Herbie Kronowitz

Herbert "Herbie" Kronowitz, originally Theodore "Ted" Kronowitz (September, 1923 – November 9, 2012), was an American middleweight boxer who fought in the ring from 1941 to 1950. After his boxing career ended, Kronowitz was a highly regarded referee for nearly thirty years. He resided in Bensonhurst, in his native Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Kronowitz adopted his brother's name, "Herbie", when he began to box as an amateur at the age of fifteen. He said that since elementary school he had wanted to be a professional fighter. As a youth, Kronowitz met Ben Jeby, the 1933 middleweight champion, when the Kronowitz family moved around the corner from Jeby, who became Kronowitz's role model in boxing.

In 1947, Kronowitz was ranked tenth in the world among middleweights. In March of that year, he faced Artie Levine at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The crowd of 12,000 was said to have been enthralled during the 10-round battle between the two Jewish fighters. Levine won the decision, although Kronowitz claimed that while Levine "won the decision. There was no question that I won the fight." Kronowitz fought the top contenders in the middleweight division. He lost to Rocky Castellani and Vinnie Cidone in decisions. Among boxers that he defeated were Harold Green, Billy Walker, Jerry Fiorello, and Pete Mead, a native of Trumann, Arkansas, who died in 2007.

On his retirement at the age of twenty-seven, Kronowitz had won fifty-four (nine by knockout) of eighty-three career decisions. There were also five draws. Reflecting on his decade in the ring, Kronowitz said:

"The thing about boxing is that it gave every one of us everything we have. I don't mean just money. It taught us how to live, how to act, how to eat, how to be physically fit. It opened doors to places that we never could have gotten into. Some made more money than others, but every boxer looks at his career as the most important experience in his life."

Kronowitz worked as a referee from 1955 to 1984. He was a member of the "Ring 8" board of directors.

Kronowitz served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. Two of his brothers served overseas, and his younger brother was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium.

Kronowitz was featured in 2007 in a Jewish exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street in Manhattan.

Kronowitz died November 9, 2012 in Brooklyn at the age of eighty-nine.