[66], Former champions Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Floyd Patterson and Gene Tunney, as well as contender George Chuvalo all declared they considered the fight to be a fake. Also in 1953, Winthrop Rockefellerwho was known as a playboy and hard drinkermoved from Florida and New York to Arkansas. Anti-communist riots took part in Budapest, Hungary. The country of Belgian Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960 to become simply the Congo. Coke hired Paula Abdul, while Pepsi had Michael Jackson. "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. Shaun Assael. The Soviet Union made the mistake of walking out on the U.N. vote, allowing the measure to pass. [43] A month later, Liston was accused of impersonating a police officer by using a flashlight to wave down a female motorist in Fairmount Park, although all charges were later dropped. Many N.Y. citizens deemed him a hero. In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. He also wrote that Liston's win over Patterson proved that "in a fair fight between good and evil, evil must win." They were captured and he was executed in 1959. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. [30] Before his bout with Liston, Muhammad Ali consulted Machen and was advised that the key to survival was to make Liston lose his temper. [101], Liston played a fist fighter in the 1965 film Harlow, made a cameo appearance in the 1968 film Head, which starred The Monkees, and played the part of The Farmer in the 1970 film Moonfire, which starred Richard Egan and Charles Napier. He returned with four consecutive knockout victories in Sweden between July 1966 and April 1967, all four co-promoted by former world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson. Sonny was one of 25 children of a sharecropper in Arkansas. The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. The fad peaked and died out quickly. The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. He also took his gun. Unfortunately, inadequate tests were performed to assess the drug's safety. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me. He became involved in political activism and led the revolution to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Ironically, the Afghan rebels later used the arms supplied by the U.S. to fight the Americans. In the same stadium where Joe Louis forty years before washed clean the sins of Jack Johnson, Sonny Liston rekindled the flame of hatred that had burned so brightly in opposition to Jack Johnson that a quarter century passed before a black was . This was significant because this was Patterson's first time getting a knockout loss on his record. But he also started to separate from the Nation of Islam and its radical views. Thalidomide was a medication intended for pregnant women to combat morning sickness and as an aid to help them sleep. Fidel Castro's 1960 Address to the U.N. General Assembly. Later, it was found that he confessed his guilt to his brother, who visited him in jail. On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston. He moved toward orthodox Islam and started to champion economic and social equality for blacks. Philadelphia wanted nothing to do with him. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. [36], Jack Dempsey spoke for many when he was quoted as saying that Sonny Liston should not be allowed to fight for the title. Liston knocked out Patterson in the first round, gaining the title of World Heavyweight Champion. But upon arrival, Liston was met by only a handful of reporters and public-relations staff. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. In his sixth bout, he faced ranked heavyweight Johnny Summerlin (18-1-2) on national television and won in an eight-round decision. The fight lasted four seconds longer than the first one. The most famous "space monkey" was Ham, who was sent up in an American space satellite for a suborbitalflight, as a prelude to sending a man in space. Sonny Liston, I think was possibly the greatest intimidator of all time. On July 28, 1963, Liston joined a group of 500 African Americans in Denver who marched to a post office to mail letters urging the Colorado congressional delegation to pass the Kennedy administration's civil rights package. The United States had been sending the secret U-2 high-flying spy plane over the Soviet Union to take pictures and gather information, when one was shot down by a Russian missile. The Devil and Sonny Liston. This is a modern history podcast inspired by the lyrics of Billy Joel. Nikita Khrushchev emerged as a leader in the Soviet Union after the death of dictator Josef Stalin. He dropped his "slave name" and changed his name to Malcolm X. Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States.Sonny Liston challenges F. Authorities theorized that he was undressing for bed when he fell over backward with such force that he broke the rail of the bench. Liston beats Patterson. Actress Grace Kelly left Hollywood to marry Prince Ranier of Monaco. The year 1959 was a banner one for Liston: after knocking out contender Mike DeJohn in six rounds he faced Cleveland Williams, a fast-handed fighter who was billed as the hardest-hitting heavyweight in the world against whom he showed durability, power and skill, nullifying Williams' best work before stopping him in the third round. Tosches, Nick (2000). He also had a reputation for bullying people such as porters and waitresses. [10] His family, but not one Charles (or Sonny) Liston, can be found in the 1930 census, and in the 1940 census he was listed as 10 years old. The United States exploded the first H-bomb and a few years later the Soviet Union then exploded their version of the bomb. History. Unfortunately for Martin, however, his career ended after that fight due to a detached retina he suffered during the bout. A major problem with them was drug addiction or alcoholism. But as it approached, there were fears that the promoters were tied to organized crime and Massachusetts officials, most notably Suffolk County District Attorney Garrett H. Byrne, began to have second thoughts. Sept. 25, 1962 - With an arrest record as long as his list of knockout victims, Sonny Liston was . (Wikipedia has the lyrics without the comma)). The lyrics to the song We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel list historical personalities and events from 1949 until 1989. To this day, I'm convinced that's what the coroner saw in his examthat hospital needle mark. [93] Liston had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains. [79][80][81] These include Muhammad Ali, who stated in a 1975 interview that he was a great admirer of Liston's talents: "Liston had a tremendous jab, could punch with either hand, was smart in the ring and as strong as any heavyweight Ive ever seen. It's because they think it's a fix, that the mob's somehow involves. Patterson had two years on Liston, while Liston was one inch taller than Patterson, and much heavier. Ham was not really a monkey, but a chimpanzee. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. He was strongly anti-American and anti-British, confiscating much of the British and American-owned assets in Argentina. Former champions James J. Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. During the Cold War the European and Asian states under Soviet influence were known as the Communist Bloc (or the Eastern or Soviet bloc). Once he went down, I got excited. After leaving prison, he worked for the Nation of Islamalso called the Black Muslims in the popular press. A compelling public speaker, Malcolm X gained publicity for the Nation of Islam and their concepts that whites were "devils" and that separatism was the best for his people. The novelty song The Ballad of Davy Crockett became the number-one song in 1955. Filmed documentaries of the event circulated in Commonwealth countries for a long time after the event and every school child was taken to organized cinema screenings in school time. [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union was the very first woman in space in 1963, orbiting the Earth 48 times. He had a whiplash, so they took him to the hospital," said boxing trainer Johnny Tocco. A young woman, Marion Craneplayed by Janet Leighsteals some money from work and leaves town, getting a room at the Bates Motel. He was popularly known for aphorisms, such as "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the bend of Liston's left elbow. He was a top star in 1949 and 1950 with his other hit songs The Little White Cloud that Cried and Walking in the Rain. "[59], Liston is ranked second in the ESPN.com list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History. [50] The vaccine to the dreaded disease polio was discovered by Jonas Salk and distributed to the world. ", (Thanks to Glenn Todd for providing that aphorism). Rogin called Liston's physique "awesomearms like fence posts, thighs like silos." A potent form of the highly addictive drug cocaine called "crack" or "rock" had been rapidly spreading in the United States, especially in troubled neighborhoods. Liston decked Martin with a left hook in the fourth round and dominated most of the fight, but Martin came back and knocked Liston out cold in the ninth round. "He said: 'Look what they did!' Banker later learned that the police told Liston the same thing to his face. Roy Cohn. America's first look at Liston since the Ali rematch was when he fought fifthranked Henry Clark in a nationally broadcast bout in July 1968. Juan Pern was a popular leader in Argentina, elected first in 1946 and then again in 1952. Under pressure from the United States the invaders left Egypt and a UN emergency force was sent to Egypt. [8][9], There is no official record of Liston's birth. "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. The case brought about the debate as to whether people have the right to take the law into their own hands. But according to Sonny's trainer, Johnny Tocco, once there, his path led to prison: "The right hand was the one I waited for," says McCarter. I know it", Liston said afterward. Singer Chubby Checker came out with the song The Twist, which started a national dance sensation. The United Nations entered the war to defend South Korea. U.S. President Eisenhower ordered U.S. Marines into Lebanon at the request of Lebanese President Chamoun to help stop riots that were occurring in the country.

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