Born into a poor family in Waco
, North Carolina, Patterson was the youngest of eleven children and experienced an insular and troubled childhood. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Floyd was a truant and petty thief. At age ten, he was sent to the Wiltwyck School for Boys, a reform school in upstate New York,
which he credited with turning his life around. He stayed there for
almost 2 years. He attended high school in New Paltz, NY where he
succeeded in all sports.(to this day the New Paltz football field is
named in his honor) At age fourteen, he started to box, trained by Cus D'Amato at his Gramercy Gym. Aged just 17, Patterson won the Gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a middleweight. 1952 turned out to be a good year for the young Patterson; in addition to Olympic gold Patterson won the National Amateur Middleweight Championship and New York Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship.
- Defeated Omar Tebakka (France) 3-0
- Defeated Leonardus Jansen (Netherlands) TKO 1
- Defeated Stig Sjölin (Sweden) DQ 3
- Defeated Vasile Tiţă (Romania) KO 1
Patterson's amateur record over 44 fights was 40-4, with 37 knockouts.
Patterson carried his hands higher than most boxers, in front of his face. Sportswriters called Patterson's style a "peek-a-boo" stance.
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