John Jarrett
RUBY GOLDSTEIN was having a tough day, working for the big Schenley distillery with Christmas only three weeks away. But Ruby had something else on his mind that December day in 1947. Back in his New York office, he called his wife, Mae, at home. “Any messages for me?” he asked.
Mae sounded excited. “Yes, yes,” she blurted out. “You have to call the commission as soon as possible.” A few minutes later, Ruby, a licensed referee, was on the phone to the offices of the New York State Athletic Commission. He was told to be at Madison Square Garden at eight o’clock that night. Ruby knew what that meant, he was going to work the big one. Joe Louis and Jersey Joe Walcott for the heavyweight championship of the world. He was still smiling by the time he got home.