Trained and managed from 1913, when he was only sixteen, by Mike McNulty, Ertle's body punches were particularly devastating to his opponents, because of the extraordinary leverage he could apply using the extra space provided by his small stature.

[6] By one account, a key to Ertle's success were his powerful arms and broad 38" chest which comprised a reach that may have been as long as 65 inches, far longer than average for his 4' 11" height.

But the lightning fast style and vicious hooks Ertel scored on Joe LaScotte's ribs and jaw aroused public interest.

[3] Coulon, one of Ertel's most accomplished opponents, fought several top rated bantamweight including hid childhood friend Pete Herman and Memphis Pal Moore.

With McNulty in his corner, Ertle took the bantamweight title from Kid Williams in a close bout on September 10, 1915, in St. Paul, Minnesota while still just 18 years of age.

[3] In another early career victory, Ertle defeated Johnny Solzberg in a very close ten-round newspaper decision at the Clermont Avenue Rink in Brooklyn.

The bout was billed as a defense of his world bantamweight title, and the Pittsburgh Gazette Times wrote that Ertle's aggressiveness and speed won him the decision.

Ertle, who claimed he was ill the week before but felt better the day of the fight, won easily, but nearly half his blows were dodged or ducked by the clever and quick Sayles.

[15] On February 9, 1916, Ertel successfully defended his world bantamweight title against Italian boxer Terry Martin in a ten-round newspaper decision of the New York Times at the Clermont Skating Rink in Brooklyn.

As was his custom, Ertle took the offense for all but a few exchanges in the first round, fighting Tuber all over the ring and leading with his strong signature left and right hooks to body and jaw.

[18][19] Before a crowd of 3000, Ertle drew with Al Shubert, a future New England Featherweight and Bantamweight contender, on February 22, 1916, in a twelve-round bout in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Shubert forced the fighting in the early rounds, but was unable to gain a significant margin in points in a close bout that featured no knockdowns and in which Ertel's claim to the title was as stake.

[20][21] On March 14, 1916, Ertle defeated future contender for both the American and world flyweight titles, Italian boxer Young Zulu Kid, in a ten-round newspaper decision at the Broadway Gym in Brooklyn.

In the eighth, Ertel broke away and battered the Kid with blows to the jaw and body with almost no return, and in the ninth and tenth, he continued to build a strong lead in points scoring.

On November 27, 1916, Ertle fought another no-decision bout against Dick Loadman at the Lyric Theatre in Baltimore, losing in the opinion of many newspapers, but Ertel did not give up his claim to the title.

The Milwaukee Free Press gave the bout to Ertle for his slight lead in the first six rounds, and for briefly putting Herman to the canvas in the second with a right uppercut to the chin.

[32] Ertel met 1922 world junior featherweight champion, Jack "Kid" Wolfe in a benefit to raise athletic equipment for local soldiers on December 7, 1917, in a close ten-round newspaper decision in Cleveland, Ohio.

[34] The Baltimore Sun believed Ertle may have deserved the decision by a shade as he scored three knockdowns in the second, and in their opinion took eight of the twelve rounds, allowing Williams to outpoint him in only the eighth, ninth and tenth.

[36] Ertle clearly forfeited all claims to the world bantamweight title on April 10, 1918, when he lost to Memphis Pal Moore in a fifteen-round points decision before a large crowd at the Lyric Theater in Baltimore.

Showing greater speed with his illusive bobs of the head and body, Moore evaded the blows of Ertel repeatedly, attacking frequently with his longer right to Ertle's jaw.

In a disappointing loss on November 9, 1918, Frankie Burns, a top bantamweight contender, knocked out Ertle in the seventh round in Weehawken, New Jersey.

The New York Sun wrote that Burns had the upperhand from beginning to end with Ertle unable to land more than a half dozen solid blows.

Burns was a formidable opponent, with boxing journalist Nat Fleischer once rating him the eighth greatest bantamweight of all time, but the loss changed the direction of Ertle's career.

[3] Herman was rated as the second greatest bantamweight in history by sports writer Nat Fleischer, and was a 1997 inductee to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

The world bantamweight championship was technically at stake, but according to Minnesota law, Ertle would have had to knock out Herman or win by a disqualification to take the title from him.

[40] Ertle lost to American flyweight champion contender Frankie Mason on June 20, 1919, in a ten-round newspaper decision in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Before a record open air crowd, Williams brought a staggering Ertle close to a knockout at least a half dozen times, though the diminutive St. Paul boxer remained on his feet.

[43][44] After his marriage and his brief retirement from boxing in 1919, Ertel met Joey Schwartz in a ten-round draw bout on points on March 17, 1922, at the Armories in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

[45] Fighting as a featherweight on January 26, 1923, he showed a few glimpses of his old form and convincingly defeated Saph McKenna in a ten-round newspaper decision, the night's main event at the Auditorium in St. Paul.

The Minneapolis Marning Tribune gave six of the ten rounds to Ertle with only one to McKenna, and admitted he easily outpointed his opponent, but noted that he appeared slow compared to the championship form of five years earlier.