Born in Warsaw, Israel “Charley” Goldman (1888–1968) arrived in America with his Polish parents at a very young age. The short kid from the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, New York, grew up with clenched fists. His fighting days were primarily during a time when it was illegal to box in the Empire State.
Before 1896, boxing was illegal, but the short-lived Horton Law legalized it until complaints of fixed fights and ring fatalities forced the state legislature to repeal it. From 1900 to 1911, boxing was relegated to chartered athletic clubs and could be patronized only by members of said club.
