Billy Conn

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox boxer William David Conn (October 8, 1917 – May 29, 1993) was an American professional boxer and Light Heavyweight Champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He had a professional boxing record of 63 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 14 wins by knockout. His nickname, throughout most of his career, was "The Pittsburgh Kid."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early careerEdit

Conn debuted as a professional boxer winning on July 20, 1934, against Johnny Lewis, via a knockout in round three.

Conn built a record of 47 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw (tie), with 7 knockouts, before challenging for the world Light Heavyweight title. Along the way, he beat former or future world champions Fritzie Zivic, Solly Krieger and Fred Apostoli, as well as Teddy Yarosz and Young Corbett III.

On July 13, 1939, he won the world light heavyweight championship by outpointing Melio Bettina in New York. Conn defended his title against Bettina and twice against another World Light Heavyweight Champion, Gus Lesnevich, winning each in 15-round decisions. Conn also beat former World Middleweight Champion Al McCoy and heavyweights Bob Pastor, Lee Savold, Gunnar Barlund and Buddy Knox in non-title bouts during his run as World Light Heavyweight Champion.

Joe Louis EraEdit

In May 1941, Conn gave up his World Light Heavyweight title to challenge World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis. Conn attempted to become the first World Light Heavyweight Champion in boxing history to win the World Heavyweight Championship when he and Louis met on June 18 of that year, and incredibly, to do so without going up in weight. The fight became part of boxing's lore because Conn held a secure lead on the scorecards leading to round 13. According to many experts and fans who watched the fight, Conn was outmaneuvering Louis up to that point. In a move that Conn would regret for the rest of his life, he tried to go for the knockout in round 13, and instead wound up losing the fight by knockout in that same round himself. Ten minutes after the fight, Conn told reporters, "I lost my head and a million bucks."<ref>Current Biography 1941 pp165-166</ref> When asked by a reporter why he went for the knockout, Conn replied famously, "What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick [i.e. stupid]?" In his long account in Sports Illustrated of the life and boxing career of Conn, sportswriter Frank Deford wrote that afterwards Conn would joke, "I told Joe later, 'Hey, Joe, why didn't you just let me have the title for six months?' All I ever wanted was to be able to go around the corner where the guys are loafing and say, 'Hey, I'm the heavyweight champeen of the world.' "And you know what Joe said back to me? He said, 'I let you have it for twelve rounds, and you couldn't keep it. How could I let you have it for six months?'"<ref name = FrankDeford1/>

In 1942, Conn beat Tony Zale and had an exhibition with Louis. World War II was at one of its most important moments, however, and both Conn and Louis were called to serve in the Army. Conn went to war and was away from the ring until 1946.

By then, the public was clamoring for a rematch between him and the still World Heavyweight Champion Louis. This happened, and on June 19, 1946, Conn returned into the ring, straight into a World Heavyweight Championship bout. Before that fight, it was suggested to Louis that Conn might outpoint him because of his hand and foot speed. In a line that would be long-remembered, Louis replied: "He can run, but he can't hide." The fight, at Yankee Stadium, was the first televised World Heavyweight Championship bout ever, and 146,000 people watched it on TV, also setting a record for the most seen world heavyweight bout in history. Most people who saw it agreed that both Conn and Louis' abilities had eroded with their time spent serving in the armed forces, but Louis was able to retain the crown by a knockout in round eight. Conn's career was basically over after this fight, but he still fought two more fights, winning both by knockout in round nine. On December 10, 1948, he and Louis met inside a ring for the last time, this time for a public exhibition in Chicago. Conn would never climb into a ring as a fighter again.

Personal lifeEdit

File:Billy and Mary Louise Conn.jpg

Conn and his wife Mary Louise, 1941

Billy married Mary Louise Smith, also from Pittsburgh.<ref name=FrankDeford1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Billy did not get along with Mary's father, former major league baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds, Jimmy "Greenfield Jimmie" Smith. A fight broke out between them and Conn punched his father-in-law in the head and broke his hand, resulting in postponing the fight with Joe Louis.Template:Which Frank Deford wrote colorfully about the kitchen brawl in his Sports Illustrated story "The Boxer and the Blonde".<ref name=FrankDeford2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

RetirementEdit

Conn appeared in a 1941 movie called The Pittsburgh Kid. He maintained his boxing skills into his later years, and at 73-year-old, he stepped into the middle of a robbery at a Pittsburgh convenience store in 1990 after the robber punched the store manager.<ref>https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-11-sp-578-story.html</ref> Conn took a swing at the robber and ended up on the floor of the store, scuffling with him. "You always go with your best punch—straight left," Conn told television station WTAE afterward. "I think I interrupted his plans." The robber managed to get away, but not before Conn pulled off his coat, which contained his name and address, making the arrest an easy one. His wife said jumping into the fray was typical of her husband. "My instinct was to get help," she said at the time. "Billy's instinct was to fight."

Conn was a great friend of Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney.

As he became an older citizen, he participated in a number of documentaries for HBO and was frequently seen at boxing-related activities until his death in 1993, at the age of 75.

Conn was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.

In April 2017 Mary Louise Conn died, at 94.

In popular cultureEdit

File:BillyConnBlvdPgh.jpg

Billy Conn Boulevard in Pittsburgh, PA

A portion of North Craig Street in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh is named Billy Conn Boulevard.
Billy Conn is mentioned in the classic movie On the Waterfront. In the famous scene in the back of the cab—"I could have been a contender." Rod Steiger (playing Marlon Brando's brother) reflects on Brando's character Terry's early promise as a boxer with the words "You could have been another Billy Conn."
Billy Conn is also mentioned in the 1966 Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau classic comedy movie The Fortune Cookie. In the apartment scene where Lemmon asks Boom Boom (Ron Rich) "Where'd you learn that? Don't tell me, your father was a Pullman porter", for which Boom Boom replies "He was a fighter, light heavyweight. Once went rounds with Billy Conn."
Conn played a character named Billy Conn in the 1941 film The Pittsburgh Kid, although it was not a biography.

Professional boxing recordEdit

Template:BoxingRecordSummary

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
76	Template:Yes2Win	64–11–1	Jackie Lyons	KO	9 (10)	Nov 25, 1948	Template:Small
75	Template:Yes2Win	63–11–1	Mike O'Dowd	TKO	9 (10)	Nov 15, 1948	Template:Small
74	Template:No2Loss	62–11–1	Joe Louis	KO	8 (15)	Jun 19, 1946	Template:Small	Template:Small
73	Template:Yes2Win	62–10–1	Tony Zale	UD	12	Feb 13, 1942	Template:Small
72	Template:Yes2Win	61–10–1	Jay D Turner	UD	10	Jan 28, 1942	Template:Small
71	Template:Yes2Win	60–10–1	Henry Cooper	UD	12	Jan 12, 1942	Template:Small
70	Template:No2Loss	59–10–1	Joe Louis	KO	13 (15)	Jun 18, 1941	Template:Small	Template:Small
69	Template:Yes2Win	59–9–1	Buddy Knox	TKO	8 (10)	May 26, 1941	Template:Small
68	Template:Yes2Win	58–9–1	Gunnar Bärlund	TKO	8 (10)	April 4, 1941	Template:Small
67	Template:Yes2Win	57–9–1	Danny Hassett	KO	5 (15)	Mar 5, 1941	Template:Small
66	Template:Yes2Win	56–9–1	Ira Hughes	TKO	4 (10)	Feb 27, 1941	Template:Small
65	Template:Yes2Win	55–9–1	Lee Savold	UD	10	Nov 29, 1940	Template:Small
64	Template:Yes2Win	54–9–1	Al McCoy	UD	10	Oct 18, 1940	Template:Small	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	53–9–1	Bob Pastor	KO	13 (15)	Sep 6, 1940	Template:Small
62	Template:Yes2Win	52–9–1	Gus Lesnevich	UD	15	Jun 5, 1940	Template:Small	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2Win	51–9–1	Henry Cooper	UD	12	Jan 10, 1940	Template:Small
60	Template:Yes2Win	50–9–1	Gus Lesnevich	UD	15	Nov 17, 1939	Template:Small	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2Win	49–9–1	Melio Bettina	UD	15	Sep 25, 1939	Template:Small	Template:Small
58	Template:Yes2Win	48–9–1	Gus Dorazio	TKO	8 (10)	Aug 14, 1939	Template:Small
57	Template:Yes2Win	47–9–1	Melio Bettina	UD	15	Jul 15, 1939	Template:Small	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2Win	46–9–1	Solly Krieger	UD	12	May 12, 1939	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2Win	45–9–1	Fred Apostoli	UD	15	Feb 10, 1939	Template:Small
54	Template:Yes2Win	44–9–1	Fred Apostoli	UD	10	Jan 6, 1939	Template:Small
53	Template:Yes2Win	43–9–1	Solly Krieger	UD	12	Nov 28, 1938	Template:Small
52	Template:Yes2Win	42–9–1	Honeyboy Jones	PTS	10	Oct 27, 1938	Template:Small
51	Template:Yes2Win	41–9–1	Ray Actis	TKO	8 (10)	Sep 14, 1938	Template:Small
50	Template:No2Loss	40–9–1	Teddy Yarosz	UD	12	Jul 25, 1938	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	40–8–1	Eric Seelig	MD	10	May 10, 1938	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	39–8–1	Domenico Ceccarelli	PTS	10	April 4, 1938	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	38–8–1	Honeyboy Jones	PTS	12	Jan 24, 1938	Template:Small
46	Template:No2Loss	37–8–1	Solly Krieger	UD	12	Dec 16, 1937	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	37–7–1	Young Corbett III	UD	10	Nov 8, 1937	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2Win	36–7–1	Teddy Yarosz	SD	15	Sep 30, 1937	Template:Small
43	Template:No2Loss	35–7–1	Young Corbett III	PTS	10	Aug 13, 1937	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	35–6–1	Ralph Chong	RTD	5 (10)	Aug 3, 1937	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	34–6–1	Teddy Yarosz	SD	12	Jun 30, 1937	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	33–6–1	Oscar Rankins	SD	10	May 27, 1937	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	32–6–1	Vince Dundee	UD	10	May 3, 1937	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	31–6–1	Eddie Babe Risko	UD	10	Mar 11, 1937	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	30–6–1	Fritzie Zivic	SD	10	Dec 28, 1936	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	29–6–1	Jimmy Brown	TKO	9 (10)	Dec 2, 1936	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	28–6–1	Ralph Chong	UD	8	Oct 22, 1936	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	27–6–1	Charley Weise	UD	10	Oct 19, 1936	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	26–6–1	Roscoe Manning	TKO	5 (10)	Sep 21, 1936	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	25–6–1	Honeyboy Jones	SD	10	Sep 8, 1936	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	24–6–1	Teddy Movan	UD	8	Aug 10, 1936	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	23–6–1	Teddy Movan	UD	8	Jul 30, 1936	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	22–6–1	General Burrows	UD	8	Jun 15, 1936	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	21–6–1	Honeyboy Jones	PTS	10	Jun 3, 1936	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	20–6–1	Honeyboy Jones	UD	8	May 27, 1936	Template:Small
26	Template:Yes2Win	19–6–1	Dick Ambrose	SD	6	May 19, 1936	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	18–6–1	General Burrows	PTS	6	April 27, 1936	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	17–6–1	Steve Nickleash	UD	6	April 13, 1936	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	16–6–1	Steve Nickleash	UD	6	Mar 16, 1936	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	15–6–1	Louis Cook	UD	8	Feb 17, 1936	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	14–6–1	Louis Cook	UD	6	Feb 3, 1936	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	13–6–1	Johnny Yurcini	TKO	4 (6)	Jan 27, 1936	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	12–6–1	Steve Walters	PTS	6	Nov 18, 1935	Template:Small
18	Template:DrawDraw	11–6–1	Teddy Movan	PTS	6	Oct 14, 1935	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	11–6	Johnny Yurcini	PTS	6	Oct 7, 1935	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	10–6	Johnny Yurcini	PTS	6	Sep 10, 1935	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	9–6	George Liggins	UD	4	Sep 9, 1935	Template:Small
14	Template:No2Loss	8–6	Teddy Movan	SD	4	Aug 19, 1935	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	8–5	Ray Eberle	UD	5	Jul 29, 1935	Template:Small
12	Template:No2Loss	7–5	Teddy Movan	PTS	4	Jul 9, 1935	Template:Small
11	Template:No2Loss	7–4	Ralph Gizzy	PTS	6	Jun 10, 1935	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	7–3	Ray Eberle	SD	6	Jun 3, 1935	Template:Small
9	Template:No2Loss	6–3	Ralph Gizzy	UD	4	April 25, 1935	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	6–2	George Schlie	KO	2 (6)	April 8, 1935	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	5–2	Stanley Nagy	PTS	4	Mar 13, 1935	Template:Small
6	Template:No2Loss	4–2	Ray Eberle	PTS	6	Feb 25, 1935	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	4–1	Johnny Birek	SD	6	Jan 29, 1935	Template:Small
4	Template:No2Loss	3–1	Pete Leone	RTD	3 (6)	Nov 12, 1934	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Paddy Gray	PTS	4	Sep 27, 1934	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Bob Dorman	PTS	6	Aug 30, 1934	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Johnny Lewis	KO	3 (6)	Jul 20, 1934	Template:Small