Sullivan, Russell – Rocky Marciano. The Rock of His Times.

Description

Sullivan, Russell ‘Rocky Marciano. The Rock of His Times.’ 2002 1st ed. 368-pages. VG in a VG non=priced clipped dust jacket. (2) $15 each. One with the handwritten name and book stamp of longtime South African boxing collector/historian J. Karel de Vries on the frontispiece.

Rocky Marciano: The Rock of His Times is an acclaimed, deeply analytical sports biography written by Russell Sullivan and published as a first edition hardcover by the University of Illinois Press in August 2002. It was released as a featured installment in the publisher’s prestigious Sport and Society academic series.

Book Summary & Description:
Unlike traditional biographies that merely recount fight statistics, Sullivan’s work uses the legendary 49-0 undefeated heavyweight champion as a cultural lens to examine mid-century American history. Emerging from working-class obscurity in Brockton, Massachusetts, Marciano dominated the boxing world from the late 1940s until his retirement in 1956.
The book is celebrated for juxtaposing Marciano’s pristine in-ring athletic feats against the highly complex social landscape of the 1950s:
• The Fighting Style: Sullivan examines how the technically “clumsy” Marciano overcame limitations like a short reach and slow footwork through sheer endurance, a legendary training ethic, and devastating power.
• Cultural Symbolism: The text highlights how Marciano was packaged as a wholesome, patriotic, rags-to-riches icon during America’s seemingly serene “Age of Simplicity”—acting as a hero for white ethnic communities at a time when boxing was heavily divided.
• The Reality Behind the Persona: Sullivan probes the darker realities behind the era’s benevolent facade, exposing Marciano’s inner contradictions, his encounters with the racial and ethnic tensions of the 1950s fight scene, his intense marital infidelities, his tight-fisted stinginess with money, and his complex interactions with the organized crime figures who dominated the sport.

Physical & Publication Details:
• Author: Russell Sullivan
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (Urbana and Chicago)
• Publication Date: August 1, 2002
• Format: Hardcover with a protective dust jacket, featuring 14 pages of black-and-white photographs on plates.
• Length: 400 pages (including 368 numbered pages of primary text).
• ISBN-10: 0252027639
• ISBN-13: 9780252027635