# Midge Kelly — Short Fiction character guide

> Midge Kelly in Short Fiction by Ring Lardner.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Champion Midge Kelly, Kelly, Midge, young Kelly

**First appearance:** 0047-champion

## Snapshot

A raw, hungry boxer clawing his way up from nothing, whose fists are surer than his heart and whose handlers know it.

## Who they are

Midge Kelly is the fighter at the center of 'Champion,' a young man with a hard head, a harder punch, and almost no capacity for loyalty. His managers, Nate and Jack Grace, treat him as a machine to be motivated, and they discover that the surest lever is a woman's name on a letter, real or forged. The story's early arc turns on whether a man this raw can be steered at all, and what it costs the people who try.

## In the story

### [Champion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/champion)

The champion boxer, publicly portrayed as a clean-living family man, but privately reveals selfishness and disregard for his wife and mother.

### [A Frame-Up](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/a-frame-up)

Central figure in the frame-up, navigating the pressures of fame and integrity.

### [Bedtime Stories](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/bedtime-stories)

A champion fighter whose story reflects the costs of fame and the emptiness of success.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/midge_kelly
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters