I was described as moving as though i was carrying a sack of coal on my back and was called flat-footed but i was never going to be a piano player, the name simply would not allow it although i was known to my fans as 'The Brockton Blockbuster' and known to my opponents as 'Oh my God, I just got flattened by a truck'.
I was undefeated in 49 fights and a had a knockout record of 87% and i competed in the AAU Olympic try-outs for the 1948 Olympics in the Boston
Garden but i busted up my hands beating George McInnis and had to withdraw and turned professional instead and 4 fights later i dinged the lights out on Jersey Joe Walcott with the infamous right hook i called Suzie Q.
Being from a poor family i was very careful with money and i got out of the boxing game early for two reasons, one is that big men hitting you continuously in the head is never a good idea and people punching each other in the face and bleeding may be some peoples idea of fun, well it was mine to be fair, but the other was that my manager was taking an extra large slice of my earnings so i began hiding money and turning down cheques worth thousands in favour of only hundreds in cash, because cheques could be tracked down by the boss.
It was this obsession with money which led directly to my death when i was only 45. Offered a free flight from Chicago to Des Moines, Iowa on a small private plane, i couldn’t resist. The pilot was inexperienced and the plane crashed, hitting a tree and killing all on board.
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