He learned to fight on the streets of Sioux City, Iowa competing for a corner to sell newspapers. He fought his way through the Great Depression as flyweight and bantamweight champion of California. He was featured at the grand opening of the famed Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, and he fought at Madison Square Garden for the flyweight championship of the world. This webpage is a tribute to one of the great boxing figures of the 1920's and '30's.