"I had the pleasure of meeting Carol Polis a few years back while working in Greenville Maine, the home of breathtaking Moosehead Lake, as Editor of a small town newspaper. I immediately was drawn to her energy and story. This is the first feature story for Life Warriors about a Real Life Warrior. Carol was in the process of writing her book at the time and I am pleased to announce that it has arrived! Kudos to Carol and all of you out there that have a story to tell."
~Heidi St. Jean
The 1970s were a time of great upheaval for women. There was Roe v. Wade
and the Equal Rights Amendment. There were Gloria Steinem, Billie Jean
King, Golda Meir, and Carol Polis.
Who is Carol Polis? In 1971, Carol
Polis married a part-time professional boxing referee. Within two years,
she went from being a squeamish spectator to a professional boxing
judge, the first woman ever to do so. As luck would have it, not only was
this period the golden age of womens rights, it was also the golden
age of boxing. Carol Polis had a ringside seat for all of it. Sometimes
she was the main event. From cutting her teeth on three-round undercard
fights at the gritty Blue Horizon in Philadelphia to finding herself at
the center of a riot at Madison Square Garden; from being schooled in
Joe Frazier s sweat drenched gym on North Broad Street to officiating in
a Don King tournament and being investigated by the FBI; from following
the careers of local fighters like Boogaloo Watts and Willie the Worm
Monroe to becoming a personal guest of Muhammad Ali; from speaking at
the nearby Rotary Club to appearing as a contestant on Whats My Line
and To Tell the Truth; five-foot-one, 115-pound Carol Polis, for better
or for worse, was treated as an ambassador for all women, a novelty, and
even a misfit. Polis was bound by none of these labels.
First and
foremost, Carol Polis was a mom. When her marriage breaks up in 1977,
Polis's life becomes more a matter of survival than knockouts. It is
while keeping a roof over her kids heads and later raising her grandson
that Polis earns her heavyweight belt. The ultimate challenge, it turns
out, comes not from attaining stature as a world class sports figure but
from becoming a world class juggler. Carol Polis outdistances the 70s.
Then the 80s and 90s, eventually officiating at a staggering
twenty-seven title fights in nine countries. Like the era she leaves
behind, she leaves the uncomfortable title of women s libber in the
dust. Polis is, rather, an accidental pioneer someone who attains
greatness not by seeking celebrity or confrontation but rather by being
herself. The Lady Is a Champ is a sports story that will inspire women
and a womans story that will floor boxing fans.
Purchase The Lady is a Champ
