When Armstrong was four years old, his father moved the family to St. Louis, where he and Armstrong's older brothers found work at the Independent Packing Company. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. His father, Henry Jackson, Sr., was a sharecropper and a butcher. There he became involved in boxing. Armstrong was penalized five rounds for low punches, and that cost him the fight as two officials had Ambers winning by only an 8-7 margin. Referee Arthur Donovan took five rounds away from Armstrong for low blows. Twenty-six of the bouts were ended by a knockout, including that of Sarron in their 126-pound fight. Hall of Fame in 1954 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Upon meeting fight manager Tom Cox at a local gym, Armstrong introduced himself as Harry Armstrong's brother, after which he became known by the name Henry Armstrong. Please be sure to subscribe! Armstrong and his managers realized that they needed to attract attention away from the rising fame of boxer Joe Louis. 26 of those wins came via knockouts. He continued to box actively until announcing his retirement in 1945 at the age of 32. Early in his career, he fought some fights under the ring name Melody Jackson. He decided not to maintain the required 126-pound weight anymore and left the featherweight crown vacant.[12]. he had 72 victories on his ring record. Armstrong knocked out 100 of his 183 opponents. ." Born: December 12, 1912. By his last professional fight on February 14, 1945, Armstrong's boxing record stood at 151-22-10 (100 KO wins, 2 KO losses). In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he lost two four-round decisions in a row to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. Through 1937 Armstrong entered the ring 27 times, winning every fight and knocking out all but one of his opponents. Boxing. Born Henry Jackson, Jr., on December 12, 1912, in Columbus, Mississippi, Armstrong was the eleventh of the family's 15 children. He was among the very best of his generation and is one of the pound-for-pound best boxers of all time. Entertainer Al Jolson, who had witnessed the final bout between Armstrong and Arizmendi, was so impressed with Armstrong that he convinced New York manager Eddie Mead to take on the boxer, and Jolson supplied $5,000 to buy out Ross's contract rights to Armstrong. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. The 23-year-old boxer was raised in Pearl, but is from Columbus. A few notable opponents of that year include Ritchie Fontaine, Baby Arizmendi, former world champion Juan Zurita, and Mike Belloise. He also continued his ministry as an assistant pastor of the First Baptist Church. Its a possibility that the heavyweight champion of the world will be from Mississippi one day, he said. First of all, Ive got to thank Pearl Boxing Club, because without them this wouldnt be the possible or without God.. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. In 1931 Armstrong, accompanied by Harry Armstrong, hopped trains to Los Angeles to restart his amateur career. Armstrong was the first boxer ever to hold world championships in three different weight divisions at the same time. Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Later a fellow member of the three division champions' club, Ross was then World Welterweight Champion. His mother died a year later, and he was raised by his grandmother. The event is named after the late Mississippi boxer, Henry Armstrong, who, in 1938, became the first boxer to ever hold three world titles at the same time. Pulled from our recent Q\u0026A with Teddy Atlas, Teddy shares why Henry Armstrong is the greatest boxer of all time. The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1940. Intelligent and articulate, he turned to preaching and was ordained a Baptist minister in 1951. Armstrong's eighteen successful title defenses were the most in history in the Welterweight division. Determined to enter a title fight, Armstrong boldly offered to challenge welterweight champion Barney Ross. See an An Overview of Records at the National Archives Relating to Military . Armstrong won the fight, knocking out Sarron in the sixth round, thus earning his first world title as the Featherweight Champion of the World. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisions: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. What makes a Guinness World Records title? Ross was favored by odds makers three to one over Armstrong; however, when the two met in Long Island City on May 31, 1938, Armstrong won convincingly on points in 15 rounds, earning his second title, Welterweight Champion of the World. "If you spit any more blood on that floor," referee Billy Cavanaugh told Armstrong, "I'm going to stop this fight.". However, he successfully defended his two other titles 12 times during 1939. His next fight was four days later, and he won a six-round decision. Armstrong was dynamite in a small Sims is 9-1 in his professional boxing career, with five knockouts in his nine wins. Fritzie Zivic, a veteran journeyman best known for questionable tactics, worked Armstrong's eyes, which were scarred and vulnerable to cutting, and took a unanimous decision. By his last professional fight on February 14, 1945, Armstrong's boxing record stood at 151-22-10 (100 KO wins, 2 KO losses). But he was learning how to harness his natural physical gifts; strength, quickness, stamina, and the ability to take a punch. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Henry held three world titles - Welterweight , Lightweight . On file we have 73 email addresses and 55 phone numbers associated with Henry in area codes such as 757, 941, 401, 609, 314, and 32 other area codes. Of his total 151 wins, 100 of them were via KO (66.2%). var navathletescold = new Image(); Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. navclassicover.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_classic_over.gif"; Henry Armstrong had a total of 22 losses in his professional boxing career three of them in title bouts and 19 in non-title bouts. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. After his death, his heart was found to be one-third larger than average. The event is even more special for Davis. Two boxers from the Pearl Boxing Club will be fighting in the event: Chown Chop Chop Sims, and Keshaun Big Baby Davis. However, since he already had two professional fights under the name Jackson, he told people that he was Harry's little brother, Henry Armstrong.Armstrong competed in the 1932 Olympic trials. First, he knocked out featherweight champion Petey Sarron in the sixth round on Oct. 29, 1937. Armstrong starred in the feature film Keep Punching (1939) in 1939. . For all the details about Armstrong's world title wins and defenses refer to "Henry Armstrong World Titles". You may want to start by searching for a person's Military Service Records and Pension and Bounty Land records. Encyclopedia.com. Taking the name Melody Jackson, Armstrong won his first amateur fight at the St. Louis Coliseum in 1929, by a knockout in the second round. His 1905 song "Nellie Dean" became the signature song of the British music hall singer Gertie Gitana , and a popular British pub song. Birth 22 Sep 1768 . Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Henry Armstrong (1861 - 1870) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.He was born Henry Jackson, Jr. on December 12, 1912, in Columbus, Mississippi. But 1938 was an even better year for Armstrong, as he took the two more championships. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. the beginning to the end of every round; His goal was to knock his man Upon his return, he became a boxing manager for a time, but his increasing use of alcohol led to his arrest in Los Angeles. Armstrong started 1937 off with a string of 22 straight wins, en route to 27 total wins that year. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. The Greatest Boxer of All Time - Henry Armstrong, Says Teddy Atlas - Here's Why He's The GOAT THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas 280K subscribers Subscribe 1.6K Share 74K views 2 years ago. After retiring from boxing, Armstrong became an ordained Baptist minister, working with disadvantaged youth. In January 1935 he lost to Arizmendi for a second time. Armstrong was 25 years old with a record of 92-12-7 (60 KOs). Gale Research, 1989. http://www.galenet.com(December 13, 2000). with 10 knockouts; From December, 1936 until September, 1940, Henry [11], In 1937 alone, Armstrong went 270 (26KO). existed; At the beginning, his performance was rather good but not . With his aggressive attitude and incessant windmill style, he was all over opponents, as evidenced by his 101 knockouts and his nickname of Homicide Hank. In 1954 he became a charter member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, inducted in its opening year along with Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey. [4] In 2019, the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) ranked him as the second best boxer of all time, pound for pound, as well as the second-best featherweight, third-best welterweight, and fifth-best lightweight of all time.[5][6][7][8]. navcontributeover.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_contribute_over.gif"; With his aggressive attitude and incessant windmill style, he was all over opponents, as evidenced by his 101 knockouts and. Birth abt 1887 - Iron Bridge, Shropshire, England. (WLBT) - The inaugural Henry Armstrong Boxing Classic will be held in Columbus on Saturday. In 1936, entertainer Al Jolson and actor George Raft underwrote the purchase of Armstrong's managerial contract from Edward Mead.Armstrong knocked out Petey Sarron in six rounds in 1937 to win the World Featherweight Championship, and was named "The Ring Fighter of the Year in 1937. In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he lost two four-round decisions in a row to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. Henry W. Armstrong (July 22, 1879 - February 28, 1951) was an American boxer, booking agent, producer, singer, pianist, and Tin Pan Alley composer. Boxer After retiring from boxing, Armstrong became an ordained Baptist minister, working with disadvantaged youth. He became an ordained Baptist minister in 1951. His final professional record stood at 174 recorded bouts, 145 wins with 98 by knockout. [15], Returning to the welterweight division, Armstrong successfully defended the title five more times, until Fritzie Zivic beat him to take the world title in a 15-round decision. Make sure to follow us on Twitter for updates and announcements. Professional boxer Returning to St. Louis, he became a minister, helped run the Herbert Hoover Boys' Club and trained young boxers. Bert Sugar ranks him #2, and I rank him #3 on my list of the greatest boxers of all time. Of 26 title fights, Armstrong won all but four (three losses and a draw). In defending himself against bullies, he discovered his interest in boxing. Info Share. Facing Arizmendi once more in August 1936, Armstrong secured his first title as the new featherweight champion, beating Arizmendi so badly that he was forced to take six months off. navclassiccold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_classic_cold.gif"; Corrections? was a high pressure, non-stop fighter who threw punches from Al Weill, Ambers' manager, was suspended four months for his unsportsmanlike behavior. December 11, 1939: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles against Jimmy Garrison, winning the fight via 7th round KO. Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 - October 24, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong . Armstrong, at 133+12 pounds, beat Ross, at 142 pounds, by unanimous decision, adding the World Welterweight Championship to his belt. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Henry Irwin Armstrong (1850 - 1935) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. Henry died on October 23, 1988 . He defeated sixteen world champions. Henry Armstrong, born Henry Jackson, decided to become a boxer after reading in a St. Louis newspaper that Kid Chocolate had beaten Al Singer at the Polo Grounds in New York, and was paid a purse of $75,000.At the "colored" YMCA on Pine Street in St. Louis, he met an older fighter named Harry Armstrong, who became his friend, mentor, and trainer. Hometown: Columbus, MS. Year Induction: 2010. Name: Henry Armstrong Alias: Homicide Hank Birth Name: Henry Jackson Hometown: Los Angeles, California, USA Birthplace: Columbus, Mississippi, USA Died: 1988-10-23 (Age:78) Stance: Orthodox Height: 166cm Reach: 170cm Promoter: Record Referee: Record Pro Boxer: Record Amateur Boxer: Record Hickok, Ralph. var navclassiccold = new Image(); He first won the featherweight (126-pound) title by knocking out Petey Sarron in six rounds on October 29, 1937. We have 458 records for Henry Armstrong ranging in age from 31 years old to 97 years old. ESPN ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time. He defeated Bobby Pacho at the Tropical Stadium in Havana, Cuba, in his fourth successful defence. His biggest hit was "Sweet Adeline", written in 1903 with Richard H. Gerard. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisions: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. She died on the way to the hospital in Armstrong's arms, having suffered chest pains. How do we create a person's profile? Fighting true to form, Armstrong applied pressure throughout the bout. He had fulfilled his goal -- he reigned as champion over three divisions. The next year was an incredible one for Armstrong as he fought 27 times -- and won all of them. Skip Ancestry main menu Main Menu. He met the minimum weight by upping his calorie intake, drinking beer the days before the bout and a lot of water on the day of weigh-in. He grew up in, Frazier, Joe 1944 Well aware that his meager pay would never be sufficient to attend college, Armstrong's life changed one day when the sports section of a discarded newspaper landed at his feet. During the final years of the 1940s he traveled to China, Burma, and India with Raft as part of a group sent to entertain soldiers. var navclassicover = new Image(); [citation needed], In 1945, Armstrong retired from boxing. His official record was 152 wins, 21 losses and 9 draws, with 101 knockout wins.[10]. However, upon his retirement he found the vast majority of his money had been lost to bad investments, management fees, and extravagant spending habits. Herb Goldman ranked Armstrong as the #4 All-Time Lightweight; He was inducted into the Ring Boxing He died at age 75 on Oct. 24, 1988, in Los Angeles. Hes fighting on the card, and he was the first person in Mississippi to win a title [since 1988], Higginbottom said. var navpostcardover = new Image(); When Ross demanded the full amount as publicized, entertainer George Raft put up the additional funds and became the third member of Armstrong's management team. Armstrong appeared on the TV game show I've Got a Secret with his simultaneous triple championship as his secret. On March 1, 1940, Armstrong attempted to win from Ceferino Garcia the New York State version of the middleweight (160-pound) title, which was then in dispute, but the decision was a draw, permitting Garcia to retain the championship. The Ring, a boxing magazine, named Armstrong Boxer of the Year for 1938. Alternate titles: Henry Jackson, Melody Jackson. var navpostcardcold = new Image(); Armstrong sought to become the first boxer to win world titles in four different categories in a rematch with Garcia, already the World Middleweight Champion, but the fight ended in a ten-round draw. Late in 1938 he resigned the featherweight championship without having defended it, and on August 22, 1939, he lost the lightweight crown in a 15-round return fight with Ambers. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Cambridge University Press, 1998. Archie Moore was one of the most colorful and respected figures in the modern history of boxing. After retirement, he became an ordained minister. In 1949 Armstrong experienced a religious conversion and turned his life around. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. He was born in Columbus, Mississippi on December 12, 1912. "Henry Armstrong Garcia retained the title with a draw, but most at ringside felt that Armstrong had won. In 1990 his name was added posthumously to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He is currently the Mid America super middle weight title holder, winning the title in 2020. navpostcardover.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_postcard_over.gif"; Ill prepared and undernourished, Armstrong lost his first professional fight by a knockout. . [2] Historian Bert Sugar also ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of all time. Over the course of his career, Armstrong earned more than $1 million. After he retired, Armstrong overcame alcoholism. Use Link to Listen with 30-Day Audible Free Trial: http://bit.ly/ATLASaudiobook. He died on October 24, 1988 at the age of 75 years. ." Bernard Hopkins has been nicknamed the Executioner for the way he dispatches opponents and for the way he enters the rin, Henrquez y Carvajal, Francisco (18591935), Henry Cogswell College: Narrative Description, Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, Henry Ford Community College: Distance Learning Programs, Henry Ford Community College: Narrative Description, Henry Ford Community College: Tabular Data, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henry-armstrong. Working at the "colored" Young Men's Christian Association, Armstrong met Harry Armstrong, a former boxer, who became his friend, mentor, and trainer. American boxer and television commentator. Aldo Spoldi was the only opponent to take him the full 10 rounds.