In defending himself against bullies, he discovered his interest in boxing. His final professional record stood at 174 recorded bouts, 145 wins with 98 by knockout. Five-time middleweight champion of the world, Sugar Ray Robinson is remembered as the greatest boxer ever, Patterson, Floyd 1935 Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henry-armstrong. He won 14 fights before bypassing the lightweight title and challenging welterweight champion Barney Ross for his crown on May 31, 1938. On May 31, 1938, he took the welterweight (147-pound) championship from Barney Ross by decision, and, on August 17 of that year, he defeated Lou Ambers by decision to win the lightweight (135-pound) title. 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. It was one of only two knockouts Armstrong would suffer in his career. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1937. Like his mother, his grandmother hoped that he would pursue a career in the ministry. Twenty-six of the bouts were ended by a knockout, including that of Sarron in their 126-pound fight. He was managed by Wirt Ross, Eddie Mead, jazz singer Al Jolson and Hollywood actor George Raft. 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. var navgalleryover = new Image(); The event is even more special for Davis. Henry Armstrong. He finally relinquished his welterweight title to Fritzie Zivic by unanimous decision after 15 thrilling rounds. After his death, his heart was found to be one-third larger than average. Full Q\u0026A episode here: https://youtu.be/KULHRj7H9l0**** Teddy's Audiobook Now Available. Al Silvani. His debut as an 18-year-old pro was inauspicious, as he was knocked out in the third round by Al Iovino on July 27, 1931, in Pennsylvania. Although Armstrong was outweighed by at least 15 pounds by Ross, he dominated their fight in Madison Square Garden, pounding the champion unmercifully for 11 rounds. He teamed up with -- and took the surname of -- a trainer and former boxer named Henry Armstrong. ." var navpostcardcold = new Image(); 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. He suffered his first loss in his professional debut against Al Lovino via 3rd round KO. Desiring to help at-risk youth, he created the Henry Armstrong Youth Foundation and funded the organization from the profits of two books he wrote: Twenty Years of Poem, Moods, and Mediations (1954) and his autobiography, Gloves, Glory, and God (1956). Info Share. His mother, America (Armstrong) Jackson was an Iroquois Indian. Having gained the fame and fortune that was his goal as a young man working on the railroad, Armstrong was able to produce and star in an autobiographical movie, Keep Punching, released in 1939. October 30, 1939: Armstrong successfully defends the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles against Bobby Pacho, winning the fight via 4th round TKO. After he retired, Armstrong overcame alcoholism. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 54.6%. Late in 1938 he resigned the featherweight championship without having defended it, and on August 22, 1939, he lost the lightweight crown in a 15-round return fight with Ambers. Intelligent and articulate, he turned to preaching and was ordained a Baptist minister in 1951. In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he lost two four-round decisions in a row to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Henry Armstrong (1887 - Unknown) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. He tried for a fourth world title in middleweight but drew with champion Ceferino Garcia. American boxer Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, American National Biography, Volume 1. out - if he didn't manage that, he certainly battered him thoroughly His father, Henry Jackson, Sr., was a sharecropper and a butcher. Henry Armstrong (1912-1988) became the first boxer in history to hold world titles in three separate weight classes at the same time. Armstrong had 22 losses. Upon his return, he became a boxing manager for a time, but his increasing use of alcohol led to his arrest in Los Angeles. Career record 151-21-9 with 101 knockouts (Third All-Time behind Archie Moore & Sugar Ray Robinson) He was born Henry Jackson, Jr. on December 12, 1912, in Columbus, Mississippi. In 1954 he became a charter member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, inducted in its opening year along with Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey. Armstrong had his cornermen remove his mouthpiece so he could swallow the blood flowing in his mouth the last five rounds. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. GET IN TOUCH WITH A RECORD SPECIALIST (Opens in a new window), How to set or break a Guinness World Records title. . Home; . He finally did beat Zivic, by decision in 1942, but Zivic was no longer champ. Herb Goldman ranked Armstrong as the #4 All-Time Lightweight; He was inducted into the Ring Boxing The streak finally ended when Arizmendi lasted ten rounds before losing a decision to Armstrong in their fourth fight. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. His father, also named Henry, was a mix of Indian, Irish and black blood. Corrections? He made $35 for his pro debut, and was knocked out in three rounds. 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. Bernard Hopkins has been nicknamed the Executioner for the way he dispatches opponents and for the way he enters the rin, Henrquez y Carvajal, Francisco (18591935), Henry Cogswell College: Narrative Description, Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, Henry Ford Community College: Distance Learning Programs, Henry Ford Community College: Narrative Description, Henry Ford Community College: Tabular Data, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henry-armstrong. Ill prepared and undernourished, Armstrong lost his first professional fight by a knockout. var navathletesover = new Image(); He returned to St. Louis in 1972 to become the director of the Herbert Hoover Boys Club. He lost by knockout only two times in his 15 years of boxing. [1] In 2007, The Ring ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of the last 80 years. Velma Tartt was a former girlfriend from his high school days. He gained fame in 1938 when he reigned as featherweight, lightweight and welterweight champion. He died on October 24, 1988 at the age of 75 years. In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he lost two four-round decisions in a row to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. Armstrong's attempt to win a world title in a fourth division was frustrated. To pursue his third title, Armstrong dropped back a weight class to compete as a lightweight. document[imgName].src = eval(imgName + 'cold.src'); Henry Armstrong now had one win and three losses in four pro fights. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995. These 11 fights are the highlight of his career. The current phone number is (214) 444-3246. Armstrong was the first boxer ever to hold world championships in three different weight divisions at the same time. 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. $57k AVERAGE INCOME Our wealth data indicates income average is $57k. Early in his career he boxed under the name Melody Jackson. . His last professional fight was a non-title rematch against Chester Slider at 32 years of age, on February 14, 1945. 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. There are 1 person related to this person in our records. In the same year, he fought for an unprecedented fourth title in the middleweight division, but lost to Ceferina Garcia in a controversial decision. 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. Small in stature, he was often the target for teasing. Henry W. "Harry" Armstrong (July 22, 1879 - February 28, 1951). Hall of Fame in 1954 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Armstrong defended his Lightweight belt in a rematch with Ambers, which he lost on a 15-round decision. Alternate titles: Henry Jackson, Melody Jackson. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. But there was a sensitive side, too, as he showed at his high school graduation when he read an original poem. Fleischer ranked him as the #8 All-Time Welterweight; 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. Davis is excited to fight in his hometown. Pulled from our recent Q\u0026A with Teddy Atlas, Teddy shares why Henry Armstrong is the greatest boxer of all time. We encourage . His professio, Hopkins, Bernard 1965 Henry Armstrong's professional boxing career spanned more than 13 years from 1931 to 1945. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. In 2007, The Ring ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of the last 80 years. 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 . PEARL, Miss. Updates? Armstrong made his professional boxing debut at the age of 18 on July 27, 1931. After winning his second pro fight by decision, he moved to Los Angeles with Harry Armstrong.Once in Los Angeles, he decided to return to the amateur ranks. Encyclopedia of World Biography. The fight lasted 15 rounds. He defeated Sarron via 6th round KO to become the featherweight champion of the world. Well aware that his meager pay would never be sufficient to attend college, Armstrong's life changed one day when the sports section of a discarded newspaper landed at his feet. Armstrong fought as an amateur from 1929 to 1932. Im defending my belt, I think this is about my fourth time to defend this title, and it just means so much for me, Sims said. The next year was an incredible one for Armstrong as he fought 27 times -- and won all of them. ESPN ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time. FacebookTwitterYouTubeInstagramLinkedInSnapchatPinterestTiktok, Registered Office: Ground Floor, The Rookery, 2 Dyott Street, London, WC1A 1DE, United Kingdom, Otto - Longest human tunnel travelled through by a skateboarding dog, Ashrita Furman - Most Guinness World Records titles held. Having competed as a featherweight at 126 pounds, Armstrong had to increase his weight to 138 pounds in order to qualify to fight in the welterweight division. existed; At the beginning, his performance was rather good but not After several more amateur fights, Armstrong moved to Pittsburgh to pursue a professional career. After retiring from boxing, Armstrong became an ordained Baptist minister, working with disadvantaged youth. By his last professional fight on February 14, 1945, Armstrong's boxing record stood at 151-22-10 (100 KO wins, 2 KO losses). With his aggressive attitude and incessant windmill style, he was all over opponents, as evidenced by his 101 knockouts and. . Armstrong worked on his athletic abilities, often running the eight miles to school. if (document.images) { All but one of his defences were in the USA. if (document.images) The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1940. Henry Armstrong. He was born in Columbus, Mississippi on December 12, 1912. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Securing a contract with Cox for three dollars, he had almost 100 amateur fights, in which he won more than half by knockout and lost none. In 1931 Armstrong, accompanied by Harry Armstrong, hopped trains to Los Angeles to restart his amateur career. Copyright 2023 WLBT. He defended his welterweight title a total of nineteen times. worldCharley Rose ranked Armstrong as the #6 All-Time Welterweight; Nat Henry W. Armstrong (July 22, 1879 - February 28, 1951) was an American boxer, booking agent, producer, singer, pianist, and Tin Pan Alley composer. 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.