Samuel Berger

Samuel Berger (December 25, 1884 – February 23, 1925) was an American heavyweight boxer who won the first Olympic Gold Medal in heavyweight boxing in 1904, competed as a professional, and acted as a promoter and manager for heavyweight Jim Jeffries in the first two decades of the 20th century.

Early life and amateur career Berger was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 25, 1884, to a Jewish family of Polish descent. His father Reuben was a cigar merchant. Berger joined the Olympic Club in San Francisco when he was 16 years old and was also a member of the South End Rowing Club. In 1901 he took the amateur middleweight championship of the Pacific Coast at only seventeen, and the following year won the amateur heavyweight championship. Berger had 40 amateur fights, most of which were won by knockout.

Winning the first Heavyweight Gold Medal in boxing, St. Louis Worlds Fair, 1904 He won the first gold medal in Boxing at the 1904 Summer Olympics, as heavyweight boxing had not earlier been featured in the Olympics. Berger defeated William Michaels in the semi-finals of the St. Louis Olympics and Charles Mayer, the middleweight champion, in the finals to take the Olympic Gold Medal. Having only eleven countries competing, the Olympic competition was not nearly as competitive as today, and occurred largely as an entertainment for the St. Louis World's Fair.

Boxing career Amateur boxing career In one of his first fights on May 14, 1902, Berger defeated Andy Gallagher in a third round technical knockout at the Olympic Athletic Club in San Francisco. Sullivan led decisively in the third landing punches almost at will. In the fourth, Sullivan clinched with frequency, and Berger was able to pummel him with left hooks after every break. Sullivan was unable to rise to the canvas after his fourth round knockout and was assisted to his corner by his seconds.

On May 25, 1904, Berger was defeated by William Rodenbach in a four round unanimous decision at the Mechanics Pavilion in San Francisco. The fight was billed as a heavyweight amateur championship. Berger had his best showing in the first and part of the second rounds, but afterwards, Rodenbach had the best of the fighting. Rodenbach was the American middle and heavyweight amateur champion.

Professional boxing career On February 17, 1905, Berger defeated Jim Casey in a first round knockout at Woodward's Pavilion in San Francisco. The bout could be considered Berger's professional debut.

Berger knocked out Joe Long in the third of four rounds in San Francisco on March 3, 1905. Berger knocked long to the mat for nine seconds in the second round. He put Long to the mat once more, before Long arose, and was put to the mat a third time. Long's seconds protested that he was not down a full ten seconds, so Long came out for the third round, and was put to the mat for the final time by Berger with a stiff blow to the jaw.

In another important bout, Berger took a beating and lost to Al Kaufman in a tenth round technical knockout on October 31, 1906, in San Francisco's Dreamland Pavilion. The scheduled 20 round fight was stopped in the tenth when Berger's seconds threw up the sponge. Kaufman was down twice in the third from blows by Berger, once with a right to the jaw for a count of nine at the round's opening and once with a left to the jaw for another count of nine, but Kaufman had a small but decided edge in the remaining rounds. Kaufman's constant jabs, particularly with his left during the infighting, tired Berger till his seconds were forced to concede in the tenth. The loss ended Sam Berger's career as a boxer.

Life outside boxing He was married to Etta Friedman Berger.

In October 1907 Berger was appointed boxing instructor at the University of California. During this time he worked as both a promoter and referee for various boxing competitions. After his boxing career, he became a successful businessman, holding interest in a high end clothing store in San Francisco, run by his two brothers Nat and Maurice. He also reported on boxing matches for the San Francisco Call. He returned to the Olympic Club, which he had been required to resign as a professional, and headed up sports programs there.

In 1909 Berger faced heavyweight champion Jim Jeffries in at least five exhibitions in Pennsylvania and New York, and had two exhibition with him in California in 1910. At the time, Jeffries was one of highest paid vaudeville attractions in the United States, having retired undefeated as Heavyweight champion, and Berger's management of Jeffries was a lucrative proposition. He managed Jeffries for his fight in Reno, Nevada against black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson on July 4, 1910. As quite a profitable affair, the "Fight of the Century", drew 20,000, and fetched over $100,000 to divide between Berger, various trainers and support personnel, and Jeffries, whose cut was $60,000.

He had been in ill health for about a year before he died in San Francisco on February 23, 1925, at age 40. Perhaps a greater success at the business of refereeing and promoting boxing than competing, he died with a fortune equivalent to a million dollars today.