He was a 3-weight-class world champion. Henry Armstrong. . He finally did beat Zivic, by decision in 1942, but Zivic was no longer champ. He is the only boxer to this day who simultaneously held three world boxing titles - in Featherweight, Lightweight, and welterweight champion in 1938. He was 27-0 with 26 knockouts in 1937, 14-0 with 10 knockouts in 1938, and 59-1-1 with 51 knockouts from December 1936 to October 1940. navcontributeover.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_contribute_over.gif"; Armstrong fought as an amateur from 1929 to 1932. After that, he concentrated once again on defending the world Welterweight title. 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 23-year-old boxer was raised in Pearl, but is from Columbus. One of the greatest fighters in history, Hurricane Hank is the only fighter to hold 3 world Championships simultaneously. Referee Arthur Donovan took five rounds away from Armstrong for low blows. "Henry Armstrong," Newsmakers 1989, Issue 4. He grew up in, Frazier, Joe 1944 Manage Settings 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. In a publicity stunt, Jolson and Mead falsely advertised the buy-out price as $10,000. Taking away Lou Ambers' lightweight crown on Aug. 17, 1938 in Madison Square Garden proved more difficult. He became known for his whirlwind combination of constant movement and knockout punches, earning him numerous new nicknames, including Homicide Hank, Perpetual Motion, and Hurricane Henry. After he retired, Armstrong overcame alcoholism. The road to becoming a champion was not entirely smooth. www.martialbot.com/boxing/h/henry-armstrong.html. On March 1, 1940, in Los Angeles, Armstrong sought to become the first-ever four-division champion when he attempted to wrest the middleweight crown from Ceferino Garcia, whom he had decisioned in a welterweight defense in 1938. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Boxing as a featherweight, he gained quite a bit of experience from 1933 to 1935, fighting 46 times, mostly in California and Mexico. A Who's Who of Sports Champions: Their Stories and Records. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. Armstrong fared even worse in their rematch in 1941, suffering a 12th-round TKO. Like his mother, his grandmother hoped that he would pursue a career in the ministry. High School Career. William Henry Armstrong. document[imgName].src = eval(imgName + 'cold.src'); Joe Frazier had many moments in boxing history. Oxford University Press, 1999. November 25, 1938: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles against Ceferino Garcia, winning the fight via 15 round unanimous decision. He became a born-again Christian and an ordained Baptist minister and youth advocate, helping to run the Herbert Hoover Boys Club. Intelligent and articulate, he turned to preaching and was ordained a Baptist minister in 1951. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. function inact(imgName) { //]]>. [16] He returned to settle again in St. Louis, Missouri where, apart from the ceremonies and galas that he attended afterward, he led a quiet retirement. On August 22, 1939, he lost his lightweight title in a rematch with Ambers, and in 1940 he defended his welterweight crown six times before losing the title to Fritzie Zivic on October 4, 1940. Please be sure to subscribe! "I was asked to do it, and he thanked me. That fight, before 29,088 fans at Yankee Stadium, was another brawl as the fighters pounded each other for 15 rounds. After 152 victories in 14 years, Armstrong retired in 1945. Comments below may relate to previous holders of this record. However, upon his retirement he found the vast majority of his money had been lost to bad investments, management fees, and extravagant spending habits. Velma Tartt was a former girlfriend from his high school days. navathletesover.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_athletes_over.gif"; Armstrong had his cornermen remove his mouthpiece so he could swallow the blood flowing in his mouth the last five rounds. He also continued his ministry as an assistant pastor of the First Baptist Church. 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. In the same year, he fought for an unprecedented fourth title in the middleweight division, but lost to Ceferina Garcia in a controversial decision. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. ." Omissions? Deceased : October 22, 1988. in the mid 1930s, Armstrong was as good as anyone has ever var navgallerycold = new Image(); After his death, his heart was found to be one-third larger than average. Sims is 9-1 in his professional boxing career, with five knockouts in his nine wins. After retiring from boxing in 1946, Armstrong briefly opened a Harlem nightclub, the Melody Room (named after his first nickname). He quit his job working for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad, figuring he could make his fortune fighting for pay. ." Lightweight, Featherweight - in a period when only eight weight divisions We encourage . 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. December 5, 1938: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles against Al Manfredo, winning the fight via 3rd round TKO. Henry Armstrong. As an amateur Armstrong fought under the name of Melody Jackson. He was the son of Henry Jackson Sr., a sharecropper of African American descent and America Jackson, said to be a "full-blooded" Iroquois. March 4, 1939: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles against Bobby Pacho, winning the fight via 4th round TKO. He kayoed Baby Casanova in three rounds, Belloise in four, Joe Rivers in three, former world champion Frankie Klick in four, and former world champion Benny Bass in four. Encyclopedia.com. Returning to St. Louis, he founded the Henry Armstrong Youth Foundation and directed the Herbert Hoover Boys Club. His official record was 152 wins, 21 losses and 9 draws, with 101 knockout wins.[10]. Twenty-six of the bouts were ended by a knockout, including that of Sarron in their 126-pound fight. After losing his first two professional fights in Los Angeles, Armstrong began to consistently win his bouts. Davis is excited to fight in his hometown. Professional boxer, entertainer, businessman } But 1938 was an even better year for Armstrong, as he took the two more championships. We have 458 records for Henry Armstrong ranging in age from 31 years old to 97 years old. 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. Armstrong was the first boxer ever to hold world championships in three different weight divisions at the same time. Armstrong was inducted into Ring magazines Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954. Armstrong was the only boxer to hold world titles in three different weight divisions simultaneously, and all three titles were . African-American Sports Greats: A Biographical Dictionary. sensational; However, when he hit stride The current phone number is (214) 444-3246. been; During 1937, he was 27-0 with 26 knockouts; In 1938, he was 14-0 Henry Armstrong, original name Henry Jackson, (born December 12, 1912, Columbus, Mississippi, U.S.died October 24, 1988, Los Angeles, California), American boxer, the only professional boxer to hold world championship titles in three weight divisions simultaneously. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Armstrong worked on his athletic abilities, often running the eight miles to school. After a brief third marriage, Armstrong married his fourth wife, Gussie Henry, in 1978. var navpostcardover = new Image(); Skip Ancestry main menu Main Menu. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. [2] Historian Bert Sugar also ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of all time. He defended his welterweight title a total of nineteen times. Death 9 Feb 1870 - null. He was the first boxer to hold three different titles simultaneously. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. var navathletescold = new Image(); 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 Encyclopedia of World Biography. His early childhood was spent on a plantation owned by Armstrong's grandfather, an Irishman who had married one of his slaves. 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. Encyclopedia of World Biography. navathletescold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_athletes_cold.gif"; 149-21-9 (100 KO) Armstrong was dynamite in a small package; He was a high pressure, non-stop fighter who threw punches from the beginning to the end of every round; His goal was to knock his man out - if he didn't manage that, he certainly battered him thoroughly. In 2007, The Ring ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of the last 80 years. In 1990 his name was added posthumously to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Henry held three world titles - Welterweight, He graduated as an honor student from Vashon High School in St. Louis[9] Later he took the surname Armstrong as his fighting name. 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. Following these two losses, however, he started a streak of 11 wins.In 1936, Armstrong split his time among Los Angeles, Mexico City and St. Louis. 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. He did manage to win his second fight on points; however, he decided to return to St. Louis. [citation needed], In 1945, Armstrong retired from boxing. Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, American National Biography, Volume 1. Five-time middleweight champion of the world, Sugar Ray Robinson is remembered as the greatest boxer ever, Patterson, Floyd 1935 "Henry Armstrong He and Willa Mae Shony had one daughter, Lanetta. Henry J Armstrong is thirty-eight. Career record 151-21-9 with 101 knockouts (Third All-Time behind Archie Moore & Sugar Ray Robinson) "I carried him the last four rounds," Armstrong said. Armstrong lost weight in order to compete in the lower weight division, and beat World Lightweight Champion Lou Ambers by split decision. Two boxers from the Pearl Boxing Club will be fighting in the event: Chown Chop Chop Sims, and Keshaun Big Baby Davis. 1913-1998 This fight is the second best . December 12, 1912October 22, 1988 Born in Columbus, Mississippi, on December 12, 1912, boxer Henry Armstrong became the featherweight, welterweight and lightweight world champion in 1938. American boxer A victory would have given Armstrong a fourth divisional title at a time when there were only eight weight divisions.Armstrong defended the World Welterweight Championship a division record 19 times. ", Ten weeks later, Armstrong's fight with Ambers was a war. Born Henry Jackson, Jr., on December 12, 1912, in Columbus, Mississippi, Armstrong was the eleventh of the family's 15 children. Gale Research, 1989. http://www.galenet.com(December 13, 2000). The final title bout of his career was a failed attempt to regain the lightweight title in a rematch with Zivic on January 17, 1941.
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