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. American boxer and television commentator. Garcia retained the title with a draw, but most at ringside felt that Armstrong had won. Armstrong starred in the feature film Keep Punching (1939) in 1939. Through 1937 Armstrong entered the ring 27 times, winning every fight and knocking out all but one of his opponents. Hickok, Ralph. He played a boxer named Henry "Little Dynamite" Jackson.In 1940, Armstrong challenged Ceferino Garca for a portion of the World Middleweight Championship. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. In 1936, entertainer Al Jolson and actor George Raft underwrote the purchase of Armstrong's managerial contract from Edward Mead.Armstrong knocked out Petey Sarron in six rounds in 1937 to win the World Featherweight Championship, and was named "The Ring Fighter of the Year in 1937. navpostcardcold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_postcard_cold.gif"; out - if he didn't manage that, he certainly battered him thoroughly American boxer Encyclopedia.com. October 9, 1939: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles against Al Manfredo, winning the fight via 4th round TKO. This fight is the second best . November 25, 1938: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles against Ceferino Garcia, winning the fight via 15 round unanimous decision. Encyclopedia.com. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Henry Armstrong (1887 - Unknown) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. Armstrong's mother died of consumption in 1918, leaving the six-year-old under the care of his paternal grandmother. But not for long. Henry Armstrong, who moved to St. Louis with his family as a youngster, was the only boxer ever to hold three world titles simultaneously. Armstrong's purses had totaled between $500,000 and $1 million, but most of the money was gone when the Hall of Famer retired at age 32. Armstrong retired from professional boxing with a record of 151-22-10, which included 100 knockout wins and two losses via knockout, and three title wins. . They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. He won 14 fights before bypassing the lightweight title and challenging welterweight champion Barney Ross for his crown on May 31, 1938. var navathletescold = new Image(); He died of heart failure on October 22, 1988 in Los Angeles. After he retired, Armstrong overcame alcoholism. His father, Henry Jackson, Sr., was a sharecropper and a butcher. navathletesover.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_athletes_over.gif"; That fight, before 29,088 fans at Yankee Stadium, was another brawl as the fighters pounded each other for 15 rounds. When Sims won the title in 20, he was the first Mississippi boxer to hold a title in more than 30 years, according to his coach, Bombay Higginbottom. Reading that a boxer named Kid Chocolate received $75,000 for one bout, Armstrong quickly abandoned his railroad job to pursue a career as a boxer. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. By the time Armstrong graduated from high school at the age of 17, the Great Depression had arrived. Oxford University Press, 1999. The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia. . 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. } 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. Birth abt 1887 - Iron Bridge, Shropshire, England. . Armstrong was the only boxer to hold world titles in three different weight divisions simultaneously, and all three titles were . October 13, 1939: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles against Howard Scott, winning the fight via 2nd round KO. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Professional Boxer. Armstrong defended his Lightweight belt in a rematch with Ambers, which he lost on a 15-round decision. Armstrong had a 151-21-9 record in his 15-year professional career. edited by David Crystal, Second edition. It is a testament to Sugar Ray Robinsons greatness as a boxer that when people discuss who was the, Sugar Ray Robinson Henry W. Armstrong (July 22, 1879 - February 28, 1951) was an American boxer, booking agent, producer, singer, pianist, and Tin Pan Alley composer. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisions: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. He also wrote the autobiographical God, Gloves, and Glory (1956). (February 23, 2023). Armstrong was in many ways the complete prototype of a pressure. He became a born-again Christian and an ordained Baptist minister and youth advocate, helping to run the Herbert Hoover Boys Club. 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. Manage Settings Standing five feet five and one half inches tall, Armstrong fought in the featherweight class. The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1940. Armstrong fought as an amateur from 1929 to 1932 and first won the featherweight (126-pound) title by knocking out Petey Sarron in six rounds on October 29, 1937. Research genealogy for Henry Armstrong of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, as well as other members of the Armstrong family, on Ancestry. It was one of only two knockouts Armstrong would suffer in his career. Armstrong fought as an amateur from 1929 to 1932. navathletescold.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_athletes_cold.gif"; The event is even more special for Davis. Full Q\u0026A episode here: https://youtu.be/KULHRj7H9l0**** Teddy's Audiobook Now Available. Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 - October 24, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong . if (document.images) October 29, 1937: Armstrong wins his first world titles by defeating Petey Sarron via 6th round KO. Armstrong sought to become the first boxer to win world titles in four different categories in a rematch with Garcia, already the World Middleweight Champion, but the fight ended in a ten-round draw. He quit his job working for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad, figuring he could make his fortune fighting for pay. His outstanding ring record was 151 wins, 21 defeats, and 9 draws with 101 knockouts. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. There he became involved in boxing. Referee Arthur Donovan took five rounds away from Armstrong for low blows. Henry Armstrong is a boxer from Mississippi and a world phenomenon in boxing. DISCLAIMER: Data may be outdated or incorrect, use at your own discretion. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"_9hAJy7CmJsKH07kPqMVqhJI9fwN_aHmPuAo7fcIZbM-86400-0"}; He met the minimum weight by upping his calorie intake, drinking beer the days before the bout and a lot of water on the day of weigh-in. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He officially turned pro a year later after failing to make the 1932 Olympic team, and he lost his first two fights, both four-round decisions in Los Angeles in 1932. Fighting true to form, Armstrong applied pressure throughout the bout. But there was a sensitive side, too, as he showed at his high school graduation when he read an original poem. To pursue his third title, Armstrong dropped back a weight class to compete as a lightweight. } [13], In 1938, Armstrong started his season with seven more knockouts in a row, including one over Chalky Wright, a future world champion. GET IN TOUCH WITH A RECORD SPECIALIST (Opens in a new window), How to set or break a Guinness World Records title. He tried for a fourth world title in middleweight but drew with champion Ceferino Garcia. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisions: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Al Silvani. var navathletesover = new Image(); 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. www.martialbot.com/boxing/h/henry-armstrong.html. Vashon High School (St. Louis, MO) . Armstrong started 1937 off with a string of 22 straight wins, en route to 27 total wins that year. His 1905 song "Nellie Dean" became the signature song of the British music hall singer Gertie Gitana , and a popular British pub song. He is the only boxer to this day who simultaneously held three world boxing titles - in Featherweight, Lightweight, and welterweight champion in 1938. $57k AVERAGE INCOME Our wealth data indicates income average is $57k. PEARL, Miss. As a youngster, he got into neighborhood street fights. That didn't surprise anybody in boxing. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. var navcontributeover = new Image(); Hall of Fame in 1954 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, American National Biography, Volume 1. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. When Cox sold his contract on Armstrong to Wirt Ross in 1932 for $250, Armstrong entered the professional ranks to stay. 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. On October 29, 1937, Armstrong returned to the featherweight division and challenged Petey Sarron for the . henry armstrong "homicide hank" 150 Wins 21 Losses 10 Draws 55.8% Stance: Orthodox Age: 113 Date Of Birth: 12 Dec 1909 Height: 5.45 ft (1.66 m) Reach: 66.93 inches (170 cm) Country: United States Universal ID : 8194 edit details henry armstrong opponents PTS Chester Slider (37-18-12) Wed, 14 Feb - 1945 round 10 of 10 . compiled a 59-1-1 record (51 KOs) competing against the best in the var navclassiccold = new Image(); He is currently ranked by BoxRec as the 12th greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time. To this day, he is the only boxer to . His final professional record stood at 174 recorded bouts, 145 wins with 98 by knockout. Armstrong had a 151-21-9 record in his 15-year professional career. Copyright 2023 WLBT. Taking away Lou Ambers' lightweight crown on Aug. 17, 1938 in Madison Square Garden proved more difficult. October 20, 1939: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles against Richie Fontaine, winning the fight via 3rd round TKO. Guinness World Records Kids (opens in a new window), GWR Merchandise Store (opens in a new window), Corporate Social Responsibility activities & fundraising ideas, Community engagement & tourism marketing activities. 26 of those wins came via knockouts. When the promoters postponed the bout for 10 days, Armstrong accepted Joe Louis's invitation to train at Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, with Louis paying for all expenses. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). In the same year, he fought for an unprecedented fourth title in the middleweight division, but lost to Ceferina Garcia in a controversial decision. [10], In 1936, Armstrong split his time among Los Angeles, Mexico City and St. Louis.
