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Boxing and Philadelphia go hand-in-hand, and not just because of Hollywood.
Joe Frazier is probably the best-known local champ, but over the past half-century the city produced many others. One of the asterisks on the list is Sonny Liston — partly because he only lived in Philly for about five years.
His time in Philadelphia culminated soon after he won the world heavyweight title in 1962, a goal he achieved after growing up in poverty and spending time behind bars. But people in power (reportedly including JFK) were fearful of Liston’s “bad boy” reputation, and he treated with little respect.
Those holding him in a negative light included the “Park Guards,” aka the police force patrolling Fairmount Park, who arrested him more than once.
This thread tells the tale of a champion whom Philadelphia profiled instead of celebrated, leading to his departure for a different city.
Philadelphia’s first heavyweight boxing champ expected a hero’s welcome after taking the title.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
Instead, he wound up in handcuffs.
For this week’s “Headline of Yore” we revisit today’s Inquirer in 1962:
“Liston is Picked Up By Park Police Again”
Thread… pic.twitter.com/uxbPlZeCS7
Charles “Sonny” Liston is probably best remembered today as the man Muhammad Ali beat in 1964 to capture the world heavyweight title.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
That’s Liston lying on the canvas in this iconic photo (taken after their rematch in Maine). pic.twitter.com/yeIvYHOtUL
But Liston was an incredible boxer in his own right…viewed by some contemporaries as one of the greatest heavyweights ever.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
He also lived a tragic life…full of hard luck, personal demons, and constant scorn from the public. pic.twitter.com/nNK4KoBKJX
To give you a sense…perhaps the most famous magazine piece ever written about Liston was by the great Bill Nack.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
The headline of that piece?
“O Unlucky Man”https://t.co/HO86WYp3zR
Liston was born into poverty in Arkansas. There’s no formal record of his birth.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
He grew up in St. Louis and quickly fell into a life of crime. Around age 20 he was arrested for robbery and sent to the Missouri State Penitentiary…where he learned how to box.
Liston began his climb through the boxing world in the early 1950s.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
He became known for a punishing left hand…frequent run-ins with police (which often took the form of habitual harassment)…and reputed ties to organized crime.
So feared was Liston, that the boxing world stalled his attempts to fight Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight belt.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
Many notables — including JFK, reportedly — were worried that this anti-hero would sully the world title. pic.twitter.com/MYNu7fJmot
But on September 25, 1962, Liston finally got his shot…and he crushed Patterson in a first-round knockout.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
Does that picture look familiar? pic.twitter.com/sOqVGYKK70
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At the time of his long-awaited triumph, Liston was living in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
He expected a hometown celebration when he got back from the fight.
Instead, Liston was greeted at the airport by a handful of reporters.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
One later remarked that you could see the hurt in Liston’s eyes as he scanned the terminal.
These paragraphs from Bill Nack’s @SInow piece are painful to read.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
Liston was Philadelphia’s first heavyweight champ.
He thought he’d finally get the recognition befitting a transcendent athlete.
Instead, he got a shrug. pic.twitter.com/BRdx5iwWkn
Liston was crestfallen. Soon…he’d be outraged.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
About two weeks later, Liston was driving through Fairmount Park.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
Police said the recently crowned world champ was driving unusually slow and smelled of alcohol.
The cops arrested Liston, and rather quickly released him. pic.twitter.com/atMMx8F331
This was Liston’s second arrest by Fairmount Park police.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
15 months earlier, they’d accused him of pulling over a woman around 3 a.m. and impersonating a police officer.
And in 1961, Philadelphia police arrested Liston for loitering at the corner of 40th and Market Street.
Liston claimed police were profiling him.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
When Fairmount Park cops arrested him a second time he reportedly said the Philly police were “prejudiced against me.”
He initially refused to ride in a police wagon driven by a white officer.
Liston had to drive through Fairmount Park to get from his gym to his house. And he believed park cops were intentionally harassing him.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
Police denied it. And they had Liston’s reputation as a buffer. He was known as a heavy drinker.
The second Fairmount Park incident severed Liston’s ties to Philadelphia, where he’d lived for 5 years.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
Instead of getting a parade…the world champ had ended up in a Fairmount Park guard house. pic.twitter.com/bboM5xPZ7j
Soon after, Liston left for Denver to live with a priest who’d become a close confidant.
— Avi Wolfman-Arent (@Avi_WA) October 7, 2021
On his way out of town, Liston famously quipped:
''I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia.''
End thread. pic.twitter.com/dOXJmRv8lW
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