Nat Fleischer, publisher of The Ring, called Lew Tendler "the greatest southpaw in ring history."
Lew Tendler was born in Philadelphia on September 28, 1898. His parents were Jewish immigrants. He grew up at Sixth and Reed Street in South Philly. Lew learned to fight on the streets, as did many kids in those days. It was common for a newsboy like Lew to stake out a street corner and wait for customers. If someone else tried to muscle in on your spot, you had to know how to fight to keep it. Out on the sunny streets of Los Angeles, future champions Jackie Fields, Fidel La Barba and Mushy Callahan would learn to fight in exactly the same way.
Lew's mother was against his prizefighting. He tried to keep it a secret but started coming home with welts and bruises on his face and body. One day his mother, with tears in her eyes, confronted him and asked if he was a prizefighter. The boy could not lie to his mother and answered in the affirmative. Mrs. Tendler began to sob. Lew took the money from his pocket and put it on the kitchen table. It was more than his father earned in a week. His mother stared at the money before turning to her son. "From fighting?" she asked. Lew slowly nodded his head. "When can you fight again?"
