The authorised biography of one of the greatest fighters who ever lived.

“Too good for his own good” a statement that was made by many boxing managers and promoters of the 1940s when referring to Pittsburgh’s Charley Burley.

Arguably the greatest boxer never to win a world title, Burley was the most feared fighter of his generation and one of the most avoided fighters in the history of boxing.

Charley Burley and the Black Murderers’ Row follows a trail from the 1936 Barcelona ‘Friendly’ Olympics in war-torn Spain to top ten contender status for world title honours during the 1940s. From the disappointment of being avoided by Henry Armstrong, Fritzie Zivic, Tony Zale, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano, Billy Conn and Sugar Ray Robinson to hauling garbage for the city of Pittsburgh for over thirty years and induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Charley Burley was forced to fight out of his weight class with monotonous regularity (by today’s standards he would be a light-middleweight), yet he knocked out fighters from welterweight to heavyweight. Burley beat three world champions in three different weight categories, but was denied a chance to fight for any title. Charley Burley and the Black Murderers’ Row was written with the co-operation of Charley’s family and friends.

SHORTY and BIG BOY HOGUE blazed across the West Coast fight scene of the 1930s and 40s like twin comets. Crossing gloves with former and future world champions and oft-avoided dangerous contenders, such as Archie Moore, Charley Burley, Lloyd Marshall, Eddie Booker, and other members of the infamous ‘Murderers’ Row’, the Hogue twins took on all comers in a dual quest for world titles and sibling superiority.

Just like comets, their spectacle was brief; they crashed and burned almost as soon as they arrived. Both lived and fought with passion and both died tragically young.

This hard-hitting sports biography details the extraordinary rise and fall of Willis (Shorty) and Willard (Big Boy) Hogue, from their fistfights on the streets of Jacumba, Califonia, to national championship status and contention for world titles. From the bright glare of the ring lights to the dark corners of deteriorating mental health.

Fully illustrated throughout, with complete amateur and professional career records, this book is a must for any fan of boxing history and the fight game in California.