ERA V. THE MAFIA ERA (1946-1959)

As The Outlaw Era of Boxing came to an end and boxing became legal throughout the world, there was sure to be a boom in the popularity of the sport! More popularity meant bigger crowds. Bigger crowds meant more money. More money meant more corruption. The Era before was the “Outlaw” Era because it was a time when boxing was outlawed in most areas of the world, but to be honest the Era that followed was filled with more “Outlaws” than ever before!

Sadly, Boxing has a dark history of gangsters, fixed fights, and mysterious murders. There was a time when the Mafia ruled the sport from within, using their financial power and widely feared reputation to fix fights, control venues and control fighters. More than any other sport, Boxing has had a history of being simple to rig, because there are just three players (the two fighters and the referee). At any time, one, both or all three, could be bribed, intimidated, or persuaded to do what the mob thought was best for business. As the 1920’s unfolded, the inclusion of Judges to “make sure things were fair” only gave The Mod more people to control.

The mafia first became active in American Boxing in the 1920s when the laws of prohibition were created to foster a more honest. trustworthy, clean and happy country. Unfortunately, the law seemed to have quite the opposite effect. As thousands and thousands of jobs dried up along with the alcohol, the void was being filled with criminal activity. Bootlegging, Drug Trafficking, Gambling and Racketeering easily filled in the gaps offering quick money and power. Sports exploitation quickly became a very easy avenue for the Mafia to gain wealth. With their International Boxing Club ties and their association with its crooked chairman, Jim Norris, they dominated Boxing through the 1950s.

The mafia managed championship fights and rigged title opportunities. This meant that many of the best contenders rarely won the title (because they never had the chance). If the fighter did not join in on the corruption they would be banned from fighting in the larger arenas which were controlled by the mob. After over 20 years of iron fisted rule, the courts finally disbanded the IBC, which cost the mob part of their hold on the sport. When individuals like Frankie Carbo and Blinky Palermo were put to jail for 25 years, it did a great deal to clean up mob domination in Boxing. Yet, it cannot be denied, from 1945-1960, Boxing thrived with Mob Rules!

This Era will directly affect this game in this way:

1. When you roll on the LIFESTYLES CHART to see if a fighter’s Lifestyle has affected their upcoming fight, in this Era, there is a section labeled “MOB”.
2. If you roll a “444” you will trigger that something has happened concerning The Mafia! (There is a small possibility that a Mafia event could happen on the regular LIFESTYLES CHART II also).
3. If you rolled a “444” Instead of going to the LIFESTYLES II CHART as you would under normal circumstances, you will go to the separate MAFIA EVENTS CHART.
4. The MAFIA EVENTS CHART will have you roll 3 d6. The first d6 will tell you WHO may be affected by Mob influence. A roll of 1-6 will tell you whether it was the FIGHTER, the JUDGES, the RING DOCTOR, a MANAGER, a TRAINER or a REFEREE.
5. The other 2d6 let’s you know WHAT TOOK PLACE. It could be an offer from the Mob to a fighter to throw a fight, or to a Judge to sway his scoring, to a Referee to influence his control of the bout, to a Ring Doctor to get him to stop a fight a little early and many other possibilities.
6. Your roll will either have someone accept the Mafia’s offer or face consequences!