He had his first competitive match in prison. Liston emptied his pockets of bills and returned to the car with all of the women's pencils. 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. 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. Encyclopedia of Arkansas Sonny never really had a Prime. They called it Sand Slough. 2023 Encyclopedia of Arkansas. In prison, encouraged by Catholic chaplains, Liston took up boxing, where he was an immediate and spectacular success. He was one of many angelsunchained, Other Works Is mentioned in the song "Swinging" by Tom Petty. For a while, he even lost his license to box in the United States. He climbed back into the ring on June 29, 1970, registering a 10th-round technical knockout against Bayonne Bleeder Chuck Wepner. Sonny Liston Wife According to our records, Sonny Liston married to Geraldine Seithel. 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. In September of 1953, he knocked out Don "Toro" Smith in two rounds in St. Louis, setting in motion a career which would span 17 years and bring Sonny to the pinnacle of success in his sport. He had been dead for some time, an ending every bit as murky as the Clay/Ali fights. Sonny Liston was born in Sand Slough, AR on May 8, 1932. 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. Won his last fight on June 29, 1970, at the Jersey City Armory, stopping. Liston was the second last in a family of twenty-five siblings. He was sired by Lawman out of the Galileo mare Stars In Your Eyes. Liston's 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 officer's gun. His trademark shirt during his illegal raids was yellow. His ring style was the essence of simplicity; he displayed little finesse but much raw power, especially in his left hand. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us. Liston won 13 of his first 14 bouts before trouble with the law cost him his freedom a second time. But the champ went down in a hurry: two minutes and six seconds in the first round. From the start, Liston was a devastating puncher. Get in on the latest boxing conversations in our Forum and comment on articles. 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 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. Biography, Net Worth, Gossips, Salary, News & Much More. Best Known For: Sonny Liston was introduced to boxing while serving time in a Missouri State Penitentiary. Carbo was in prison and Palmermo would soon follow. 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. The rematch, in Lewiston, Maine, on May 25, 1965, was even more controversial. His opponent abandoned the match midway. Liston was arrested more than 20 times. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Sonny Liston has been died on Dec 30, 1970 ( age 38). While Liston was incarcerated, prison athletic director Father Alois Stevens introduced him to the sport of boxing. Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. contient des milliers de photos et GeneaStars. Major funding provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. He compiled a career record of (LogOut/ Jack Dempsey and Roberto Duran are two cases in point. Liston had a huge physique. In St. Louis, he quickly encountered problems with the local police. Family Sonny Liston was born in Sand Slough, AR on May 8, 1932. The Dowling Family Tree with over half a million relatives, 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. He became a professional fighter in 1953. He told them that he had no education, couldn't write and worked as a child to help feed his 24 siblings. The continual conflicts with the police. Hardly. He was friendly with his fans and had a soft spot for children. There, he committed various muggings and robberies. Some believed that the fight was fixed as reported in later biographical works likeThe Devil and Sonny Liston(2000)by Nick Tosches. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 orcalsfoundation@cals.org. He started boxing in prison and was likely Sonny was probably born in 1929, but no one knows for sure. Along with his many siblings, Liston grew up working in the local cotton fields. Trivia He was convicted of robbery and larceny. However, his career was marred by criminal activity and, later, accusations of mob connections and throwing fights, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Hungry fighters eager to break free from the shackles of their own environment bring an element of savage desperation into their ring encounters. Less than a year later in Miami Beach, Liston lost his title to Cassius Clay when he refused to answer the bell for the seventh round, claiming a shoulder industry. By that time, Liston had already attracted the attention of organized crime. The reader can form his own conclusion based on the reports of those involved. boxer had the look of a champion. His sporting agility was electrifying to watch. He has ranked on the list of those famous people who were born on May 8, 1932. Paroled in 1952, Liston quickly captured the local Golden Gloves championship. WebSonny Liston is 6 feet 0 inches tall. His mother believed he was born in January, 1928, but Liston would later claim his birth date to be May 8, 1932. His relationship status is single. Before he was 18, Liston was convicted of six muggings. Official Sites. His father physically molested him. Survived by his wife Geraldine and a step-daughter. Perhaps no keener insight can be gained from those early years, though, than from what Sonny himself was quoted as saying: "The only thing my old man ever gave me was a whipping.". After his release, Liston relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his career quickly flourished again. Sonny Liston: The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album cover. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. At 6 feet 1 inch and 217 pounds, Liston had devastating punching power, an iron chin, and lightning reflexes, along with a powerful jab. Sonny Liston was introduced to boxing while serving time in a Missouri State Penitentiary. 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. He died circa December 30, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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. Ali and Liston: The Boy Who Would Be King and the Ugly Bear. Check back often as we will continue to update this page with new relationship details. He won in the first round against Don Smith. Sonny was probably born in 1929, but no one knows for sure. He died under mysterious conditions on December 30, 1970. Ward, who resides today in Forrest City, Ark. The son of tenant farmer Tobey Liston and his second wife, Helen, Liston was the 24th of his fathers 25 children. According to Wikipedia, Forbes, IMDb & Various Online resources, famous Boxer Sonny Listons net worth is $82 Million before He died. After his release, Liston relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his career quickly flourished again. He continued fighting until June 29, 1970, when he knocked out Chuck Wepner, but he never got another title shot. At least two sexual assaults. George Foreman was his sparring partner from 1969 to 1970. This is how Tosches describes Liston's birth place: "It was in the sector of Morledge Plantation that lay in Johnson Township, St. Francis County, that Tobe Liston and his family came to live and farm, on a low patch where a rill of muddy water, a mile and a half or so long, dribbled dead to its end in a slough of sandy dirt where nothing could grow. Due to the poverty in the family, Sonny never went to school. He only served six. Liston turned professional in September 1953, earning his first paycheck in St. Louis with a first-round knockout of Don Smith. Sonny Liston was born on May 8, 1932 in Sand Slough, AR. Liston defeated Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson on Sept. 25, 1962. His final record as a professional was 50 wins, 39 by knockout, and four losses. Liston on his age: "I'm like Jack Benny, I never tell my age.". . . | Even Sonny's mother, who was called Big Hela, didn't know, though she believed him to be born during the month of January. He became a professional fighter on September 2, 1953, when he knocked out Don Smith in a single round in St. Louis. with Cornelia Winfrey, born in April 1873 - Montgomery Co., MS, deceased. Sonny Liston is a 4 year old colt and has raced in 2022. All Rights Reserved. Geraldine married Sonny Liston in 1950 The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. His final record as a professional was fifty wins, thirty-nine by knockout, and four losses. Sonny Liston was a violent person even outside the ring. He never shied away from street fights. 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. In a short amount of time, he rose to prominence as a contender in the heavyweight division. 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. 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. Paroled in 1952, Liston quickly captured the local Golden Gloves championship. 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. 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.. We are all related! His epitaph reads: A Man.. Sonny Liston lost his title to the little known Cassius Clay in the seventh round in February 1964. During that same period, he got married (in 1957 to Geraldine Clark), moved from St. Louis to Philadelphia, and was questioned by a congressional committee about the takeover of his management by mob elements in 1960. American professional boxer who became world heavyweight champion in 1962, Born on May 08, 1932 Liston was beholdin' to the mob and everybody knew it. 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. It was there in Sand Slough that Charles L. Liston was born, on the 50 acres that Tobe rented from the Man.". Tosches is admirably objective in his presentation of Liston. Even as champion, Liston was never able to escape his prison beginnings or the allegations of mob connections. He quickly learned how to box and within three years was fighting on the amateur circuit. Following his release from the workhouse, Liston quickly returned to the ring against Hunter and got his career back on track. Sonny had to put the proper face forward to the public. 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. From the start, it was apparent that he had a future in the ring. Womanizing. After the court case, he was sentenced to a five-year jail term in the Missouri State Prison. The son of tenant farmer Tobey Liston and his second wife, Helen, Liston was the 24th of his fathers 25 children. With Cus DAmato as his coach, Liston reigned as champion for seventeen months. He knocked out the reigning world champion in the first round. 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. In the end, one can't help feeling some sympathy for Liston. Sand Slough, Arkansas, United States of America, Sonny Liston is still regarded as the best heavyweight boxer with a taste of violence. He was accused of stealing an officers gun. As a young man in 1949, Liston left Arkansas for good and followed his mother's footsteps to St. Louis.
