Sid Terris
| Sid Terris | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Sydney Terris |
| Nickname(s) | Galloping Ghost of the Ghetto Dancing Master of the East Side |
| Rated at | Lightweight |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Nationality | American 
|
| Born |
September 27, 1904 New York, lower East Side |
| Died | 30 December 1974 (aged 70) Miami Beach, Florida |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Wins | 99 |
| Wins by KO | 12 |
| Losses | 13 |
| Draws | 5 |
| No contests | 1 |
Sidney Terris (September 7, 1904 – December 30, 1974) was a top rated American lightweight boxing contender from the lower East Side of Manhattan. He excelled as an amateur, winning fifty straight bouts and taking Metropolitan, New York State, National AAU, and both National and International titles.
At the end of 1924, Tex Rickard, Dempsey's manager, rated Terris second behind only champion Benny Leonard. A world ranked lightweight from February 1925 until November 1929, his highest ranking was # 1. On February 6, 1925, he lost to Sammy Mandell in an elimination bout for the World Lightweight Championship.
Terris was born one of five children on September 27, 1904 on Clinton Street in the lower East Side of Manhattan to Fred and Gussie Terris. His father died when he was only eight, leaving his single mother to bring up the large family. An early coach, Dan Caplin recognized his skilled footwork, and had Terris learning to box by age thirteen. Boxing as an amateur, Terris was a prodigy from an early age, winning fifty bouts in a row, and accumulating titles that included the Metropolitan Amateur, New York State Amateur, and both National and International Amateur titles.
Terris turned pro in 1922 at the age of eighteen, winning eighteen of nineteen fights that year. Author Ken Blady noted that Terris's greatest strength, his early speed and constant footwork in the ring, could also be a detriment against more skilled opponents, as it exhausted him and made him less a threat near the end of his fights.
In his first years as a pro, and not yet nineteen, Terris beat exceptional boxer Eddie "Kid" Wagner in a ten round points decision at the Henderson Bowl in Brooklyn on June 3, 1924 after a previous six round loss.
Terris had a few exceptional wins by knockout as a young pro. He was the first boxer to get a full count from Andy Chaney winning in a third round knockout at the Henderson Bowl in Brooklyn on May 23, 1924, as well as winning with a seventh round knockout of Johnny Lisse on January 21, 1924 at the Lenox Athletic Club in New York. Chaney, in over 130 fights, had never been knocked out. Impressively, Terris fought Sammy Mandell, 1926-30 Lightweight Boxing Champion, to a ten round draw at Madison Square Garden on December 17, 1923. One source noted that Terris's greatest bout in 1924, was a decisive win against French born Jewish boxing great Benny Valgar, in a ten round decision at the Nostrand Athletic Club in Brooklyn.
Boxing author Ken Blady believes Terris's best year as a boxer was 1925, when he lost only one of his eighteen major bouts. Unfortunately the loss was in a sanctioned twelve round World Lightweight elimination contest with future reigning Lightweight champion Sammy Mandell on February 6, 1925 in Madison Square Garden. This exceptional bout drew 13,000 fans. It was, in many ways a very close contest. Terris knocked Mandell to the mat for a nine count in the third round with a strong blow. Mandell, however, evaded Terris for the remaining rounds, and with greater energy and speed, somehow won the bout on points by unanimous decision.
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