 His brother Tommy was a boxer, as was his brother Victor, and his older brother Ed became an amateur boxer prior to Teddy who first put on a pair of gloves around twelve.His brother Joe won an all-service welterweight tournament during his time in the military.Teddy was known as a strong defensive boxer, and though he never recorded many knockouts, he lost only one bout by knockout against Babe Risko in January 1935.