His preaching drew significant crowds to revivals and other meetings. His final professional record stood at 174 recorded bouts, 145 wins with 98 by knockout. With his aggressive attitude and incessant windmill style, he was all over opponents, as evidenced by his 101 knockouts and. Early in his career he boxed under the name Melody Jackson. Deceased : October 22, 1988. "Henry Armstrong Small in stature, he was often the target for teasing. Boxing as a featherweight, he gained quite a bit of experience from 1933 to 1935, fighting 46 times, mostly in California and Mexico. In 1931 Armstrong, accompanied by Harry Armstrong, hopped trains to Los Angeles to restart his amateur career. Name: Henry Armstrong Alias: Homicide Hank Birth Name: Henry Jackson Hometown: Los Angeles, California, USA Birthplace: Columbus, Mississippi, USA Died: 1988-10-23 (Age:78) Stance: Orthodox Height: 166cm Reach: 170cm Promoter: Record Referee: Record Pro Boxer: Record Amateur Boxer: Record Armstrong lost weight in order to compete in the lower weight division, and beat World Lightweight Champion Lou Ambers by split decision. He defended his welterweight title a total of nineteen times. navathletesover.src = "/i/sportscentury/nav_athletes_over.gif"; } We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. [citation needed], In 1945, Armstrong retired from boxing. In 1943, Armstrong lost a 10-round decision to an up-and-coming Sugar Ray Robinson, who had idolized the three-division champion. His next fight was four days later, and he won a six-round decision. It began in 1964 when he won the Olym, Moore, Archie When Armstrong was four years old, his father moved the family to St. Louis, where he and Armstrong's older brothers found work at the Independent Packing Company. These 11 fights are the highlight of his career. Henry Armstrong (1912-1988) became the first boxer in history to hold world titles in three separate weight classes at the same time. Working at the "colored" Young Men's Christian Association, Armstrong met Harry Armstrong, a former boxer, who became his friend, mentor, and trainer. However, since he already had two professional fights under the name Jackson, he told people that he was Harry's little brother, Henry Armstrong.Armstrong competed in the 1932 Olympic trials. His father, suffering from rheumatism, struggled to provide for the family. He is the only boxer to this day who simultaneously held three world boxing titles - in Featherweight, Lightweight, and welterweight champion in 1938. Bernard Hopkins has been nicknamed the Executioner for the way he dispatches opponents and for the way he enters the rin, Henrquez y Carvajal, Francisco (18591935), Henry Cogswell College: Narrative Description, Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, Henry Ford Community College: Distance Learning Programs, Henry Ford Community College: Narrative Description, Henry Ford Community College: Tabular Data, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henry-armstrong. When Cox sold his contract on Armstrong to Wirt Ross in 1932 for $250, Armstrong entered the professional ranks to stay. But he was learning how to harness his natural physical gifts; strength, quickness, stamina, and the ability to take a punch. Late in 1938 he resigned the featherweight championship without having defended it, and on August 22, 1939, he lost the lightweight crown in a 15-round return fight with Ambers. Henry has been found in 17 states including Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas, California. With no money for college and the need to care for his family weighing heavily, Armstrong lied about his age, claiming he was 21 years old, in order to gain employment as a section hand on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Encyclopedia of World Biography. He first won the featherweight (126-pound) title by knocking out Petey Sarron in six rounds on October 29, 1937. Info Share. Continue with Recommended Cookies, The most consecutive boxing world welterweight title defences is 18 by Henry Armstrong (USA) from 25 November 1938 to 23 September 1940.Advertisementsif(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'guinnessworldrecords_com-box-3','ezslot_2',108,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-guinnessworldrecords_com-box-3-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'guinnessworldrecords_com-box-3','ezslot_3',108,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-guinnessworldrecords_com-box-3-0_1');.box-3-multi-108{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:50px;padding-bottom:20px!important;padding-top:20px!important;text-align:center!important}. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.He was born Henry Jackson, Jr. on December 12, 1912, in Columbus, Mississippi. The 23-year-old boxer was raised in Pearl, but is from Columbus. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. Up to 1937, Armstrong compiled a record of 52-10. May 31, 1938: Armstrong wins the NBA and The Ring welterweight titles from Barney Ross, by beating Ross via 15 round unanimous decision. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Herb Goldman ranked Armstrong as the #4 All-Time Lightweight; He was inducted into the Ring Boxing For more details about these defeats, refer to "All of Henry Armstrong's losses". Statistics for all 21 Henry Armstrong results: 61 yrs AVERAGE AGE 40% are in their 40s, while the average age is 61. For other people named Henry Armstrong, see, Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri, Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, Billed as a World Middleweight Title fight recognized only by California, Municipal Audiotrium, Saint Louis, Missouri, Harringay Arena, Harringay, London, England, Municipal Audtiorium, Saint Louis, Missouri, Madison Square Garden Bowl, New York City, New York, International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, University of Detroit Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, Dexter Park Arena, Woodhaven, New York City, New York, Municipal Auditorium, Saint Louis, Missouri, Retained world featherweight title (CaliforniaMexico), Won world featherweight title (California-Mexico), Retained USA California State featherweight title, Civic Auditorium, Watsonville, California, Bakersfield Arena, Bakersfield, California, Pismo Beach Arena, Pismo Beach, California, Main Street Athletic Club, Los Angeles, California, Culver City Stadium, Culver City, California, Meyers Bowl, North Braddock, Pennsylvania, "BoxRec ratings: world, pound-for-pound, active and inactive", "Boxing Hall of Fame names first inductees", "IBRO All-Time Ratings - Pound For Pound Results", "IBRO All-Time Ratings - Featherweight Ratings", "IBRO All-Time Ratings - Welterweight Ratings", "IBRO All-Time Ratings - Lightweight Ratings", "Henry Armstrong: Goes for Four Divisions", "Ceferino Garcia vs. Henry Armstrong (2nd meeting) BoxRec", Armstrong, seated, posing with a title belt, National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1938 BoxRec, National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1939 BoxRec, National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1940 BoxRec, The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: Lightweight--1930s BoxRec, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_Armstrong&oldid=1135310555, World colored welterweight boxing champions, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2016, Pages with login required references or sources, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, In 1987, he was among those inductees from, In 1995, Armstrong was posthumously honored for his boxing career by being inducted into the, The story of his life is retold in the radio drama ", This page was last edited on 23 January 2023, at 22:13. [CDATA[ Henry Armstrong, who moved to St. Louis with his family as a youngster, was the only boxer ever to hold three world titles simultaneously. Henry W. "Harry" Armstrong (July 22, 1879 - February 28, 1951). Mead was suspended 13 months after accusing commissioner Bill Brown of favoring Ambers. She died on the way to the hospital in Armstrong's arms, having suffered chest pains. Skip Ancestry main menu Main Menu. Comments below may relate to previous holders of this record. His father, Henry Jackson, Sr., was a sharecropper and a butcher. 1913-1998 [10] Early in his career, he fought some fights under the ring name Melody Jackson. He died at age 75 on Oct. 24, 1988, in Los Angeles. Boxer After the decision was announced, the second fight started; both managers and the New York State Athletic Commission were the participants. Velma Tartt was a former girlfriend from his high school days. When the promoters postponed the bout for 10 days, Armstrong accepted Joe Louis's invitation to train at Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, with Louis paying for all expenses. RECORD. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Boxing. ESPN ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. High School Career. October 29, 1937: Armstrong wins his first world titles by defeating Petey Sarron via 6th round KO. During the final years of the 1940s he traveled to China, Burma, and India with Raft as part of a group sent to entertain soldiers. As an amateur Armstrong fought under the name of Melody Jackson. On May 31, 1938, he took the welterweight (147-pound) championship from Barney Ross by decision, and, on August 17 of that year, he defeated Lou Ambers by decision to win the lightweight (135-pound) title. ever hold three undisputed titles at the same time. Definitely one of the goals I had in mind, so itll be a good time, to bring everybody out.. While he was certainly a formidable boxer, he hadn't yet established himself as one of the all-time greats. He also wrote the autobiographical God, Gloves, and Glory (1956). In 1938 with 14 consecutive wins, 10 by knockout, Armstrong achieved his goal, becoming the first boxer to
