Boxing History

Boxing was a popular sport during the 1950s. TV boosted that popularity and made boxers into national celebrities. There were fights broadcast every night during our doo-wop era – except for Sunday. And Rocky Marciano was one of the biggest celebrities in the sport.

Here’s a little bit of trivia about him:

• He was born Rocco Francis Marchegiano in 1923 in Brockton, MA.

• Marciano was a powerful and aggressive fighter, which earned him his titles as well as the nicknames of “Brockton Blockbuster” and “The Rock from Brockton.”

• Beginning in 1947, he won all 49 of his professional fights, with 43 by knockout. His philosophy was, “Why waltz with a guy for 10 rounds if you can knock him out in one?“

• In 1951, he defeated heavyweight champion Joe Louis. Please click here to see a clip of that fight.

• Marciano then defeated “Jersey Joe” Walcott in 1952 to become the heavyweight champion. He held the World Heavyweight Championship title from 1952 – 1956 and is the only one to hold that title untied and undefeated for his career. He defended his title six times (against Jersey Joe Walcott, Roland La Starza, twice against Ezzard Charles, Don Cockell, and Archie Moore). Marciano claimed, “I don’t want to be remembered as a beaten champion.”

• After retiring from fighting, he appeared on TV and owned restaurants. Marciano was on an episode of the TV series Combat! and hosted a weekly boxing show in 1961. He became the vice president of Papa Luigi Spaghetti Dens, which was a franchise company based in San Francisco.

• On August 31, 1969, Marciano died in a crash from a small private plane near an airfield in Newton, Iowa.

• If you would like more information on Rocky Marciano, please click here for a website devoted to him.