Throughout a career marked by professional success, Ernest Barbella has stood out as a leader and innovator, as general manager for the New York Region for the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) responsible for 10,000 employees, as the owner of a small group of grocery stores, and as the owner of a Chinese spice company. Ernest Barbella started out his professional life in New York City, as did a relative of his, Thomas Rocco Barbella.
Thomas Rocco Barbella was born in 1919 to a boxer nicknamed Fighting Nick Bob. He grew up in New York City’s Little Italy, described by boxing pundit Bert Sugar as a place where “both sides of the tracks were wrong.” He won some bouts as an amateur, and was drafted into the Army in 1942, but went AWOL after he punched a captain he thought was challenging him. He fought under his sister’s boyfriend’s name – Graziano – for eight bouts before the Army caught up with him.
Rocky Graziano was reported to be affable and likable outside the ring. After he retired from boxing, he went into television, and his easy-going nature made him an instant hit. Inside the ring, though, Graziano was a dangerous man. He was never known for finesse or subtlety; instead, he was a brawler, a street fighter, and to this day he is regarded as one of the sport’s premier knockout artists, with the rare ability to knock an opponent out with either hand.
Thomas Rocco Barbella was born in 1919 to a boxer nicknamed Fighting Nick Bob. He grew up in New York City’s Little Italy, described by boxing pundit Bert Sugar as a place where “both sides of the tracks were wrong.” He won some bouts as an amateur, and was drafted into the Army in 1942, but went AWOL after he punched a captain he thought was challenging him. He fought under his sister’s boyfriend’s name – Graziano – for eight bouts before the Army caught up with him.
Rocky Graziano was reported to be affable and likable outside the ring. After he retired from boxing, he went into television, and his easy-going nature made him an instant hit. Inside the ring, though, Graziano was a dangerous man. He was never known for finesse or subtlety; instead, he was a brawler, a street fighter, and to this day he is regarded as one of the sport’s premier knockout artists, with the rare ability to knock an opponent out with either hand.