Tough. Aggressive. Courageous. Fast. Those were
words once used by a newspaper reporter to describe Herman Folins, one of Beaver County’s most accomplished boxers.
Herman was born Armando Folino on August 2, 1909, in Catanzaro,
Italy, and came to the United States at age 10 when his parents
settled in Ambridge. From
1927 to 1932, Herman fought as an amateur and then as a professional
in the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, and
welterweight divisions. He was a 5'-9" power puncher who never weighed
more than 137 pounds. He compiled a 40-5 record as an amateur from
1927 to 1929 and as a pro from 1929 to 1932 was 121-14-3, with a
combined pro and amateur record of 161-19-3. Amazingly, Herman
racked up these numbers at an early age, quitting the ring at age 23
because he wasn’t getting paid as much as other fighters of his
time.
Tough. Aggressive. Courageous. Fast. Those were
words once used by a newspaper reporter to describe Herman Folins, one of Beaver County’s most accomplished boxers.
Herman was born Armando Folino on August 2, 1909, in Catanzaro,
Italy, and came to the United States at age 10 when his parents
settled in Ambridge. From
1927 to 1932, Herman fought as an amateur and then as a professional
in the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, and
welterweight divisions. He was a 5'-9" power puncher who never weighed
more than 137 pounds. He compiled a 40-5 record as an amateur from
1927 to 1929 and as a pro from 1929 to 1932 was 121-14-3, with a
combined pro and amateur record of 161-19-3. Amazingly, Herman
racked up these numbers at an early age, quitting the ring at age 23
because he wasn’t getting paid as much as other fighters of his
time.