Abe J. Greene Papers 1902-1967 (Bulk 1933-1960)

Prepared by Heidi Rempel

December 2018 Last updated: January 2019

MS.Coll.37

Accession #: 2018.2

Table of Contents Summary ...... 3 Controlled Access Terms ...... 4 Biographical Note ...... 5 Scope and Content ...... 6 Arrangement Note ...... 6 Series Description & Container List ...... 7 Series 1: Photographs ...... 7 Series 2: Sound recordings ...... 7 Series 3: Newspapers ...... 7 Series 4: Correspondence & Ephemera ...... 8 Series 5: National Boxing Association ephemera ...... 9 Series 6: Miscellaneous ...... 9 Series 7: Scrapbooks ...... 9 Related Archival Materials ...... 10

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Summary

Title: Abe J. Greene Papers Dates: 1902-1967 (Bulk 1933-1960) Extent: 1 document case and 1 flat storage case containing 5 vinyl records, approximately 10 programs/pamphlets, approximately 25 photographs, and a folder of news clippings Creator: Greene, Abe J., 1899-1988 Language: English Abstract: News clippings, photographs, memorabilia and records relating to Abe J. Greene’s associations with the 1933 Paterson Silk Strike, Paterson Evening News, National Boxing Association, and other Paterson institutions. Source: Hana Schiavo (granddaughter) Access: This collection is open for research. Restricted Fragile Material may only be consulted with permission of the archivist. Preservation photocopies for reference use have been substituted in the main files. Copyright: The Abe J. Greene Papers are the physical property of Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey assumes no responsibility for the infringement of copyrights held by the original authors, creators, or producers of materials in the collection. Preferred Citation: Item, date (if known), box, folder. Abe J. Greene Papers. Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey.

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Controlled Access Terms

Organizations: National Boxing Association of America Paterson Evening News Eastside High School (Paterson, N.J.) Alexander Hamilton Hotel (Paterson, N.J.) Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America. Reuben Kaufman Post 36 (Paterson, N.J.) Paterson Morning Call

People: Greene, Abe J., 1899-1988 Kapov-Kagan, Ben-Zion, 1899-1953 Baeurle, Eugene Daniel, 1913-1931 Dowling, Daniel Hoffman, Harold Giles, 1896-1954 Epstein, Samuel Rabinowitz, Nathan MacLeod, Alexander M. Ellenstein, Meyer C., 1886-1967

Places: Paterson (N.J.)

Subjects: Silk industry--United States Textile industry--New Jersey—Paterson Strikes and lockouts--Textile industry--New Jersey

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Biographical Note

Abe J. Greene was born in 1899 and spent most of his life in Paterson, New Jersey, where he was employed at the Paterson Evening News. Over the course of his 56 years working for the newspaper, he served as a reporter, city editor, sports editor, managing editor, and associate editor. He gained prominence while chairing a special labor management commission that eventually resolved a 14-week strike by 10,000 local silk and textile workers in 1933. While continuing to work at the Paterson Evening News, he was appointed State Boxing Inspector of New Jersey and went on to serve as State Boxing Commissioner from 1937-1953. In 1941 he was also elected president of the National Boxing Association, a post he held until 1948, becoming the first person re-elected to serve in that position, which he only ceded when the more powerful position of commissioner was created specifically for him. In 1949 Greene was awarded the James J. Walker Memorial Award “for long and meritorious service to boxing” by the Boxing Writers’ Association of New York. In 1970, Greene was appointed as State Athletic Commissioner of New Jersey, a position he held for four terms, serving intermittently in that position over the next thirteen years. In the same year, the World Boxing Association elected him lifetime commissioner. Greene, known as “Mr. Boxing” in New Jersey, is credited with cleaning up New Jersey boxing and making the state a major venue for the sport. He was well-liked and championed the rights and welfare of boxers against unscrupulous managers while also ensuring that the sport was profitable for those who ran it. He was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame on October 14, 1979 and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame posthumously, in 2009.

Abe J. Greene died of heart failure at the age of 89, on September 22, 1988, at Barnert Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey. Sources: “Abe Greene, 89, Dies; Jersey Boxing Official.” New York Times. Last modified September 23, 1988. Accessed 12/10/2018. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/23/obituaries/abe-greene-89- dies-jersey-boxing-official.html “Abe J. Greene.” International Boxing Hall of Fame. Accessed 12/24/2018. http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/nonparticipant/greene.html “Abe J. Greene.” New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame. Accessed 12/10/2018. http://www.njboxinghof.org/abe-j-greene/

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Scope and Content The focus of the Abe J. Greene Papers is Greene’s professional involvement in the roles of boxing commissioner and newspaperman. The most extensive series is that of the newspaper clippings on the Paterson Silk Strike, most mentioning Greene’s involvement in negotiations, assembled in a single large scrapbook. These are distinct from the newspaper series, which deals primarily with the dedication of the Paterson Heliport in 1960 and includes several clippings mentioning Abe J. Greene. The photographs included in the collection are, for the most part, group portraits that appear to be of various community groups in Paterson, thought the nature of these groups is not always clear. There are a couple of photographs of Abe J. Greene in a television appearance in March 1967 and an interesting early photograph of what appears to be the Passaic flood of 1902 as photographed in downtown Paterson. Notes on some of the photographs seem to indicate that they were taken for the purposes of publication in various newspapers. Not having a suitable player, the content of four BBC-produced vinyl records of a program called “Calling All Sportsmen” is not clear but presumably pertains to boxing, based on the title. A fifth record is a recording of cantor Ben-Zion Kapov-Kagan in a Kiddush service. Other miscellaneous ephemera includes programs for events Greene attended in both his personal and professional capacities, as well as other items reflecting his extensive participation in the Paterson community. Further additions to this collection are expected, as the donor has more materials that she has stated she intends to donate.

Arrangement Note The collection is organized into seven series, which are arranged, when possible, chronologically. The series and their contents are as follows: Series 1: Photographs Series 2: Sound recordings Series 3: Newspapers Series 4: Correspondence & Ephemera Series 5: National Boxing Association ephemera Series 6: Miscellaneous Series 7: Scrapbooks

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Series Description & Container List Series 1: Photographs This series includes photographs of Abe J. Greene as well as other individuals and groups, many apparently linked with Paterson and the Paterson Evening News. Box Folder Title Date 1 1 Undated photographs of various individuals and Paterson-related groups. 1 2 Dated photographs of various individuals and 1902-1968 Paterson-related groups.

Series 2: Sound recordings This series includes 5 vinyl records. Box Folder Title Date 1 Kapov-Kagan, Ben-Zion. “Kiddush.” RCA Victor International Series. 12” vinyl record 1 British Broadcasting Corporation. “Calling All 1946-10-25 Sportsmen.” Broadcast 1946-10-25. Parts 1-7 on four 12” vinyl records. Serial No: 11,451

Series 3: Newspapers Newspaper clippings and issues from several publications, including a folder on the Paterson Heliport.

1 Program from the formal dedication of the 1960-06-23 Paterson Heliport 1 “Heliport Already in Use…” Article from the 1960-06-24 Paterson Evening News 1 Issue of the Paterson Evening News featuring 1960-06-23 the headline “Heliport Heralds A ‘New Paterson’” 70th year, Vol. 156 1 Passaic Valley Examiner, Vol. 3, No. 101 1947-09-11 1 “Old Timers A.A. of Greater Paterson salutes 1967-11-04 Members of the ‘Sports Hall of Fame’” 1 “New York Horrid Tribune” spoof newspaper 1 Clipping from the World Telegram of the comic 1949-08-11 “Phone Booth Champ” featuring a mention of Abe J. Greene; reverse has several incomplete boxing-related articles.

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Series 4: Correspondence & Ephemera This series includes correspondence sent to Abe J. Greene and ephemera mounted with that correspondence on brown paper, possibly once part of a scrapbook or bound volume. Box Folder Title Date 1 Letters dated January 24 and September 24, 1936 from Harold G. Hoffman, governor of New Jersey; on the reverse side of the paper is a news clipping regarding a meeting of Jewish war veterans, a letter to Abe J. Green dated November 7, 1933, regarding Reuben Kaufman Post 36 unveiling a memorial tablet in honor of deceased veterans, a program for the second annual convention of Department of New Jersey Jewish War Veterans at The Preakness Hills Country Club on March 11, 1934, and a letter from Samuel Epstein to Abe J. Greene acknowledging Greene’s acceptance of the Box Folder Title Date (cont’d) honorary chairmanship of a pageant, dated March 14, 1934 1 Envelope addressed to “Paterson’s Outstanding 1934-03-07 Citizen for 1933 and handwritten letter to Abe J. Greene, signed Martin [?] 1 Text of a talk given by Abe J. Greene on WNEW 1938-02-20 New York, entitled “Boxing—Sport or Racket?” February 20, 1938; on the reverse, a Paterson Morning Call article entitled “Speakers’ Table at Judge MacLeod Testimonial Dinner”, dated May 1, 1936 1 Program for Newark mayor Meyer C. Ellenstein’s testimonial dinner, signed “To My Paterson Pal” by Ellenstein, held at the Hotel Robert Treat on February 2, 1936; on the reverse, Four letters from New Jersey governor Harold Hoffman, dated February 24, February 26, March 3, and June 29, 1936, on various topics

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Series 5: National Boxing Association ephemera This series consists of materials related to the National Boxing Association and focusing on Abe J. Greene’s ongoing connections to boxing. Box Folder Title Date 1 Program for “Paterson Honors Abe J. Greene”, 1950-03-06 sponsored by the Paterson Service and Civic Clubs, held at the Alexander Hamilton Hotel 1 Article entitled “Boxing—Legalized Murder?” 1950-06 torn from a Readers Digest magazine 1 Two copies of the program for the National 1948 Boxing Association’s 29th Annual Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 12-15

Series 6: Miscellaneous This series includes miscellaneous ephemera. Box Folder Title Date 1 Diamond-shaped cardstock printed with a 1960-06-23 commemoration of the fourth Paterson Heliport Day 1 Two copies of joke definitions of Yiddish words, or “Daffynitions” 1 Program for the dedication of Baeurle Memorial 1932-06-03 Stadium at Eastside High School in Paterson, N.J., in memory of Eugene Daniel Baeurle, signed to Abe J. Greene by Baeurle’s uncle, Daniel Dowling

Series 7: Scrapbooks This series includes a post-bound scrapbook of news clippings and ephemera related to the 1933 Paterson textile strike, particularly focused on the role of Abe J. Greene in the negotiated settlement that brought about the end of the strike. Box Folder Title Date 2 Scrapbook of news clippings and correspondence 1933 related to the 1933 Paterson textile strike.

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Related Archival Materials

Access to other materials created by Abe J. Greene is available at the following repositories: A video of Abe Greene via Getty Images: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/state- capitol-building-door-sign-national-boxing-news-footage/511585145

William P. Clements, Jr. Papers Project aims to document the life and work of this distinguished statesman through a collaborative effort between the Clements Center for National Security and the Briscoe Center for at Austin.

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