Tully, Jim – The Bruiser

Description

Tully, Jim ‘The Bruiser’ Published by Grosset & Dunlap, New York. 1936 reprint. 248-pages. Good condition good minus dust jacket that shows wear and is missing the top 1/4″ of paper on the spine.

The Bruiser is a hard-hitting, definitive boxing novel written by Jim Tully, an acclaimed “hobo author,” former vagabond, and professional prizefighter. This specific 248-page printing from Grosset & Dunlap represents a vintage reprint edition issued in 1936, releasing right on the heels of the original Greenberg publishing house first edition from earlier that same year.

Book Description:
Tully leverages his real-world experiences surviving the American underclass and trading leather in early 20th-century rings to deliver a deeply authentic portrait of the sport.
• The Plot: The story follows Shane Rory, a hard-luck road kid and drifter who transitions into the brutal world of prizefighting, grinding his way meticulously up through the heavyweight ranks.
• Real-World Influence: While fictionalized, the book is dedicated to Tully’s close friend Jack Dempsey. The fighters peopulating its fast-paced pages are composite sketches drawn from boxing royalty of the era—including Dempsey, Joe Gans, Gene Tunney, and Stanley Ketchel.
• Literary Style: Praised by contemporaries like Damon Runyon for writing that “literally smells of whizzing leather,” Tully’s text avoids glamorous tropes. Instead, it leans heavily into a gritty, atmospheric realism that went on to heavily influence mid-century hard-boiled American fiction.