McCoy was born Alexander Rudolph in Rosenhayn, Deerfield Township, New Jersey, on October 23, 1894.
As a child, he moved with his family to Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City, where his father found work as a kosher butcher.
At age 14 he helped make ends meet by filling in as a boxer for preliminary fights at local boxing clubs, when the scheduled boxers failed to show.

Ken Blady speculates that his manager, Charley Goldman, had him change his surname to McCoy to hide his boxing from his religious parents who would have objected.
Blady made the stunning observation that for his first nine years and 139 fights McCoy was undefeated.
 This made his winning streak second only to English boxer Hal Bagwell, although the fact that a no-decision bout did not officially count as a loss, probably aided McCoy's record.

McCoy started boxing as a bantamweight, but fighting as a 138-pound lightweight in 1912, he began to attract attention.
He defeated Young Erne, a competent Philadelphia lightweight, on November 9, 1912, in Philadelphia, winning in six rounds.
The newspaper that gave him the edge noted that Erne was too out of condition to match well with the fit sixteen year old.

Fighting as a welterweight, on March 2, 1912, in a ten-round newspaper decision, he defeated the more accomplished boxer Terry McGraw who he outweighed.
Fighting on July 3, 1916, in Queens, he defeated Dave Kurtz in a ten-round newspaper decision.
Not surprisingly, the seventeen year old's luck took a turn when he fought Young Otto, a more accomplished Jewish lightweight boxer from New York's Lower East Side, nine years his senior, who would hold a record for most consecutive first-round knockouts.
McCoy lost to the lighter Otto, though fighting at 155 in the light middleweight range.

In 1913, he battled even more impressive boxers, though winning far more rarely by knockout.
In no decision bouts well into the middleweight range, he met Jewish boxer Soldier Bartfield, who would engage in close fights or defeat most of the great boxers of the era.
 He also matched with Terry Mitchell, Billy Grup, KO Brennan, Bull Anderson and the Zulu Kid.
 The newspapers had him winning all these standard ten round New York fights, except for a draw with the accomplished welterweight Zulu Kid.
 He even defeated the exceptional Soldier Bartfield on August 11, 1913, knocking him to the canvas three times in the fight.
McCoy would never again decisively beat Bartfield, though he would meet him at least four more times in his career.
Though never winning a world title, Bartfield would meet and often defeat more champions and top contenders than nearly any other boxer of his era.

McCoy fought Wildcat Ferns to two draws by decision in Ohio where referees could determine the outcome of a bout without a foul or knockout occurring.
McCoy was born Alexander Rudolph in Rosenhayn, Deerfield Township, New Jersey, on October 23, 1894. As a child, he moved with his family to Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City, where his father found work as a kosher butcher. At age 14 he helped make ends meet by filling in as a boxer for preliminary fights at local boxing clubs, when the scheduled boxers failed to show.
Ken Blady speculates that his manager, Charley Goldman, had him change his surname to McCoy to hide his boxing from his religious parents who would have objected. Blady made the stunning observation that for his first nine years and 139 fights McCoy was undefeated.  This made his winning streak second only to English boxer Hal Bagwell, although the fact that a no-decision bout did not officially count as a loss, probably aided McCoy's record.
McCoy started boxing as a bantamweight, but fighting as a 138-pound lightweight in 1912, he began to attract attention. He defeated Young Erne, a competent Philadelphia lightweight, on November 9, 1912, in Philadelphia, winning in six rounds. The newspaper that gave him the edge noted that Erne was too out of condition to match well with the fit sixteen year old.
Fighting as a welterweight, on March 2, 1912, in a ten-round newspaper decision, he defeated the more accomplished boxer Terry McGraw who he outweighed. Fighting on July 3, 1916, in Queens, he defeated Dave Kurtz in a ten-round newspaper decision. Not surprisingly, the seventeen year old's luck took a turn when he fought Young Otto, a more accomplished Jewish lightweight boxer from New York's Lower East Side, nine years his senior, who would hold a record for most consecutive first-round knockouts. McCoy lost to the lighter Otto, though fighting at 155 in the light middleweight range.
In 1913, he battled even more impressive boxers, though winning far more rarely by knockout. In no decision bouts well into the middleweight range, he met Jewish boxer Soldier Bartfield, who would engage in close fights or defeat most of the great boxers of the era.  He also matched with Terry Mitchell, Billy Grup, KO Brennan, Bull Anderson and the Zulu Kid.  The newspapers had him winning all these standard ten round New York fights, except for a draw with the accomplished welterweight Zulu Kid.  He even defeated the exceptional Soldier Bartfield on August 11, 1913, knocking him to the canvas three times in the fight. McCoy would never again decisively beat Bartfield, though he would meet him at least four more times in his career. Though never winning a world title, Bartfield would meet and often defeat more champions and top contenders than nearly any other boxer of his era.
McCoy fought Wildcat Ferns to two draws by decision in Ohio where referees could determine the outcome of a bout without a foul or knockout occurring.
Al McCoy (boxer)