Fleischer Nat – The Flaming Ben Hogan

Description

Fleischer, Nat ‘The Flaming Ben Hogan’ 1941 1st ed. 32 pages. Very good original softcovers bound in worn light blue cloth.

Nat Fleischer’s 1941 biographical booklet The Flaming Ben Hogan chronicles the wild, lawless, and multi-faceted life of 19th-century American bare-knuckle boxer and adventurer “Benedict” Ben Hogan.(Note: Despite the name, this book is completely unrelated to the legendary mid-20th-century golfer Ben Hogan).

A Life of Extreme Rebellious Roles: Fleischer—famed editor of The Ring magazine—traces Hogan’s bizarre journey through an astonishing array of titles: professional prize fighter, pirate, gambler, Civil War spy, oil magnate, and eventual religious evangelist.

The “Fistic” Career: The biography focuses on Hogan’s rough-and-tumble exploits in the early days of American prize fighting, charting his bare-knuckle bouts and his reputation as a ruthless competitor inside and outside the ring.

The “Wickedest Man on Earth”: Fleischer explores how Hogan earned his infamous 19th-century reputation by running floating brothels and gambling dens during the Pennsylvania oil boom, building a massive fortune, and losing it just as quickly.

The Great Redemption: True to Fleischer’s love for dramatic sports stories, the short book details Hogan’s abrupt mid-life transformation. After a life steeped in crime and violence, Hogan underwent a massive religious conversion, spending his final decades working as a traveling Christian evangelist and running a rescue mission for the poor.