When he won the heavyweight title in 1962 at age 30, he had a daughter age 25. He started boxing in prison and was likely At the age of 13, he ran away to St. Louis, following his mother who had left earlier. Sonny Liston keeps his personal and love life private. Liston continued to box until the time of his death. Won his last fight on June 29, 1970, at the Jersey City Armory, stopping. Clay is certainly to be counted among the greatest heavyweights of all time. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 orcalsfoundation@cals.org. Least of all, Sonny himself. Following his release from the workhouse, Liston quickly returned to the ring against Hunter and got his career back on track. She had been away on holiday. An error has occured while loading the map. Sonny Liston was born on May 8, probably 1932, to Tobe and Helen (Baskin) Liston, African-American sharecroppersin rural St. Francis County. Special thanks to the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Tobe was mean to his children, and especially to Sonny. Liston was buried in Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada, beneath a simple gravestone. He started boxing in prison and was likely over 30 then. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. On the side of Tobe Liston, born in 1872 - Choctaw Co., MS, deceased. The tactic worked. Liston was the 12th of 13 children born to Tobe and Helen Liston (and one of 25 children sired by Tobe). His mother believed he was born in January, 1928, but Liston would later claim his birth date to be May 8, 1932. But there is another side. . Basically, for a guy like Liston, it meant that you either dealt with them, or you didn't deal at all. gnalogique Dowling avec plus d'un demi-million de parents, contient des milliers de photos et GeneaStars. Liston started boxing at the age of 14 because there were no sports available in Florida at the time. Biography, Net Worth, Gossips, Salary, News & Much More. 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. Before his sentencing, Liston had been arrested more than twenty times. The subsequent rematch with Clay on May 25, 1965, included the infamous "phantom punch." document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). Sonny Liston is a 4 year old colt and has raced in 2022. Lets take a look at Sonny Liston past relationships, ex-girlfriends and previous hookups. In 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. He climbed back into the ring on June 29, 1970, registering a 10th-round technical knockout against "Bayonne Bleeder" Chuck Wepner. He maintained a winning streak in eight matches. Hardly. When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book. After a rough upbringing, with little formal education, Liston found himself in trouble with the law. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. | 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. 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 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. Sonny Liston was introduced to boxing while serving time in a Missouri State Penitentiary. Is mentioned in the song "Swinging" by Tom Petty. Scroll below and check our most recent updates about Sonny Liston Net Worth, Salary, Biography, Age, Liston was an excellent boxer. His epitaph reads: A Man.. He knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962 to become world heavyweight champion. Outside of the ring, Liston had a charming personality. He became a professional fighter in 1953. He became a professional fighter on September 2, 1953, when he knocked out Don Smith in a single round in St. Louis. The most noticeable being his win over Ed Sanders. Former World Heavyweight Champion who learned to fight while in jail. Along with his many siblings, Liston grew up He married Geraldine Chambers on June 10, 1950. 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. Liston had a rough and violent childhood. 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. 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. Geneastars | Facebook. Sonny Liston has been died on Dec 30, 1970 ( age 38). Geraldine married Sonny Liston in 1950 He won 11 consecutive fights by knockout in 1968 and added three more wins in 1969 before losing a brutal bout to Leotis Martin. in Sand Slough, Arkansas, USA , United States, Died on December 30, 1970 The match was held in Miami Baech, Florida. Sonny Liston estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below. Sonny Liston was born in Sand Slough, AR on May 8, 1932. Sonny was probably born in 1929, but no one knows for sure. 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. Sonny Liston existed, and, Ali bouts or no Ali bouts, he was one of the greatest fighters to ever lace on a glove. He died under mysterious conditions on December 30, 1970. WebHalf-siblings. 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. 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. He won in the first round against Don Smith. In 1966, following his loss to Clay, Liston launched a comeback. With the proceeds he traveled to St. Louis and reunited with his mother and siblings. In St. Louis, he quickly encountered problems with the local police. 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. Boxer Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was born in St. Francis County, Arkansas on May 8, 1932. Liston turned professional in September 1953, earning his first paycheck in St. Louis with a first-round knockout of Don Smith. Even as a grown up, the physical scars were still visible. Again rumors were rife that the match was fixed by the criminal underworld. No one knows how Sonny Liston died. Apart from his demeanor, Liston was a charming man with a captivating smile. On top of the mob issue, Liston had to overcome more problems with the law before he could be free to fight Patterson for the title. General Melvin Krulewitch, chairman of the New York Boxing Commission in the 1950s, refused to issue Liston a license to fight in New York because he was guilty of associating with "questionable" characters. Give a donation in someones name to mark a special occasion, honor a friend or colleague or remember a beloved family member. 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. It was just a matter of semantics, though. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. WebAnswer (1 of 2): At anytime in their careers Clay / Ali would have been too fast and elusive for Sonny. Cruel Beginnings. Pacific Grove, CA: Park Place Publications, 2012. Pressure resulting from appearing before the committee, and from the diatribes of Patterson's manager Cus D'Amato, caused Liston to buy out the contract of his manager, Pep Barone, who was considered to be an undesirable, and name old-time Philadelphia political hack George Katz as his manager. 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. But the champ went down in a hurry: two minutes and six seconds in the first round. Additional support provided by the Arkansas Community Foundation. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. There were also times when he showed surprising compassion for the less fortunate. The second was a boy. Known for scowling at opponents, he combined an intimidating ring presence with awesome power. Liston went down in the first round, felled by a punch few saw. Tosches here betrays an ignorance of boxing that no doubt hurts his credibility with those know know the sport. 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. He had the biggest fist of any heavyweight champion: 15 inches. Major children and living persons must directly contact the. The son of tenant farmer Tobey Liston and his second wife, Helen, Liston was the 24th of his fathers 25 children. Introduced to boxing by Father Stevens in the St. Louis City Jail during 1950. Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame, 1990. WebAnswer (1 of 2): At anytime in their careers Clay / Ali would have been too fast and elusive for Sonny. Sanders was the reigning Olympic heavyweight champion. He was caught and charged with first-degree robbery and larceny, and was sentenced in 1950 to 5 years in the Missouri State Penitentiary. 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."). Creating an account gives you access to all these features. His final record as a professional was fifty wins, thirty-nine by knockout, and four losses. Drinking. 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 died circa December 30, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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.