This project is funded in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant award. Instead, he and some friends took to robbing people on the street and robbing gas stations with a loaded pistol. All Rights Reserved. Get in on the latest boxing conversations in our Forum and comment on articles. Clay later changed his name to Muhammad Ali. His final record as a professional was 50 wins, 39 by knockout, and four losses. What advantage would there be to having the brash young boxer from Louisville installed as heavyweight champ in place of Liston? At the age of 13, he ran away to St. Louis, following his mother who had left earlier. Sonny Liston: The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. He was friendly with his fans and had a soft spot for children. If two unmarried celebrities are seen in public together, they are often described as dating which means they were seen in public together, and it is not clear whether they are merely friends, exploring a more intimate relationship, or are romantically involved. Sonny Liston Wife According to our records, Sonny Liston married to Geraldine Seithel. Liston went back to the ring. Early Life. contient des milliers de photos et GeneaStars. Ali and Liston: The Boy Who Would Be King and the Ugly Bear. At 6 feet 1 inch and 217 pounds, Liston had devastating punching power, an iron chin, and lightning reflexes, along with a powerful jab. Tired of being exploited as a manual laborer, Sonny Liston turned to crime. | He died under mysterious conditions on December 30, 1970. Early Life and Family: Before he was famous, He sold pecans from his brother-in-laws tree in order to reunite with his mother and his siblings. Tosches believes the latter. As a young man in 1949, Liston left Arkansas for good and followed his mother's footsteps to St. Louis. 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. (There is some speculation about his year of birth, but most sources state sometime from 1929 to 1932.) In 1966, following his loss to Clay, Liston launched a comeback. Read our Privacy Policy. Why he died remains one of sport's most enduring mysteries. Known for scowling at opponents, he combined an intimidating ring presence with awesome power. Tobe was mean to his children, and especially to Sonny. . The official cause of death was lung congestion and heart failure, although Liston had fresh needle marks on his arm and police discovered heroin and a syringe in the house. Liston was the youngest heavyweight boxing champion to die (age 38). Charles "Sonny" Liston's life and death began and ended in the same manner: as a mystery. At the age of 16, Listonmore than 6 feet tall and weighing 200 poundsbecame a menacing presence in his neighborhood, occasionally working as a strike-breaking labor goon. Liston would later claim his birth date to be May 8, 1932, but that is off by at least two years. Liston was the most feared man in the world, until Muhammad Ali arrived on the scene and knocked him out twice, ending his championship days and his reputation as the "World's Baddest Man." Liston was the second last in a family of twenty-five siblings. Touring the local hospital in a grey tweed overcoat with a black velvet collar, the intimidating, burly, 6-foot-tall, 215 lb. While Liston was incarcerated, prison athletic director Father Alois Stevens introduced him to the sport of boxing. Liston claimed he was born in His parents were peasant farmers who grew cotton in the south. He knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962 to become world heavyweight champion. After the court case, he was sentenced to a five-year jail term in the Missouri State Prison. The place had a name, but it was not to be found on any map. Auspiciously, the massive man is known as The Bear then won his first nine fights before dropping an eight-round decision to Marty Marshall. The reader can form his own conclusion based on the reports of those involved. Some Thoughts on Boxing, Jake Paul, and Asking Why We Fight Paroled in 1952, Liston quickly captured the local Golden Gloves championship. Liston went down in the first round, felled by a punch few saw. The local police classified him as the yellow shirt bandit.. Before he was 18, Liston was convicted of six muggings. George Foreman was his sparring partner from 1969 to 1970. His dad was an abusive alcoholic and at the age of 13, Sonny left to live with his aunt in The rematch in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 22 1963, was another first-round knockout, with Patterson counted out in two minutes, twenty-three seconds. He quickly learned how to box and within three years was fighting on the amateur circuit. Owing to his many siblings and a brutal, hardscrabble Arkansas childhood with an abusive father (excruciatingly detailed in the movie and book), Liston had an affinity for needy children. After a little while, Liston followed his mother and was reunited with his other siblings. He put himself under the care of still another Catholic priest, Father Edward P. Murphy, a kindly Jesuit who was the pastor of a predominantly black church in Denver. In 1956, he found himself on the wrong side of the law again. Liston continued to box until the time of his death. He was caught and charged with first-degree robbery and larceny, and was sentenced in 1950 to 5 years in the Missouri State Penitentiary. Along with his many siblings, Liston grew up Sonny Liston was officially born on May 8th 1932, even if no one knows exactly when he was born, that is the date that he set up for all the official records. Sonny Liston lost his title to the little known Cassius Clay in the seventh round in February 1964. Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. angelsunchained, Other Works Liston won 13 of his first 14 bouts before trouble with the law cost him his freedom a second time. Sonny Liston had a controversial boxing career, winning 54 of 58 bouts from 1953 to 1970. It was just a matter of semantics, though. He climbed back into the ring on June 29, 1970, registering a 10th-round technical knockout against "Bayonne Bleeder" Chuck Wepner. American professional boxer who became world heavyweight champion in 1962, Born on May 08, 1932 Liston was sentenced to nine months in jail. The Dowling Family Tree with over half a million relatives, It was a defense mechanism designed to keep people from getting too close. Later, films of the fight showed the bout ended at the 1:25 mark. Major funding provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. The Devil and Sonny Liston. His father physically molested him. After his release, Liston relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his career quickly flourished again. That doesn't make sense. He continued fighting until June 29, 1970, when he knocked out Chuck Wepner, but he never got another title shot. In accordance with the legal provisions, you can ask for the removal of your name and the name of your minor children. L'arbre Liston defeated Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson on Sept. 25, 1962. 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.. There's no question that the hard-scrabble existence of youth prepared Liston for the success he would later enjoy as a prizefighter. - IMDb Mini Biography By: The author begins appropriately at the beginning with his subject, providing more comprehensive information about Sonny's childhood than probably even Sonny himself knew. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us. He told them that he had no education, couldn't write and worked as a child to help feed his 24 siblings. He won in the first round against Don Smith. In a short amount of time, those felonious deeds cost Sonny Liston his freedom. At the age of 16, Listonmore than 6 feet tall and weighing 200 poundsbecame a menacing presence in his neighborhood, occasionally working as a strike-breaking labor goon. (Which isn't to say that Liston took advantage of Father Murphy, or that he had a disregard for what Father Murphy had to say. The match was held in Miami Baech, Florida. 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. Served a prison sentence at Missouri State Penitentiary for robbing a gas station at age 18. Reverend Stevens was both the prisons chaplain and sports director. The subsequent rematch with Clay on May 25, 1965, included the infamous "phantom punch." Official Sites. The map below shows the places where the ancestors of the famous person lived. He was one of many Known for his powerful punch, the majority of his victories were knockouts. Primary Income source Boxer (profession). For a while, he even lost his license to box in the United States. Dating is to describe a stage in a persons life when he or she is actively pursuing romantic relationships with different people. London: Aurum Press, 2008. He sold pecans from his brother-in-laws tree in order to reunite with his mother and his siblings. He married Geraldine Chambers on June 10, 1950. On Popular Bio, He is one of the successful Boxer. Big Hela had moved there in 1946. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born into a sharecropping family who farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas. His last fight was against Chuck Wepner. In June of the following year, Liston won the rematch with another knockout. He was trained by Willie Redish and later by Dick Sadler. He climbed back into the ring on June 29, 1970, registering a 10th-round technical knockout against Bayonne Bleeder Chuck Wepner. Liston relocated to Denver with his wife Geraldine and friend/sparring partner Foneda Cox and underwent extensive counseling with Father Murphy. 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. Sonny Liston was born on May 8, 1932 in Sand Slough, AR. Even as a grown up, the physical scars were still visible. He was referred to as the man with the steel punch and an iron chin.. He quickly destroyed all the leading heavyweight contenders--Roy Harris, Zora Folley, Cleveland Williams--to earn a title shot against Floyd Patterson. He started boxing in prison and was likely He was arrested twice in a period of months in Philadelphia in the summer of 1961. He also has a position among the list of Most popular Boxer. On the same night at a different location, but on the same closed-circuit broadcast, Patterson defeated unheralded Tom McNeeley in four rounds in what would be the final successful defense of his crown. Assael, Shaun. World heavyweight boxing champion, 1962-1964. He, however, won in the subsequent rematch. Additional support provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council. An error has occured while loading the map. He started boxing in prison and was likely over 30 then. For all his womanizing, Liston had a respect for his wife Geraldine and was faithful to her in his own way. He was one of many The most noticeable being his win over Ed Sanders. (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({}); Ivn Popoca estimated Net Worth, Biography, Age, Height, Dating, Relationship Records, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below. Paroled in 1952, Liston quickly captured the local Golden Gloves championship. The cover was one of the most famous images of the early 1960s, as Liston embodied the fears of White America during the days when Southern police officials had attacked the burgeoning civil rights movement with violence, a violence white Americans feared might be returned onto them. Lets check, How Rich is Sonny Liston in 2020-2022? Remembering Just Fontaine and His World Cup Record, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Sonny Liston, Birth Year: 1932, Birth date: May 8, 1932, Birth State: Arkansas, Birth City: St Francis County, Birth Country: United States. Nine years of steady fighting later, and following additional scrapes with the law, Liston fought Floyd Patterson for the Heavyweight Championship. Sonny Liston has been died on Dec 30, 1970 ( age 38). Liston was arrested more than 20 times. DAmato went on to coach another great boxer in Mike Tyson. The son of tenant farmer Tobey Liston and his second wife, Helen, Liston was the 24th of his father's 25 children. Sonny Liston: His Life, Strife, and the Phantom Punch. Give a donation in someones name to mark a special occasion, honor a friend or colleague or remember a beloved family member. He became a professional fighter on September 2, 1953, when he knocked out Don Smith in a single round in St. Louis. Lets take a look at Sonny Liston past relationships, ex-girlfriends and previous hookups. Liston and Geraldine had no children, but Liston loved kids and enjoyed being in their company. His wife found his lifeless body in their home on January 5, 1971. The couple had two children; one was a daughter from Chambers previous marriage. He knocked out the reigning world champion in the first round. Knocked out #2-rated heavyweight contender Roy Harris (27-1) in one round. He never shied away from street fights. Liston continued fighting following the loss of his title, mainly because it was the only legal way he knew how to make a buck. WebHis parents were Tobe Liston and Helen Baskin. He continued fighting until June 29, 1970, when he knocked out Chuck Wepner, but he never got another title shot. He had the biggest fist of any heavyweight champion: 15 inches. Trivia He was convicted of robbery and larceny. Two Catholic priests who served as chaplains, Father Edward Schlattmann and Father Alois Stevens, helped to direct Liston toward the controlled violence of the ring. Some suspect foul play; others believe Liston died of a self-inflicted drug overdose. in Sand Slough, Arkansas, USA , United States, Died on December 30, 1970 . He supported many in his life. His mother believed he was born in January, 1928, but Liston would later claim his birth date to be May 8, 1932. Geraldine married Sonny Liston in 1950 He earned the money being a professional Boxer. By all accounts, Liston had a woeful childhood. 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. If you can, provide 1-2 sources of information backing up this correction. First World Heavyweight Boxing Champion banned from fighting in New York State by the New York Boxing Commission. After having his license revoked, Liston made a smart decision, as he had when he bought out Barone. He overcame tremendous odds to win the title and earn a measure of fame, but even so he was never embraced by the public. On the side of Tobe Liston, born in 1872 - Choctaw Co., MS, deceased. Liston destroyed the champion in one round and destroyed him again in the rematch. Ward, who resides today in Forrest City, Ark. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album cover. Tosches goes to great lengths in his book to convey the ubiquitous presence of the mob in those days and the power that men like Frank "Gray Man" Carbo and Frank "Blinky" Palermo wielded in boxing. 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. gnalogique Dowling avec plus d'un demi-million de parents, boxer had the look of a champion. Rate and review titles you borrow and share your opinions on them. Paroled in 1952, he had a brief amateur career, winning several Golden Gloves championships and defeating 1952 Olympic heavyweight champion Ed Sanders. There were rumors of drug peddling, heroin use, and murder, but no answers. Liston claimed he was born in 1932, yet his rap sheet for his 1950 arrest for armed robbery listed his age as 22, making him born in 1928. Aligning himself with the Devil. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). Liston was the second last in a family of twenty-five siblings. The official cause of death was lung congestion and heart failure, although Liston had fresh needle marks on his arm and police discovered heroin and a syringe in the house. Reverend Stevens arranged the match for him. Sonny Liston was born on May 8, probably 1932, to Tobe and Helen (Baskin) Liston, African-American sharecroppers in rural St. Francis County. Again rumors were rife that the match was fixed by the criminal underworld. Charles "Sonny" Liston was pronounced dead at the scene. Liston celebrated the speedy reinstatement of his license with an impressive 1-round knockout of German baker Albert Westphal, who was ranked No. But the champ went down in a hurry: two minutes and six seconds in the first round. As most boxing fans know, it was in the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City that Sonny learned to box. 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. 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."). Sonny Liston estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below. Ironically, by the time Liston finally became champ in September of that year with his 1-round KO of Patterson, the mob was beginning to lose its iron grip on the sport and on Liston himself. His death certificate states his death as December 30, 1970, based on milk deliveries at his doorstep. QUICK FACTS. He died circa December 30, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died circa December 30, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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. Womanizing. Hungry fighters eager to break free from the shackles of their own environment bring an element of savage desperation into their ring encounters. For additional information: In the same interval, he had gotten married (in 1957 to Geraldine Clark), moved from St. Louis to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1958, and been questioned by a congressional committee about the takeover of his management by mob elements in 1960. Made a comeback in 1968-1969 and won 14 straight before losing to Leotis Martin. Basically, for a guy like Liston, it meant that you either dealt with them, or you didn't deal at all. She was working in a shoe factory when her son Charles unexpectedly came to the city and looked her up. Liston was raised on heavy farm work, many beatings and with virtually no schooling. Sonny Liston turned professional in September 1953. 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. Copyright 2020 ARKANSAS SOUL MEDIA, All rights Reserved. TM & 2023 BoxingScene.All Rights Reserved. He was a victim before he was ever a brute. He had been dead for some time, an ending every bit as murky as the Clay/Ali fights. Special thanks to the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Charles Sonny Liston was a noted boxer who briefly reigned as Heavyweight Champion after a first-round knockout against Floyd Patterson. In the end, one can't help feeling some sympathy for Liston. Liston, one of 25 children by his father, is reputed to have been born in May 1932, yet prison records show various birth dates, among them 1928. 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. Liston turned professional in September 1953, earning his first paycheck in St. Louis with a first-round knockout of Don Smith. As the top fighter in the world, Liston became an easy target for sports columnists who remarked frequently on not only his menacing demeanor and vicious punching power but also his criminal background. Major children and living persons must directly contact the. Even Sonny's mother, who was called Big Hela, didn't know, though she believed him to be born during the month of January. His alcoholic and violent father was thirty years older than Sonnys Some believed that the fight was fixed as reported in later biographical works likeThe Devil and Sonny Liston(2000)by Nick Tosches. They called it Sand Slough. First heavyweight title challenger to earn a purse of $1,000,000. He rose from poverty in the rural south to become one of the most dominant and feared professional fighters of the 20th century. Sonny Liston had a controversial boxing career, winning 54 of 58 bouts from 1953 to 1970. contains thousands of pictures and GeneaStars. Sand Slough, Arkansas, United States of America, Sonny Liston is still regarded as the best heavyweight boxer with a taste of violence. Tosches here betrays an ignorance of boxing that no doubt hurts his credibility with those know know the sport. Geneastars | Facebook. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and Liston eventually left the house during his teens. Donations made to the CALS Foundation are tax-deductible for United States federal income tax purposes. Sonny Liston was introduced to boxing while serving time in a Missouri State Penitentiary. Auspiciously, the massive man is known as "The Bear" then won his first nine fights before dropping an eight-round decision to Marty Marshall. 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. He died in Vegas as mysteriously as he had lived, a man bent under a great shadow, afflicted by a legion of personal demons that no one could exorcise. At the age of thirteen, he ran away to St. Louis, Missouri, following his mother, who had left earlier. Time magazine photograph of Ali standing over Liston, taunting him, is one of the most popularly published in boxing. Liston continued to fight in the ring until June 1970. The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights. The tactic worked. It was scandal on top of scandal; Listons reputation, already tainted by prison time, allegations of mob connections, and charges of sexual assault, never recovered. Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, 1991. 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. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. Check back often as we will continue to update this page with new relationship details. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! WebHalf-siblings. In a short amount of time, he rose to prominence as a contender in the heavyweight division. Twenty-two-year-old Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, defeated reigning world boxing champ Sonny Liston on this day in history, Feb. 25, 1964, in Miami, Florida. As the top fighter in the world, Liston became an easy target for sports columnists who remarked frequently on not only his menacing demeanor and vicious punching power but also his criminal background. Copyright 2020, ARKANSAS SOUL MEDIA. She had been away on holiday. 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). WebListon retired on his stool citing an injured shoulder; After this fight Cassius Clay changed his name to Cassius X and then to Muhammad Ali; 1964 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year. Jack Dempsey and Roberto Duran are two cases in point. Liston moved to Las Vegas in 1966 and was found dead there on Jan. 5, 1971, when his wife returned to their home from a Christmas visit with her mother. Some believed that the fight was fixed as reported in later biographical works like The Devil and Sonny Liston (2000) by Nick Tosches. {{ media.date_translated }}, {{ asCtrl.bannerRights.content|translate }}, The Geneanet family trees are powered by Geneweb 7.0. He was officially knocked out by Muhammad Ali in one minute for the fastest KO in heavyweight history up to that time. New York: Blue Rider Press, 2016. During the years that Liston was champ, the mob was in retreat. Creating an account gives you access to all these features. He was one of many children one account lists 22 siblings and half-siblings. Boxer Charles L. Sonny Liston was bornin St. Francis County, Arkansason May 8, 1932. Served time in prison for robbery and later for assaulting a police officer.
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