Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967) was an American professional boxer.

Isidore became a rabbi and owner of a small vegetable shop in Chicago's Maxwell Street neighborhood, a vibrant Jewish ghetto akin to the New York's Lower East Side of the 1920s and '30s.

The young Rasofsky grew up on Chicago's mean streets, ultimately ignoring his father's desire for him to become a rabbi and his admonition that Jews do not resort to violence.

[8] Prostrate from grief, his mother Sarah suffered a nervous breakdown and his younger siblings—Ida, Sam and George—were placed in an orphanage or farmed out to other members of the extended family.

He began running around with local toughs (including another wayward Jewish ghetto kid, the future Jack Ruby), developing into a street brawler, thief and money runner; he was even employed by Al Capone.

At a time—the late 1920s and '30s—when rising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was using propaganda to spread his virulently anti-Jewish philosophy, Ross was seen by American Jews as one of their greatest advocates.

He also understood that Americans loved their sports heroes and if Jews wanted to be embraced in the U.S. they would have to assume such places in society.

Ross defeated great Hall-of-Fame champions like Jimmy McLarnin and Tony Canzoneri in epic battles that drew crowds of more than 50,000.

Over the next 35 bouts, his record was 32–1–2, including a win over former world champion Battling Battalino and one over Babe Ruth (not the baseball player).

He won 16 bouts in a row after that, including three over future world middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia and one against Al Manfredo.

In his last fight, Ross defended his title on May 31, 1938, against fellow three-division world champion Henry Armstrong, who beat him by a decision in 15.

In retirement in his early thirties, Ross enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in April 1942 to fight in World War II.

Most of the athletes of the era, like heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, had ceremonial roles in the military, but Ross insisted on fighting for his country.

Ross gathered his comrades' rifles and grenades and single-handedly fought nearly two dozen Japanese soldiers over an entire night, killing them all by morning.

Ross was awarded America's third highest military honor, the Silver Star,[1] as well as a Presidential Citation.

[12] As one of America's greatest "celebrity" war heroes, he was honored by President Roosevelt in a Rose Garden ceremony.

[12] During his time in Guadalcanal, Ross began a lifelong friendship with the Catholic priest Frederic Gehring, a wartime chaplain who wrote regular correspondences for Reader's Digest magazine.

Gehring considered Ross a national treasure who defied logic when it came to bravery and the defense of principle.

Many of the Marines knew the melody of the song from Ross's boxing days, when it was played when he entered the ring.

[citation needed] During his recovery at the hospital from his wounds suffered at Guadalcanal, Ross developed a dependency on the morphine he was administered for pain.

The magazine closed the article by highlighting how Ross had walked into a restaurant, where a faker was impersonating Jackie "Kid" Berg and was surrounded by admirers.