style. Louisiana showed better speed and was more illusive but Attell's superior infighting, though brutal at times, made the decision of most newspapers a draw.

On December 14, 1911, he defeated Patsy Brannigan by six-round newspaper decision at Duquesne Garden in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Post accounts credited Attell’s infighting and cleaner punches, though some reports argued that Brannigan’s late-round aggression should have earned him the decision.

Boxing decline, eye injury Attell first fought Johnny Kilbane, future world featherweight champion from 1912 to 1923, on March 24, 1911, drawing in ten rounds in Cleveland, Ohio. One reporter noted that Kilbane injured his right hand in the first round and could only push it into Attell's face when he half clinched, though he did damage with his strong right throughout the bout. Kilbane landed a storm of punches in the second round. Attell fought very aggressively and got in left slams to the body as well as stiff counterpunches to Kilbane's face. On December 3, 1912, losing to Kilbane in a ninth-round technical knockout in Cleveland, Ohio, Attell was down more than six times before the police ordered the bout stopped to prevent a knockout. Kilbane became the aggressor in the second round and for much of the remainder of the bout, Attell had to cover up to save himself from Kibane's fierce attack.

In a well publicized match, Attell lost to Al Delmont on April 12, 1911, in a twelve-round points decision in Boston. In the first two rounds, Delmont gained a considerable lead with lefts and rights to the face, but in the next seven rounds, Delmont clinched often, while Attell shot his left to the face and body and his right to the ribs. Delmont occasionally got his right to Attell's face and landed right counters. With jabs and right crosses to the face and jaw, Delmont, showing his old form, earned a sufficient points margin in the eleventh and twelfth, to gain the popular decision.

In a close bout, Attell again lost to Delmont in a twelve-round points decision on April 18, 1911, in the Arena in Boston. In a very close and hard-fought bout, Delmont did considerable jabbing, and Attell went to the body often with both hands. The eleventh round saw Delmont taking the lead, and in the twelfth his more aggressive fighting won him the very close decision.

Sometime in 1914, Attell incurred an eye injury that became infected, and eventually resulted in a loss of sight in the eye. Attell was down in the first round. Tellingly, though not unusual for an aging boxer in the era, particularly one with vision problems, Attell lost nineteen of twenty-four bouts between February 7, 1912, and October 30, 1916, near the end of his boxing career.

Retirement, and death Attell initially retired from boxing in 1916, largely as the result of an eye infection that eventually led to his going blind in the eye. He had lost most of his vision in the other eye as a result of injuries sustained during his fight with Owen Moran in May 1905. One of his last bouts was a seven-round knockout loss on October 30, 1916, to Marty Taylor, known as Kid Taylor, a featherweight who had fought but not beaten several quality boxers. In his youth, he had knocked out Taylor on April 21, 1905, in New York.

In time, a failed business and the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s wiped out his savings. By February 1923, according to one source, Attell was short on funds, blind, and residing at the Alameda County Hospital. While blind, he was forced at one point to sell peanuts and cigarettes at fights to raise money, while a young man led him to his customers. Hearing of his plight, Jack Dempsey later financed a cigar stand in San Francisco that supplied Attell a decent living for many years. He was married to wife Mary, formerly Mary Forman, but had no children of their own. In 1957, he suffered a heart attack and retired to Palo Alto for a period. He died in 1960 at his home on South Court in Palo Alto.

Professional boxing record All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.

Primary boxing achievements Attell was elected to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.