Sonny Liston He was a victim before he was ever a brute. Nevertheless, he had a soft spot for children. Liston won 13 of his first 14 bouts before trouble with the law cost him his freedom a second time. Primary Income source Boxer (profession). gnalogique Dowling avec plus d'un demi-million de parents, The Troubled Life And Sad Legacy Of Sonny Liston Made a comeback in 1968-1969 and won 14 straight before losing to Leotis Martin. L'arbre 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. WebHe had seven siblings. 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. When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book. Liston was buried in the Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas under the simplest of epitaphs: A MAN.. gnalogique Dowling avec plus d'un demi-million de parents, WebThe son of tenant farmer Tobey Liston and his second wife, Helen, Liston was the 24th of his father's 25 children. In St. Louis, he quickly encountered problems with the local police. Liston on his age: "I'm like Jack Benny, I never tell my age.". Instead, he and some friends took to robbing people on the street and robbing gas stations with a loaded pistol. It was there in Sand Slough that Charles L. Liston was born, on the 50 acres that Tobe rented from the 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."). He was thirty-eight years. Sonny Liston George Foreman was his sparring partner from 1969 to 1970. Sonny Liston was introduced to boxing by Reverend Father Alois Stevens. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Armed robbery. Sonny Liston estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below. Before he was 18, Liston was convicted of six muggings. Won his last fight on June 29, 1970, at the Jersey City Armory, stopping. 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. He was born in St. Francis in the state of Missouri, USA. Known for his powerful punch, the majority of his victories were knockouts. WebSonny Liston Photo Gallery. Liston continued to box until the time of his death. Liston was raised on heavy farm work, many beatings, and with virtually no schooling. The only misgiving was his association with the criminal gangs. The son of tenant farmer Tobey Liston and his second wife, Helen, Liston was the 24th of his fathers 25 children. Charles Sonny Liston was a noted boxer who briefly reigned as Heavyweight Champion after a first-round knockout against Floyd Patterson. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 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. Liston penalized two points for low blows. . He sold pecans from his brother-in-laws tree in order to reunite with his mother and his siblings. Gambling. He never shied away from street fights. Very little is known about his birth and his contient des milliers de photos et GeneaStars. As for the rematch between the two fighters in an ice rink in Lewiston, Maine, in May of 1965, there are a lot of possible explanations for Liston's bizarre actions that night. Served 7 months in jail for beating up a police officer over a parking ticket in St. Louis in the mid-1950s. Just three months after Sonny's move to Denver, his license was reinstated. 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 nameMuhammad Ali) was named champion on February 25, 1964. Because of his arrest and prison term, Liston didn't have a fight between March of 1956, when he decisioned Marty Marshall in Pittsburgh, to January of 1958, when he knocked out Bill Hunter in two rounds in Chicago. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. All Rights Reserved. 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 October 1952, Liston was released on parole. An error has occured while loading the map. Served a prison sentence at Missouri State Penitentiary for robbing a gas station at age 18. WebAnswer (1 of 2): At anytime in their careers Clay / Ali would have been too fast and elusive for Sonny. At the age of 14, he was almost 6 feet tall. When he won the heavyweight title in 1962 at age 30, he had a daughter age 25. Liston was raised on heavy farm work, many beatings and with virtually no schooling. He started boxing in prison and was likely He supported many in his life. Introduced to boxing by Father Stevens in the St. Louis City Jail during 1950. Get in on the latest boxing conversations in our Forum and comment on articles. He won in the first round against Don Smith. His final record as a professional was fifty wins, thirty-nine by knockout, and four losses. Hungry fighters eager to break free from the shackles of their own environment bring an element of savage desperation into their ring encounters. Hardly. Liston celebrated the speedy reinstatement of his license with an impressive 1-round knockout of German baker Albert Westphal, who was ranked No. He is from AR. He was trained by Willie Redish and later by Dick Sadler. He kept fighting and kept winning against a progressively better grade of opponents. 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. However, his career was marred by criminal activity and, later, accusations of mob connections and throwing fights, according to the. A Champion of Something New - by Eli Jones - The Riverside All Rights Reserved. But there is another side. That hurt him deeply, though he instinctively hid the scars behind a scowl. (LogOut/ For more information, contact 501-918-3025 [email protected]. Survived by his wife Geraldine and a step-daughter. The official date of Charles L. Liston is given as May 8, 1932. All Rights Reserved. Sonny Liston has been died on Dec 30, 1970 ( age 38). Scroll below and check our most recent updates about Sonny Liston Net Worth, Salary, Biography, Age, He became a professional fighter on September 2, 1953, when he knocked out Don Smith in a single round in St. Louis. In 1966, following his loss to Clay, Liston launched a comeback. Charles L. Liston Sonny : Family tree by Tim DOWLING Along with his many siblings, Liston grew up working in the local cotton fields. Knocked out #2-rated heavyweight contender Roy Harris (27-1) in one round. It was just a matter of semantics, though. Sonny Listons height Unknown & weight Not Available right. In the end, one can't help feeling some sympathy for Liston. New York: Skyhorse, 2011. In a short amount of time, those felonious deeds cost Sonny Liston his freedom. Is mentioned in the song "Swinging" by Tom Petty. Least of all, Sonny himself. He knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962 to become world heavyweight champion. First World Heavyweight Boxing Champion banned from fighting in New York State by the New York Boxing Commission. Was the favorite fighter of the famous Fab Four, the Beatles, and he appears on their "Sgt. 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. Maybe Liston realized that he couldn't beat the youthful Clay/Ali, and he opted not to get up off the canvas in round one instead of absorbing another beating. Before his sentencing, Liston had been arrested more than twenty times. 72201. Sonny never really had a Prime. Sonny Liston - Biography - IMDb Liston was the 12th of 13 children born to Tobe and Helen Liston (and one of 25 children sired by Tobe). He started boxing in prison and was likely over 30 then. The reader can form his own conclusion based on the reports of those involved. 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. Later, films of the fight showed the bout ended at the 1:25 mark. Charles Sonny Liston was a noted boxer who briefly reigned as Heavyweight Champion after a first-round knockout against Floyd Patterson. By that time, Liston had already attracted the attention of organized crime. 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. Known for scowling at opponents, he combined an intimidating ring presence with awesome power. Due to the poverty in the family, Sonny never went to school. Assael, Shaun. Tosches here betrays an ignorance of boxing that no doubt hurts his credibility with those know know the sport. Username and password are case sensitive. Boxer Charles L. Sonny Liston was bornin St. Francis County, Arkansason May 8, 1932. Unfortunately, the same dark forces that forged Liston's destructiveness in the ring also fueled a distrust for the police and a bent toward criminal activity that would lead to two stints in the Missouri state prison system. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and Liston eventually left the house during his teens. If you can, provide 1-2 sources of information backing up this correction. Tosches, who hails from Newark, writes in an engaging style that is as beautifully stylish as a Liston left jab and as savagely straightforward. 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. In the films the good guy always wins, but this is one bad guy who ain't gonna lose. This enabled him to get hired as a manual laborer in the farms. Rate and review titles you borrow and share your opinions on them. He acted in a number of films, the most famous being "Harlow" with Carroll Baker. However, his career was marred by criminal activity and, later, accusations of mob connections and throwing fights. He continued fighting until June 29, 1970, when he knocked out Chuck Wepner, but he never got another title shot. Known for his powerful punch, the majority of his victories were knockouts. Tosches does a nice piece of reporting on the incident that led to Liston's arrest, objectively revealing all available viewpoints. 1932-1970 Sonny Liston was the heavyweight boxing champion from 1962 to 1964. (There is some speculation about his year of birth, but most sources state sometime from 1929 to 1932.) Mee, Bob. On Popular Bio, He is one of the successful Boxer. It has been rumored that the crime boss John Vitale arranged for his early release. {{ mediasCtrl.getTitle(media, true) }} (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. Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, 1991. BoxRec 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. Listons career was interrupted for nine months beginning in December 1956, when he was sent to the St. Louis workhouse for assaulting a policeman and stealing the officers gun. Liston went back to the ring. From the time he was old enough to be useful in the fields, Sonny was a laborer for his tenant farmer father. Or it would be history, if boxing historians would stop sweeping the legacy of Sonny Liston under the ring canvas. 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). in rural St. Francis County. Liston is another. When Liston died, he was rated 7th in the world heavyweight rankings by Ring Magazine. Some believed that the fight was fixed as reported in later biographical works likeThe Devil and Sonny Liston(2000)by Nick Tosches. On September 25, 1962, Liston made history by becoming the heavyweight champion. Tired of being exploited as a manual laborer, Sonny Liston turned to crime. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. 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. Dating is to describe a stage in a persons life when he or she is actively pursuing romantic relationships with different people. Gallender, Paul. Sonny Liston lost his title to the little known Cassius Clay in the seventh round in February 1964. Sonny Liston was born on May 8, probably 1932, to Tobe and Helen (Baskin) Liston, African-American sharecroppersin rural St. Francis County. Liston claimed he was born in That inbred struggle for survival often produces champions. He died under mysterious conditions on December 30, 1970. American professional boxer who became world heavyweight champion in 1962, Born on May 08, 1932 Additional support provided by the Arkansas General Assembly. Sonny never really had a Prime. Outside of the ring, Liston had a charming personality. His 17-year ring log was an impressive 50-4 with 39 knockouts. He won 11 consecutive fights by knockout in 1968 and added three more wins in 1969 before losing a brutal bout to Leotis Martin. Former World Heavyweight Champion who learned to fight while in jail. 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. He died circa December 30, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sonny Liston - Trivia, Family, Bio | Famous Birthdays His alcoholic and violent father was thirty years older than Sonnys mother. 2023 Encyclopedia of Arkansas. His alcoholic and violent father was thirty years older than Sonnys | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us. 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. Liston had a rough and violent childhood. 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 .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Remembering Just Fontaine and His World Cup Record, The Man Behind the First All-Black Basketball Team, 8 Times Brothers Have Faced Off in a Championship, Every Black Quarterback to Play in the Super Bowl, Soccer Star Christian Atsu Survived an Earthquake. Those dark forces were also at work when Liston willingly placed himself in the hands of the mob that ran the fight game during the time of Liston's ascendancy to the crown. Liston continued fighting following the loss of his title, mainly because it was the only legal way he knew how to make a buck. Carbo was in prison and Palmermo would soon follow. His best years were 195862 when he destroyed everyone while Patterson shamelessly ducked him. For additional information: WebHe was the 12th of 13 children born to Tobe Liston and Helen Baskin, and he endured frequent beatings as a child. Sonny Liston was born on May 8, probably 1932, to Tobe and Helen (Baskin) Liston, African-American sharecroppers in rural St. Francis County. He had the biggest fist of any heavyweight champion: 15 inches. Paroled in 1952, Liston quickly captured the local Golden Gloves championship. Major support provided through a partnership with the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism. WebAsuncin "Sunny" Cummings Hostin (/ h s t n /; born October 20, 1968) is an American lawyer, journalist, and television host.Hostin is co-host on ABC's morning talk show The . Sonny Liston, hard-luck son of Arkansas sharecroppers, was champion of the world. Do we really know how good Sonny Liston was? His Sonny Liston: His Life, Strife, and the Phantom Punch. 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. Sonny Liston prefers not to tell the details of marital status & divorce. contains thousands of pictures and GeneaStars. . Along with his many siblings, Liston grew up 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. His opponent abandoned the match midway. Boxer Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was born in St. Francis County, Arkansas on May 8, 1932. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (19321970) FamilySearch TM & 2023 BoxingScene.All Rights Reserved. Aligning himself with the Devil. He overcame tremendous odds to win the title and earn a measure of fame, but even so he was never embraced by the public. Tosches insists that films of Liston losing to Clay reveal that Liston was missing punches intentionally. Liston was buried in Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada, beneath a simple gravestone. Nine years of steady fighting later, and following additional scrapes with the law, Liston fought Floyd Patterson for the Heavyweight Championship. Major funding provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. Liston was inducted into the international Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born circa 1930 into a sharecropping family who farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas. In 1962, Liston went officially from being the poverty-stricken, illiterate child of an abusive tenant farmer in Arkansas to being the heavyweight champion of the whole world. Touring the local hospital in a grey tweed overcoat with a black velvet collar, the intimidating, burly, 6-foot-tall, 215 lb. Family tree of Sonny LISTON - Geneastar Relationship with Timothy Michael Dowling (Sosa/Ahnentafel #1), Relationship with Geraldine Clark (spouse), Browse using this individual as Sosa/Ahnentafel #1, , born in1872 - Choctaw Co., MS, deceased, , born inApril1873 - Montgomery Co., MS, deceased, Sources: Dowling Family Tree - Tim Dowling - rootsweb, 2001-2015 - - electronic - I435533, Marriage (with Geraldine Clark) - St. Louis, MO, List of all individuals in the family tree, {{ 'gw_downgraded_access_back_to_max'|translate }}, Born 8May1932 - Sand Lough, St. Francis Co., AR, Deceased 30December1970 - Las Vegas, Clark Co., NV, From the start, Liston was a devastating puncher. In his next fight he bounced back to TKO Chuck Wepner shortly before his mysterious death in 1970. He served brief prison terms and on one occasion was introduced to boxing by a prison chaplain. Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. He knocked out the reigning world champion in the first round. Liston destroyed the champion in one round and destroyed him again in the rematch. Basically, for a guy like Liston, it meant that you either dealt with them, or you didn't deal at all. He compiled a career record of 50-4, competing against such boxing legends as Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson. As most boxing fans know, it was in the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City that Sonny learned to box. Give a donation in someones name to mark a special occasion, honor a friend or colleague or remember a beloved family member. He was officially knocked out by Muhammad Ali in one minute for the fastest KO in heavyweight history up to that time. 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. Did he need Liston's cooperation to beat the rapidly aging champion that night in February of 1964? Joe Louis rated Liston's jab one of the best in boxing history. His mother separated from his father and went to St. Louis in Missouri. Before Fame He sold pecans from his brother-in-law's tree in order to reunite with his mother and his siblings. Liston would later claim his birth date to be May 8, 1932, but that is off by at least two years. If it was truly a fix, then Liston would have found a way to avoid taking the punishment that he received at Clay's hands before retiring on his stool after the sixth round. Sonny Liston turned professional in September 1953. Following his release from the workhouse, Liston quickly returned to the ring against Hunter and got his career back on track. Some believed that the fight was fixed as reported in later biographical works like The Devil and Sonny Liston (2000) by Nick Tosches. With the help of a farsighted, black St. Louis businessman and some other backers who were aware of Sonny's potential, Liston pursued a ring career after leaving the joint and rejoining society at large. Liston continued to fight in the ring until June 1970. Sonny, who was known by his proper name Charles while growing up, rarely attended school and never learned to read or write, a fact that haunted him as an adult and fed a lifelong problem with insecurity. Tosches' explanation, of course, is that Liston was again dutifully following orders given by the mob. But the champ went down in a hurry: two minutes and six seconds in the first round. In a short amount of time, he rose to prominence as a contender in the heavyweight division. Clay is certainly to be counted among the greatest heavyweights of all time. Owing to his bold physique and strict upbringing, Liston loved training. Tosches, Nick. Black Pioneers: Sonny Liston - Arkansas Soul | Black and 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. There were also times when he showed surprising compassion for the less fortunate. His ring style was the essence of simplicity; he displayed little finesse but much raw power, especially in his left hand. Family (1) Spouse Sonny Liston went from boxing champion and national anti-hero to a Las Vegas thug who drove around in a pink Cadillac and sold drugs. Publicity Listings His father physically molested him. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. The subsequent rematch with Clay on May 25, 1965, included the infamous "phantom punch." There, he committed various muggings and robberies. After winning most of his matches by knockout, he turned pro in 1951. Liston emptied his pockets of bills and returned to the car with all of the women's pencils. As Toches brings out, Liston's brooding temperament can be explained in part by his insecurity. Liston was arrested more than 20 times. Fighter in Boxing History: Charles 'Sonny' Liston 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. New York: Blue Rider Press, 2016. Sonny Liston | There's no question that the hard-scrabble existence of youth prepared Liston for the success he would later enjoy as a prizefighter. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. Thus, cloaking the heavyweight champion of the world--the epitome of masculinity and male supremacy--in a Santa Claus hat was the height of irony at the time. 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. Paroled in 1952, he had a brief amateur career, winning several Golden Gloves championships and defeating 1952 Olympic heavyweight champion Ed Sanders. Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. Liston lost his rematch to Ali in May 1965. Clay later changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Liston won 26 consecutive bouts, moving inexorably toward the heavyweight championship. WebTogether with his 24 siblings and half siblings, Sonny grew up in the local cotton fields. Robert B. Cochran He sold pecans from his brother-in-laws tree in order to reunite with his mother and his siblings. Liston had a short and successful amateur career, following which he turned pro. Because of this alliance, which was public knowledge, Liston was called before the committee investigating organized crime that had been established by Tennessee Democratic Senator Estes Kefauver. There were rumors of drug peddling, heroin use, and murder, but no answers. 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. 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. He became a professional fighter in 1953. 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). During his two-plus years in the state penitentiary, Liston attained a new nickname, "Sonny," and a new vocation, boxing. Sonny Liston was born in Sand Slough, AR on May 8, 1932. He had been dead for some time, an ending every bit as murky as the Clay/Ali fights. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 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 was beholdin' to the mob and everybody knew it. Let's check, How Rich is Ben, All You Need To Know About Tamara Hurwitz. Sonny had to put the proper face forward to the public. He earned the money being a professional Boxer. He quickly learned how to box and within three years was fighting on the amateur circuit. Liston didn't find gainful employment in St. Louis. Served time in prison for robbery and later for assaulting a police officer. The couple had two children; one was a daughter from Chambers previous marriage. He was still a fringe contender at the age of 40 or so when he died under mysterious circumstances in December of 1970 at his house in Las Vegas. Sonny Liston was born on May 8, probably 1932, to Tobe and Helen (Baskin) Liston, African-American sharecroppers in rural St. Francis County. 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.
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