BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Charles L. "Sonny" Liston c. 1932 – December 30, 1970 was an American professional boxer known for his toughness, punching power and intimidating appearance, who became World Heavyweight Champion in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round. Liston failed to live up to his fearsome reputation in an unsuccessful defense of the title against Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali);
underworld connections and an early death—along with his unrecorded
date of birth—added to the enigma. He is ranked number 15 in
The Ring magazine's 100 Greatest Punchers of All Time.
There is no record of Liston's birth. He once gave an age compatible
with his being born in 1928, but is said to be absent from the 1930 United States Census.
Listed in the 1940 Census as being born in 1929 or 1930,
it has been suggested he may not have known what year he was born.
Liston settled on a date of birth of May 8, 1932, for official
purposes, but by the time he won the world title an aged appearance
added credence to rumors that he was several years older than claimed.
Charles "Sonny" Liston was born into a sharecropping family who farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas.
His father, Tobe Liston, had been a widower in his fifties who had
already fathered twelve children with his first wife when he and
16-year-old Helen Baskin moved to Arkansas from Mississippi in 1916; they had 13 children together. Sonny is believed to have been the penultimate child and youngest son.
Liston's father inflicted whippings so severe that the scars were still visible decades later.
Helen Baskin moved to St. Louis
with some of her children, leaving Liston—aged around 13, according to
his later reckonings—in Arkansas with his father. Liston thrashed the
pecans from his brother-in-law's tree and sold them in Forrest City.
With the proceeds he traveled to St. Louis and reunited with his mother
and siblings. Liston tried going to school but quickly left after jeers
about his illiteracy; the only employment he could obtain was sporadic
and exploitative.
He turned to crime and led a gang of toughs who carried out muggings
and robberies, often wearing a favorite shirt, and he became known to
St. Louis PD as the "Yellow Shirt Bandit". In January 1950, he was
caught after a gratuitously violent robbery.
He was convicted and, in June 1950, sentenced to five years in Missouri State Penitentiary. He gave his age as 20 years old; the
St. Louis Globe-Democrat said he was 22.
He also served a prison sentence for assaulting a police officer.
Liston never complained about prison, saying he was guaranteed three meals every day.
The athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary,
Father Alois Stevens, suggested to Liston he try boxing and his obvious
aptitude, along with an endorsement from the priest, aided Liston in
getting an early parole. Father Stevens organized a sparring session
with a former pro light-heavyweight to showcase Liston's potential.
After two rounds the ex-pro had taken enough. "Better get me out of this
ring, he is going to kill me!" he exclaimed.
On Halloween night in 1952, Liston was paroled. Much was later made of
his being controlled by criminals. However, according to the priest who
interested him in boxing, underworld figures became his management
simply because they were the only ones willing to put up the necessary
money.
After he was released from prison on October 31, 1952, Liston had a
brief amateur career that spanned less than a year. He won several
amateur tournaments, including the Golden Gloves, which was his first. One of his opponents was Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders
in Chicago, whom he beat. This win put him into the national finals in
March 1953, where he beat the respected New Yorker Julius Griffin,
despite being dropped in round one.
Liston then entered the 1953 AAU event, but he lost in the quarter-finals to 17-year-old Jimmy Carter, whom he would later employ as a sparring partner. In the Kiel Auditorium
in June 1953, Liston fought a boxer from a touring Western European
side, Hermann Schreibauer, who only weeks earlier had won a bronze medal
in the European Championships.
Liston knocked him out 2:16 into round 1. At this time the head coach
of the St. Louis Golden Gloves team Tony Anderson commented Liston was
the strongest fighter he had ever seen.
Liston signed his professional contract in September 1953, only
exclaiming during the signing, "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do."
Liston made his professional debut on September 2, 1953, knocking out
Don Smith in the first round in St. Louis, where he fought his first
five bouts. Although he was dubbed the "Big Bear,"
at 6 ft ½ in (1.84 m) Liston was not a particularly tall heavyweight,
but was exceptionally powerful with a disproportionately long reach. His
noticeably more muscular left arm and crushing left jab, and his left
hook was his most powerful big punch, all lent credence to the widely
held belief that he was left-handed but utilized an orthodox stance. Early in his career, Liston faced capable opponents. In his 6th bout, in Detroit, Michigan, Liston faced John Summerlin (19-1-2) on national television and won an eight-round decision. He later beat Summerlin in a rematch. His next bout was against Marty Marshall,
a journeyman with an awkward style. In the third round, Marshall
managed to hit Liston, reportedly while he was laughing, and broke his
jaw. A stoic Liston finished the fight but lost the decision.
In 1955, he won six fights, five by knockout,
including a rematch with Marshall, whom he knocked out in six rounds
after first getting knocked down himself. A rubber match with Marshall
in early 1956 saw Liston the winner in a ten-round decision. Liston's
criminal record, compounded by a personal association with a notorious
labor racketeer, led to the police stopping him on sight, and he began
to avoid main streets. In May he injured a police officer who, Liston
claimed, had used racial slurs, and a widely publicized account of
Liston resisting arrest even after nightsticks were allegedly broken
over his skull was later to aid public perceptions of him as a
nightmarish 'monster' who was impervious to punishment. He was paroled
after serving six months of a nine-month sentence and prohibited from
boxing during 1957. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis
police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia.
In 1958, he returned to boxing, winning eight fights that year.
The year 1959 was a banner one for Liston: after knocking out contender Mike DeJohn in six, he then faced No. 1 challenger Cleveland Williams,
a huge (for the era) fast-handed fighter who was billed as the
hardest-hitting heavyweight in the world. Against Williams, Liston
showed remarkable durability and punching power. He also revealed
heretofore-unsuspected boxing skills, nullifying Williams' best work
before stopping him in the third round of an "incredible" contest that
many still regard as his most impressive performance. He rounded out the
year by stopping Nino Valdez, also in three.
In 1960, Liston won five more fights, including a rematch with
Williams who lasted only two rounds. Liston's imposing appearance was
artificially enhanced with towels under his robe at referee's
instructions; opponents would often be "psyched out" by the impact of
his massive physique and baleful gaze. Roy Harris had gone 13 rounds with Patterson in a title match, Liston crushed him in one round. Top contender Zora Folley was stopped in three rounds and the run of knock outs led to Liston being touted as a 'champion in waiting'.
In a
Sports Illustrated
profile of Liston at this time it was opined that he was rather
ponderous, relied too much on his ability to take a punch and could be
vulnerable to an opponent with more hand speed.
Liston's next opponent was skilled and seasoned Eddie Machen
whose mobility enabled him to go the distance despite taunting and
provoking throughout their bout. However Machen's spoiling tactics of
dodging and grappling (at one point almost heaving Liston over the
ropes) so alienated the audience that Liston received unaccustomed
support from the crowd.
Prior to his bout with Liston, Ali consulted Machen and was advised
that that the key to success was to make Liston lose his temper.
After years of being ducked Liston was indisputably the number-one contender, but the handlers of world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson
further stalled a match for the title, ostensibly because of Liston's
links to organized crime. Civic leaders were also reluctant, worrying
that Liston's unsavory character would set a bad example to youth. Jack Dempsey
spoke for many when he was quoted as saying Sonny Liston should not be
allowed to fight for the title. Liston angrily responded by questioning
whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to
moralize.
Frustrated, Liston changed his management and applied pressure through
the media by remarking that Patterson (who had faced only white
challengers since becoming champion) was drawing the color line against
his own race.
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