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. 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." He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.
Early career 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 Era 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."Current Biography 1941 pp165-166 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?'"
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 life
Billy married Mary Louise Smith, also from Pittsburgh. 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 his rematch with Joe Louis. Frank Deford wrote colorfully about the kitchen brawl in his Sports Illustrated story "The Boxer and the Blonde".
Retirement Conn appeared in a 1941 movie called The Pittsburgh Kid. He maintained his boxing skills into his later years, and at 73 years old, he stepped into the middle of a robbery at a Pittsburgh convenience store in 1990 after the robber punched the store manager. 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 culture
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 record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes76Win Jackie LyonsKO9 (10)Nov 25, 1948 75Win63–11–1 Mike O'DowdTKO9 (10)Nov 15, 1948 74Loss62–11–1 Joe LouisKO8 (15)Jun 19, 1946 73Win62–10–1 Tony ZaleUD12Feb 13, 1942 72Win61–10–1 Jay D TurnerUD10Jan 28, 1942 71Win60–10–1 Henry CooperUD12Jan 12, 1942 70Loss59–10–1 Joe LouisKO13 (15), Jun 18, 1941 69Win59–9–1 Buddy KnoxTKO8 (10)May 26, 1941 68Win58–9–1 Gunnar BärlundTKO8 (10)April 4, 1941 67Win57–9–1 Danny HassettKO5 (15)Mar 5, 1941 66Win56–9–1 Ira HughesTKO4 (10)Feb 27, 1941 65Win55–9–1 Lee SavoldUD10Nov 29, 1940 64Win54–9–1 Al McCoyUD10Oct 18, 1940 63Win53–9–1 Bob PastorKO13 (15)Sep 6, 1940 62Win52–9–1 Gus LesnevichUD15Jun 5, 1940 61Win51–9–1 Henry CooperUD12Jan 10, 1940 60Win50–9–1 Gus LesnevichUD15Nov 17, 1939 59Win49–9–1 Melio BettinaUD15Sep 25, 1939 58Win48–9–1 Gus DorazioTKO8 (10)Aug 14, 1939 57Win47–9–1 Melio BettinaUD15Jul 15, 1939 56Win46–9–1 Solly KriegerUD12May 12, 1939 55Win45–9–1 Fred ApostoliUD15Feb 10, 1939 54Win44–9–1 Fred ApostoliUD10Jan 6, 1939 53Win43–9–1 Solly KriegerUD12Nov 28, 1938 52Win42–9–1 Honeyboy JonesPTS10Oct 27, 1938 51Win41–9–1 Ray ActisTKO8 (10)Sep 14, 1938 50Loss40–9–1 Teddy YaroszUD12Jul 25, 1938 49Win40–8–1 Eric SeeligMD10May 10, 1938 48Win39–8–1 Domenico CeccarelliPTS10April 4, 1938 47Win38–8–1 Honeyboy JonesPTS12Jan 24, 1938 46Loss37–8–1 Solly KriegerUD12Dec 16, 1937 45Win37–7–1 Young Corbett IIIUD10Nov 8, 1937 44Win36–7–1 Teddy YaroszSD15Sep 30, 1937 43Loss35–7–1 Young Corbett IIIPTS10Aug 13, 1937 42Win35–6–1 Ralph ChongRTD5 (10)Aug 3, 1937 41Win34–6–1 Teddy YaroszSD12Jun 30, 1937 40Win33–6–1 Oscar RankinsSD10May 27, 1937 39Win32–6–1 Vince DundeeUD10May 3, 1937 38Win31–6–1 Eddie Babe RiskoUD10Mar 11, 1937 37Win30–6–1 Fritzie ZivicSD10Dec 28, 1936 36Win29–6–1 Jimmy BrownTKO9 (10)Dec 2, 1936 35Win28–6–1 Ralph ChongUD8Oct 22, 1936 34Win27–6–1 Charley WeiseUD10Oct 19, 1936 33Win26–6–1 Roscoe ManningTKO5 (10)Sep 21, 1936 32Win25–6–1 Honeyboy JonesSD10Sep 8, 1936 31Win24–6–1 Teddy MovanUD8Aug 10, 1936 30Win23–6–1 Teddy MovanUD8Jul 30, 1936 29Win22–6–1 General BurrowsUD8Jun 15, 1936 28Win21–6–1 Honeyboy JonesPTS10Jun 3, 1936 27Win20–6–1 Honeyboy JonesUD8May 27, 1936 26Win19–6–1 Dick AmbroseSD6May 19, 1936 25Win18–6–1 General BurrowsPTS6April 27, 1936 24Win17–6–1 Steve NickleashUD6April 13, 1936 23Win16–6–1 Steve NickleashUD6Mar 16, 1936 22Win15–6–1 Louis CookUD8Feb 17, 1936 21Win14–6–1 Louis CookUD6Feb 3, 1936 20Win13–6–1 Johnny YurciniTKO4 (6)Jan 27, 1936 19Win12–6–1 Steve WaltersPTS6Nov 18, 1935 18Draw11–6–1 Teddy MovanPTS6Oct 14, 1935 17Win11–6 Johnny YurciniPTS6Oct 7, 1935 16Win10–6 Johnny YurciniPTS6Sep 10, 1935 15Win9–6 George LigginsUD4Sep 9, 1935 14Loss8–6 Teddy MovanSD4Aug 19, 1935 13Win8–5 Ray EberleUD5Jul 29, 1935 12Loss7–5 Teddy MovanPTS4Jul 9, 1935 11Loss7–4 Ralph GizzyPTS6Jun 10, 1935 10Win7–3 Ray EberleSD6Jun 3, 1935 9Loss6–3 Ralph GizzyUD4April 25, 1935 8Win6–2 George SchlieKO2 (6)April 8, 1935 7Win5–2 Stanley NagyPTS4Mar 13, 1935 6Loss4–2 Ray EberlePTS6Feb 25, 1935 5Win4–1 Johnny BirekSD6Jan 29, 1935 4Loss3–1 Pete LeoneRTD3 (6)Nov 12, 1934 3Win3–0 Paddy GrayPTS4Sep 27, 1934 2Win2–0 Bob DormanPTS6Aug 30, 1934 1Win1–0 Johnny LewisKO3 (6)Jul 20, 1934
Titles in boxing Major world titles NYSAC light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) NBA (WBA) light heavyweight champion (175 lbs)
The Ring magazine titles The Ring light heavyweight champion (175 lbs)
Undisputed titles Undisputed light heavyweight champion
See also List of light heavyweight boxing champions
References
External links
Billy Conn, 75, an Ex-Champion Famed for His Fights With Louis: May 30, 1993 Billy Conn - CBZ Profile