Idell, Albert – Pug

Description

Idell, Albert ‘Pug’ 1941 1st edition. 245 pages. The Greyston Press, New York. Fiction. “The story of Whitey Phillips, prizefighter, and his world; not the world of the champion – the exception – but that of the average youngster who grins and takes it,and is offered up as a sacrifice to the sadism of the mob and the greed of the manipulators of the game.” VG in a good price clipped mylar protected dust jacket.

Pug is a bleak, tragic 1941 boxing novel that served as the debut book for author Albert Idell. It won the Greystone Bookman’s Prize Contest and drew directly from Idell’s real-life experiences working as a boxing promoter in North Carolina.

Plot Summary:
The novel follows Whitey Phillips, a regular high school kid who begins training at his local YMCA. After discovering he possesses a devastating, powerful left swing, he achieves fast success in local amateur bouts and eventually moves to New York to compete successfully in the Golden Gloves tournament.

However, Whitey’s rapid rise catches the attention of a slick-tongued, corrupt manager. Driven by pure greed, the manager deliberately matches Whitey out of his class. Whitey suffers severe injuries in the ring that essentially end his prospects as a legitimate contender.

Desperate to make a comeback, Whitey spirals downward. He rejects the help of his girlfriend, who tries in vain to save him from the dark realities of the prize-fight racket. In a tragic fit of rage, Whitey completely snaps and murders his girlfriend. While on the run from the law, he sinks to the level of a “slap-happy,” third-rate bruiser and is eventually tricked into taking a job as a strike-breaker. The novel ends grimly with Whitey being shot and killed during a violent clash between striking workers and lawmen.

Core Themes:
Unlike glamourous sporting tales of the era, Pug focuses entirely on the exploitation of everyday athletes. The book explicitly contrasts the rare exception of the world champion against the reality of the average youngster who is sacrificed to the sadism of the mob and the greed of the game’s manipulators.