On this date in 1964, a heavily favored Liston lost his title to upstart Cassius Clay, soon to be Muhammad Ali. Biography, Net Worth, Gossips, Salary, News & Much More. At least two sexual assaults. L'arbre First World Heavyweight Boxing Champion banned from fighting in New York State by the New York Boxing Commission. There, he committed various muggings and robberies. They called it Sand Slough. Following his release from the workhouse, Liston quickly returned to the ring against Hunter and got his career back on track. Along with his many siblings, Liston grew up working in the local cotton fields. For those interested in knowing more about the life and times of one of the most enigmatic and troubled heavyweight champs, the book "The Devil and Sonny Liston," by Nick Tosches (Copyright 2000, published by Little, Brown and Company), is a wealth of knowledge. Tosches is admirably objective in his presentation of Liston. He became a professional fighter on September 2, 1953, when he knocked out Don Smith in a single round in St. Louis. On September 25, 1962, Liston made history by becoming the heavyweight champion. He was friendly with his fans and had a soft spot for children. We are all related! Sonny Liston had a controversial boxing career, winning 54 of 58 bouts from 1953 to 1970. At the age of 13, he ran away to St. Louis, following his mother who had left earlier. Liston continued fighting following the loss of his title, mainly because it was the only legal way he knew how to make a buck. Yet, Tosches postulates that Liston threw his first fight with Cassius Clay in Miami in February of 1964 at the behest of the mob. His epitaph reads: "A Man.". Cox, who was interviewed extensively by Tosches, went as far as to say that Liston would still be alive if he had "spent more time with Father Murphy."). His final record as a professional was 50 wins, 39 by knockout, and four losses. Nous sommes tous He climbed back into the ring on June 29, 1970, registering a 10th-round technical knockout against Bayonne Bleeder Chuck Wepner. He got little good press, even from sports columnists, and was routinely subjected to overtly racist slurs in print: in 1964, Look ran a story titled Sonny Liston: King of the Beasts. Liston moved to Las Vegas in 1966 and was found dead there on January 5, 1971, when his wife returned to their Las Vegas home from a Christmas visit with her mother. Assael, Shaun. gnalogique Dowling avec plus d'un demi-million de parents, After being unable to reach Liston for 12 days, his wife Geraldine returned to their Nevada home on January 5, 1971, at which time she discovered Liston's dead body. Full body measurements, dress & shoe size will be updated soon. Sonny Liston was a violent person even outside the ring. Sonny Liston was born on May 8, probably 1932, to Tobe and Helen (Baskin) Liston, African-American sharecroppers in rural St. Francis County. His dad was an abusive alcoholic and at the age of 13, Sonny left to live with his aunt in Liston had a huge physique. When Sonny KO'd Floyd Patterson in 1962 for The World Heavyweight Championship,he became the only challenger to win that title by a first round KO. Won his last fight on June 29, 1970, at the Jersey City Armory, stopping. The son of tenant farmer Tobey Liston and his second wife, Helen, Liston was the 24th of his fathers 25 children. He defeated heavyweight contenders Roy Harris, Zora Folley, Eddie Machen, Cleveland Williams, Mike DeJohn, Henry Clark, and Chuck Wepner. In 1950, he was convicted of two counts of larceny and two counts of first-degree robbery and spent more than two years in the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. As with the date of Liston's birth, no one knows for sure. Clay, later to be known as Muhammad Ali, may have had the fastest hands of any heavyweight ever to lace on a pair of gloves. In a short amount of time, he rose to prominence as a contender in the heavyweight division. The continual conflicts with the police. He was referred to as the man with the steel punch and an iron chin.. Outside of the ring, Liston had a charming personality. Donations made to the CALS Foundation are tax-deductible for United States federal income tax purposes. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born into a sharecropping family who farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas. . Liston was beaten in his ninth match by Marty Marshall. Tosches believes the latter. Did he need Liston's cooperation to beat the rapidly aging champion that night in February of 1964? He continued fighting until June 29, 1970, when he knocked out Chuck Wepner, but he never got another title shot. He had earned the title shot with an impressive string of 195960 victories over top contenders. Introduced to boxing by Father Stevens in the St. Louis City Jail during 1950. In St. Louis, he quickly encountered problems with the local police. During the years that Liston was champ, the mob was in retreat. Little Rock, AR. James Ellroy portrayed Sonny Liston as a fight loser, a heroin addict, a black racist, and a Mafia jawbreaker in his novel "The Cold Six Thousand.". Liston went back to the ring. Check back often as we will continue to update this page with new relationship details. His alcoholic and violent father was thirty years older than Sonnys Reverend Stevens arranged the match for him. As Liston made himself a serious challenger to Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight title, Liston made his alliance with the Devil, as Tosches refers to the mob. with Cornelia Winfrey, born in April 1873 - Montgomery Co., MS, deceased. After his release, Liston relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his career quickly flourished again. Sonny Liston was born on May 8, probably 1932, to Tobe and Helen (Baskin) Liston, African-American sharecroppers in rural St. Francis County. Nevertheless, he had a soft spot for children. - IMDb Mini Biography By: The title fight was in Chicago, Illinois, on September 25, 1962, with a wide public pulling for the champ (including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and authors James Baldwin and Norman Mailer). DAmato went on to coach another great boxer in Mike Tyson. Folley knocked down twice in 2nd round; 9 count and saved by the bell at 9 count. He had earned the title shot with an impressive string of 195960 victories over top contenders Cleveland Williams, Nino Valdes, Roy Harris, Zora Folley, and Eddie Machen (all knockouts except for Machen). 4 among heavyweights, on Dec. 4, 1961. He knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962 to become world heavyweight champion. New York: Skyhorse, 2011. He was one of many WebIn 1950, Liston was arrested at his apartment at 1006 O'Fallon Street for robbing the Unique Cafe on 1502 Market Street in St. Louis for 37 dollars. In 1966, following his loss to Clay, Liston launched a comeback. After the court case, he was sentenced to a five-year jail term in the Missouri State Prison. Sonny Liston estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below. He sold pecans from his brother-in-laws tree in order to reunite with his mother and his siblings. Liston excelled in his newfound love, boxing, and, after a short amateur career, turned professional. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and Liston eventually left the house during his teens. Additional support provided by the Arkansas General Assembly. WebTogether with his 24 siblings and half siblings, Sonny grew up in the local cotton fields. Instead, he and some friends took to robbing people on the street and robbing gas stations with a loaded pistol. He was caught and charged with first-degree robbery and larceny, and was sentenced in 1950 to 5 years in the Missouri State Penitentiary. His heavyweight title-winning victory on September 25, 1962, was indicative of his powerful style: After a mere two minutes, he knocked out Floyd Patterson, which marked the first time in history that a reigning heavyweight champion was counted out in the first round. (There is some speculation about his year of birth, but most sources state sometime from 1929 to 1932.) WebPatterson defended against Liston in Comiskey Park, Chicago, on September 25, 1962, and the rest is history. His final record as a professional was fifty wins, thirty-nine by knockout, and four losses. Sonny Liston was born in Sand Slough, AR on May 8, 1932. After his release, Liston relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his career quickly flourished again. Username and password are case sensitive. Soon caught (his crimes were inept, spur-of-the-moment, strong arm jobs) and charged with first-degree robbery and larceny, he was sentenced in 1950 to five years in the Missouri State Penitentiary. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Big Hela had moved there in 1946. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Nine years of steady fighting later, and following additional scrapes with the law, Liston fought Floyd Patterson for the Heavyweight Championship. The author begins appropriately at the beginning with his subject, providing more comprehensive information about Sonny's childhood than probably even Sonny himself knew. The coroner picked December 30, 1970, as the date of death, and Liston was buried in the Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas under the simplest of epitaphs: A MAN.. Appeared in a Santa Claus hat on the cover of the December 1963 edition of Esquire Magazine. Deceased persons are not concerned by this provision. Tosches here betrays an ignorance of boxing that no doubt hurts his credibility with those know know the sport. Additional support provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Geneastars | Facebook. Less than a year later, on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach, Florida, a heavily favored Liston lost his title to upstart Cassius Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali) when he refused to answer the bell for the seventh round, claiming a shoulder injury. He became a professional fighter in 1953. Liston won 26 consecutive bouts, moving inexorably toward the heavyweight championship. Copyright 2020 ARKANSAS SOUL MEDIA, All rights Reserved. Liston, who posted a career record of 50 wins and 4 losses with 39 knockouts, reveled in this role of the fighter America loved to hate. The official cause of his death was given as cardiac arrest and lung congestion. in Sand Slough, Arkansas, USA , United States, Died on December 30, 1970 He was a victim before he was ever a brute. He has ranked on the list of those famous people who were born on May 8, 1932. Robert B. Cochran Joe Louis rated Liston's jab one of the best in boxing history. Major funding provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. WebHe was the 12th of 13 children born to Tobe Liston and Helen Baskin, and he endured frequent beatings as a child. Jack Dempsey and Roberto Duran are two cases in point. Liston scored another knockout in a rematch with Patterson, but his 17-month reign as heavyweight champion ended at the hands of a brash fighter named Cassius Clay. Liston was the youngest heavyweight boxing champion to die (age 38). Reverend Stevens was both the prisons chaplain and sports director. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. The CALS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Gallender, Paul. There, he committed various muggings and robberies. Scroll below and check our most recent updates about Sonny Liston Net Worth, Salary, Biography, Age, The subsequent rematch with Clay on May 25, 1965, included the infamous phantom punch. Though it appeared that Liston had barely been grazed by Clays right fist, the boxer went down just one minute and 45 seconds into the first round. No one knows how Sonny Liston died. As a young man in 1949, Liston left Arkansas for good and followed his mother's footsteps to St. Louis. The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights. After being unable to reach Liston for 12 days, his wife Geraldine returned to their Nevada home on January 5, 1971, at which time she discovered Listons dead body. Knocked out #2-rated heavyweight contender Roy Harris (27-1) in one round. He kept fighting and kept winning against a progressively better grade of opponents. Let's check, How Rich is Mario, Ben Villaflor estimated Net Worth, Biography, Age, Height, Dating, Relationship Records, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and Liston eventually left the house during his teens. Sonny Liston turned professional in September 1953. He was sired by Lawman out of the Galileo mare Stars In Your Eyes. Publicity Listings Charles "Sonny" Liston was pronounced dead at the scene. He, however, won in the subsequent rematch. Is mentioned in the song "Swinging" by Tom Petty. If there is a flaw in Tosches' book, it's that the author seems bent on carrying the theme of Liston and the mob beyond its logical parameters. That hurt him deeply, though he instinctively hid the scars behind a scowl. Paroled in 1952, Liston quickly captured the local Golden Gloves championship. In prison, encouraged by Catholic chaplains, Liston took up boxing, where he was an immediate and spectacular success. Liston, who was viewed as nearly invincible before the fight, was unable to answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay (soon to take the name .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Muhammad Ali) was named champion on February 25, 1964. Liston was raised on heavy farm work, many beatings and with virtually no schooling. Sonny Liston was introduced to boxing while serving time in a Missouri State Penitentiary. That doesn't make sense. With the proceeds he traveled to St. Louis and reunited with his mother and siblings. Sonny never really had a Prime. In 1996 when Mike Tyson KO'd Bruce Seldon in one round for the WBA Heavyweight Championship, Tyson had won the WBC Heavyweight Championship six months earlier and was seeking to unify the title.