Billy Conn

Billy Conn
Statistics
Real name	William David Conn
Nickname(s)	The Pittsburgh Kid
Weight(s)	Light Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (187 cm)
Reach	72+1⁄2 in (184 cm)
Born	(1917-10-08)October 8, 1917 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	May 29, 1993(1993-05-29) (aged 75) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	76
Wins	64
Wins by KO	15
Losses	11
Draws	1
No contests	0

William David Conn (October 8, 1917 – May 29, 1993) was an Irish American professional boxer and Light Heavyweight Champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis.^[1] 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."^[2] He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.^[3]

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 knockout wins, 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 met World Light Heavyweight Champion Melio Bettina in New York, outpointing him in 15 rounds and winning the World Light Heavyweight Championship as a result. Conn defended his title against Bettina and twice against another World Light Heavyweight Champion, Gus Lesnevich, each of those three bouts resulting in 15-round decision wins for Conn. 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."^[4] 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?'"^[5]

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. He also hung out with Jimmy Ray Devin, brother-in-law of famous 1954 army Kansas state heavyweight boxing champ James Travis Sr. (Boxing record 54-1-1) in Fort Riley, Kansas .

Personal life[]

Billy married Mary Louise Smith, also from Pittsburgh.^[5] They have pictures of themselves at the vacation spot Ocean City, New Jersey. 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 in Smith's Squirrel Hill home on Beechwood Boulevard. Conn punched his father-in-law in the head and broke his hand. As a result of the injury, the fight with Joe Louis was postponed. Frank Deford wrote colorfully about the kitchen brawl in his Sports Illustrated story "The Boxer and the Blonde".^[6]

Retirement[]

Retiring from the ring as a boxer did not mean retiring as a public figure for Conn. Conn, who appeared in a 1941 movie called The Pittsburgh Kid, maintained his boxing skills into his later years. 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.

In 1995, Conn's picture appeared on the cover of British pop singer Morrissey's single "Boxers". The photo was taken from an issue of Ring magazine.

Conn is now a member, along with Louis and Zivic, of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.

In April 2017, Conn's widow Mary Louise Conn died. She was 94 years old.

In popular culture[]

Billy Conn Boulevard in Pittsburgh, PA

• Billy Conn was mentioned in the 2006 Hollywood movie, The Black Dahlia.
• A portion of North Craig Street in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh is named Billy Conn Boulevard.
• Billy Conn is also 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."
• London-based band The BibleCode Sundays released an EP of four songs in 2011 titled 'The Pittsburgh kid.' The title track is a tribute to 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."
• Billy Conn's first fight with Joe Louis is prominently discussed in chapter 42 of Eric Flint's novel 1636: The Eastern Front.
• Jack Webb referenced the famous 1946 Conn-Louis rematch in his "Pat Novak: For Hire" radio show. Webb plays a character on the San Francisco waterfront who takes on dark, edgy jobs. In the 'Dixie Gillian' episode (broadcast 24NOV46) a client wants to get Novak to frighten someone with an empty gun, and promises nothing will happen to him. Novak says "Yeah, that's what they told 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[]

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
76	Win	64–11–1	Jackie Lyons	KO	9 (10)	Nov 25, 1948	Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
75	Win	63–11–1	Mike O'Dowd	TKO	9 (10)	Nov 15, 1948	Macon, Georgia, U.S.
74	Loss	62–11–1	Joe Louis	KO	8 (15)	Jun 19, 1946	Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.	For NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight titles
73	Win	62–10–1	Tony Zale	UD	12	Feb 13, 1942	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
72	Win	61–10–1	Jay D Turner	UD	10	Jan 28, 1942	Municipal Auditorium, Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.
71	Win	60–10–1	Henry Cooper	UD	12	Jan 12, 1942	Polo Grounds, New York City, New York, U.S.
70	Loss	59–10–1	Joe Louis	KO	13 (15)	Jun 18, 1941	Polo Grounds, New York City, New York, U.S.	For NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight titles
69	Win	59–9–1	Buddy Knox	TKO	8 (10)	May 26, 1941	Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
68	Win	58–9–1	Gunnar Bärlund	TKO	8 (10)	April 4, 1941	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
67	Win	57–9–1	Danny Hassett	KO	5 (15)	Mar 5, 1941	Uline Arena, Washington, D.C., U.S.
66	Win	56–9–1	Ira Hughes	TKO	4 (10)	Feb 27, 1941	Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S.
65	Win	55–9–1	Lee Savold	UD	10	Nov 29, 1940	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
64	Win	54–9–1	Al McCoy	UD	10	Oct 18, 1940	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.	Not to be confused with Al McCoy
63	Win	53–9–1	Bob Pastor	KO	13 (15)	Sep 6, 1940	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
62	Win	52–9–1	Gus Lesnevich	UD	15	Jun 5, 1940	Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.	Retained NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring light heavyweight titles
61	Win	51–9–1	Henry Cooper	UD	12	Jan 10, 1940	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
60	Win	50–9–1	Gus Lesnevich	UD	15	Nov 17, 1939	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Retained NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring light heavyweight titles
59	Win	49–9–1	Melio Bettina	UD	15	Sep 25, 1939	Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.	Retained NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring light heavyweight titles
58	Win	48–9–1	Gus Dorazio	TKO	8 (10)	Aug 14, 1939	Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
57	Win	47–9–1	Melio Bettina	UD	15	Jul 15, 1939	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Won NYSAC, vacant NBA and The Ring light heavyweight titles
56	Win	46–9–1	Solly Krieger	UD	12	May 12, 1939	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
55	Win	45–9–1	Fred Apostoli	UD	15	Feb 10, 1939	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
54	Win	44–9–1	Fred Apostoli	UD	10	Jan 6, 1939	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
53	Win	43–9–1	Solly Krieger	UD	12	Nov 28, 1938	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
52	Win	42–9–1	Honeyboy Jones	PTS	10	Oct 27, 1938	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
51	Win	41–9–1	Ray Actis	TKO	8 (10)	Sep 14, 1938	Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, U.S.
50	Loss	40–9–1	Teddy Yarosz	UD	12	Jul 25, 1938	Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
49	Win	40–8–1	Eric Seelig	MD	10	May 10, 1938	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
48	Win	39–8–1	Domenico Ceccarelli	PTS	10	April 4, 1938	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
47	Win	38–8–1	Honeyboy Jones	PTS	12	Jan 24, 1938	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
46	Loss	37–8–1	Solly Krieger	UD	12	Dec 16, 1937	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
45	Win	37–7–1	Young Corbett III	UD	10	Nov 8, 1937	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
44	Win	36–7–1	Teddy Yarosz	SD	15	Sep 30, 1937	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
43	Loss	35–7–1	Young Corbett III	PTS	10	Aug 13, 1937	Dreamland Auditorium, San Francisco, California, U.S.
42	Win	35–6–1	Ralph Chong	RTD	5 (10)	Aug 3, 1937	Idora Park, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
41	Win	34–6–1	Teddy Yarosz	SD	12	Jun 30, 1937	Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
40	Win	33–6–1	Oscar Rankins	SD	10	May 27, 1937	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
39	Win	32–6–1	Vince Dundee	UD	10	May 3, 1937	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
38	Win	31–6–1	Eddie Babe Risko	UD	10	Mar 11, 1937	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
37	Win	30–6–1	Fritzie Zivic	SD	10	Dec 28, 1936	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
36	Win	29–6–1	Jimmy Brown	TKO	9 (10)	Dec 2, 1936	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
35	Win	28–6–1	Ralph Chong	UD	8	Oct 22, 1936	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
34	Win	27–6–1	Charley Weise	UD	10	Oct 19, 1936	Islam Grotto, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
33	Win	26–6–1	Roscoe Manning	TKO	5 (10)	Sep 21, 1936	Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
32	Win	25–6–1	Honeyboy Jones	SD	10	Sep 8, 1936	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
31	Win	24–6–1	Teddy Movan	UD	8	Aug 10, 1936	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
30	Win	23–6–1	Teddy Movan	UD	8	Jul 30, 1936	Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
29	Win	22–6–1	General Burrows	UD	8	Jun 15, 1936	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
28	Win	21–6–1	Honeyboy Jones	PTS	10	Jun 3, 1936	Greenlee Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
27	Win	20–6–1	Honeyboy Jones	UD	8	May 27, 1936	Greenlee Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
26	Win	19–6–1	Dick Ambrose	SD	6	May 19, 1936	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
25	Win	18–6–1	General Burrows	PTS	6	April 27, 1936	Moose Lodge, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
24	Win	17–6–1	Steve Nickleash	UD	6	April 13, 1936	Moose Lodge, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
23	Win	16–6–1	Steve Nickleash	UD	6	Mar 16, 1936	Northside Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
22	Win	15–6–1	Louis Cook	UD	8	Feb 17, 1936	Northside Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
21	Win	14–6–1	Louis Cook	UD	6	Feb 3, 1936	Northside Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
20	Win	13–6–1	Johnny Yurcini	TKO	4 (6)	Jan 27, 1936	Northside Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
19	Win	12–6–1	Steve Walters	PTS	6	Nov 18, 1935	Northside Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
18	Draw	11–6–1	Teddy Movan	PTS	6	Oct 14, 1935	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
17	Win	11–6	Johnny Yurcini	PTS	6	Oct 7, 1935	Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
16	Win	10–6	Johnny Yurcini	PTS	6	Sep 10, 1935	Washington, Pennsylvania, U.S.
15	Win	9–6	George Liggins	UD	4	Sep 9, 1935	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
14	Loss	8–6	Teddy Movan	SD	4	Aug 19, 1935	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
13	Win	8–5	Ray Eberle	UD	5	Jul 29, 1935	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
12	Loss	7–5	Teddy Movan	PTS	4	Jul 9, 1935	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
11	Loss	7–4	Ralph Gizzy	PTS	6	Jun 10, 1935	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
10	Win	7–3	Ray Eberle	SD	6	Jun 3, 1935	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
9	Loss	6–3	Ralph Gizzy	UD	4	April 25, 1935	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
8	Win	6–2	George Schlee	KO	2 (6)	April 8, 1935	Moose Lodge, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
7	Win	5–2	Stanley Nagy	PTS	4	Mar 13, 1935	Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
6	Loss	4–2	Ray Eberle	PTS	6	Feb 25, 1935	Moose Lodge, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
5	Win	4–1	Johnny Birek	SD	6	Jan 29, 1935	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
4	Loss	3–1	Pete Leone	RTD	3 (6)	Nov 12, 1934	Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Paddy Gray	PTS	4	Sep 27, 1934	Northside Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Bob Dorman	PTS	6	Aug 30, 1934	Parkersburg, West Virginia, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Johnny Lewis	KO	3 (6)	Jul 20, 1934	Valley Bell Park, Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.

See also[]

• List of light heavyweight boxing champions

References[]

External links[]

• Boxing record for Billy Conn from BoxRec
• Billy Conn at Find a Grave
• Billy Conn, 75, an Ex-Champion Famed for His Fights With Louis: May 30, 1993
• Billy Conn - CBZ Profile