Tom Heeney

Tom Heeney
Statistics
Real name	Thomas Heeney
Nickname(s)	The Hard Rock from Down Under
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	5 ft 10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m)
Reach	72 in (180 cm)
Nationality	New Zealand
Born	(1898-05-18)18 May 1898 Gisborne, New Zealand
Died	15 June 1984(1984-06-15) (aged 86) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Boxing record
Total fights	69
Wins	37
Wins by KO	15
Losses	22
Draws	8
No contests	2

Thomas Heeney (18 May 1898 – 15 June 1984) was a professional heavyweight boxer from New Zealand, best known for unsuccessfully challenging champion Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship of the world in New York City on 26 July 1928.

Biography[]

Portrait of Heeney in boxing stance

Heeney was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, and worked as a plumber until he left New Zealand.^[1] He was a strong swimmer and was awarded a bronze medal by the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand in 1918 for helping rescue two women from the sea off Waikanae Beach, Gisborne. He also retrieved a third woman who did not survive.^[2]

He learnt to box from his father and his older brother Jack Heeney, who was the New Zealand amateur welterweight champion in 1914 and middleweight champion from 1919 to 1924. He became a professional boxer when he fought Bill Bartlett in Gisborne in 1920.^[3] In October 1920, Heeney became the New Zealand heavyweight champion when he beat Brian McCleary of Dunedin on a technical knockout. Heeney was also a rugby union player and played for the Hawke's Bay — Poverty Bay team against the Springboks in 1921.^[3] He boxed in Australia and won the Australian heavyweight champion title in 1922, and fought in England and South Africa in 1924.

Heeney went to the United States in 1926. He beat Jim Maloney, Johnny Risko and Jim Delaney^[3] and eventually ranked fourth among the world's heavyweight boxers. After fighting Jack Sharkey, later a heavyweight world champion, in 1928 for the right to fight Tunney, on 26 July 1928, Heeney fought Gene Tunney at Yankee Stadium, New York City, for the world heavyweight championship title. Heeney entered the boxing ring wearing a Māori cloak that was given to him by Heni Materoa, the widow of Sir James Carroll. The referee, Ed Forbes, stopped the scheduled 15 round fight in the 11th round, and Tunney won. It was said of Heeney:

His gritty performance in this fight would have been considered by many observers to have justified his sobriquet of The Hard Rock from Down Under given by renowned writer and journalist, Damon Runyon.^{[citation needed]}

A week after his defeat, Tom married Marion Dunn, an American. Heeney became an American citizen and boxed until 1934, accomplishing a fighting record of 70 professional bouts, 38 wins, 22 losses, 8 draws, and 2 no-contest.

After retiring from boxing, he owned a bar in Miami, Florida. He served with the United States Navy Civil Engineer Corps in World War II, and afterward coached boxing and refereed armed forces bouts in the South Pacific. He often fished with his friend, the famous writer Ernest Hemingway. Heeney's wife, Marion, died in 1980. They had no children.^[1]

Heeney was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Professional boxing record[]

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
69	Loss	37–22–8 (1)	Stanley Poreda	TKO	10 (10)	27 Mar 1933	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
68	Loss	N/A	Charley Retzlaff	NWS	10	7 Mar 1933	Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
67	Loss	37–21–8 (1)	Patsy Perroni	PTS	10	6 Dec 1932	Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
66	Draw	37–20–8 (1)	John Schwake	PTS	10	25 Oct 1932	Coliseum, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
65	Win	37–20–7 (1)	Hans Birkie	PTS	10	16 Mar 1932	Auditorium, Oakland, California, U.S.
64	Loss	36–20–7 (1)	Max Baer	PTS	10	22 Feb 1932	Seals Stadium, San Francisco, California, U.S.
63	Draw	36–19–7 (1)	Giacomo Bergomas	PTS	10	26 Oct 1931	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
62	Draw	36–19–6 (1)	Santa Camarão	PTS	10	5 Oct 1931	Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
61	Win	36–19–5 (1)	Santa Camarão	PTS	12	10 Sep 1931	Mark's Stadium, Tiverton, Rhode Island, U.S.
60	Loss	35–19–5 (1)	Jimmy Slattery	PTS	6	20 Apr 1931	Buffalo Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
59	Loss	35–18–5 (1)	Johnny Risko	PTS	10	6 Apr 1931	Arena Gardens, Toronto, Canada
58	Loss	35–17–5 (1)	Charley Retzlaff	TKO	7 (10)	6 Mar 1931	Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
57	Loss	35–16–5 (1)	Max Baer	KO	3 (10)	16 Jan 1931	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
56	Loss	35–15–5 (1)	Emmett Rocco	PTS	10	13 Oct 1930	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
55	Loss	35–14–5 (1)	Frank Cawley	UD	10	29 Sep 1930	Kingston Armory, Kingston, Pennsylvania, U.S.
54	Win	35–13–5 (1)	George Panka	PTS	10	8 Sep 1930	Myers Bowl, North Braddock, Pennsylvania, U.S.
53	Loss	34–13–5 (1)	Tuffy Griffiths	TKO	10 (10)	30 Jul 1930	Queensboro Stadium, Queens, New York, U.S.
52	Win	34–12–5 (1)	George Hoffman	PTS	10	26 Sep 1929	Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, U.S.
51	Loss	33–12–5 (1)	Victorio Campolo	TKO	9 (10)	15 Aug 1929	Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
50	Win	33–11–5 (1)	Elzear Rioux	DQ	8 (10)	29 May 1929	Forum, Montreal, Canada
49	Loss	32–11–5 (1)	Otto von Porat	UD	10	12 Mar 1929	Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
48	Loss	32–10–5 (1)	Jim Maloney	PTS	10	1 Mar 1929	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
47	Loss	32–9–5 (1)	Gene Tunney	TKO	11 (15)	26 Jul 1928	Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, U.S.	For NBA, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles
46	Win	32–8–5 (1)	Jack Delaney	PTS	15	1 Mar 1928	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
45	Draw	31–8–5 (1)	Jack Sharkey	SD	12	13 Jan 1928	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
44	Win	31–8–4 (1)	Johnny Risko	PTS	10	26 Oct 1927	Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
43	Win	30–8–4 (1)	Jim Maloney	KO	1 (12)	30 Sep 1927	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
42	Draw	29–8–4 (1)	Paulino Uzcudun	PTS	15	8 Sep 1927	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
41	Win	29–8–3 (1)	Bud Gorman	DQ	3 (10)	4 Aug 1927	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
40	Win	28–8–3 (1)	Jack DeMave	PTS	10	24 Jun 1927	Coney Island Stadium, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
39	Loss	27–8–3 (1)	Paulino Uzcudun	PTS	10	1 Apr 1927	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
38	Win	27–7–3 (1)	Charley Anderson	TKO	8 (10)	25 Feb 1927	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
37	Win	26–7–3 (1)	Jack Stanley	PTS	15	25 Oct 1926	National Sporting Club, London, England
36	Win	25–7–3 (1)	Bartley Madden	PTS	20	9 Aug 1926	Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
35	Loss	24–7–3 (1)	Phil Scott	PTS	20	10 Jul 1926	The Dell, Southampton, England	For Commonwealth heavyweight title
34	Win	24–6–3 (1)	Tom Berry	PTS	15	5 Jul 1926	The Ring, London, England
33	Win	23–6–3 (1)	Charley Smith	DQ	5 (10)	18 Mar 1926	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
32	Loss	22–6–3 (1)	George Miller	DQ	5 (20)	14 Nov 1925	Town Hall, Durban, South Africa
31	Win	22–5–3 (1)	George Miller	DQ	8 (20)	10 Oct 1925	Town Hall, Johannesburg, South Africa
30	Win	21–5–3 (1)	Vic Morace	KO	4 (20)	1 Jul 1925	City Hall, Cape Town, South Africa
29	Win	20–5–3 (1)	Johnny Squires	RTD	18 (20)	15 Jun 1925	City Hall, Cape Town, South Africa
28	Win	19–5–3 (1)	Johnny Squires	PTS	20	9 Apr 1925	Town Hall, Johannesburg, South Africa
27	Loss	18–5–3 (1)	George Cook	PTS	20	12 Feb 1925	Premierland, London, England
26	Win	18–4–3 (1)	Jim Young	KO	4 (15)	19 Jan 1925	National Sporting Club, London, England
25	NC	17–4–3 (1)	Frans Hendrickx	NC	6 (15)	3 Nov 1924	The Ring, London, England
24	Loss	17–4–3	Phil Scott	PTS	20	22 Sep 1924	The Ring, London, England	For vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title
23	Win	17–3–3	Ern Young	TKO	4 (15)	19 Feb 1924	Town Hall, Tokomaru Bay, New Zealand	Retained NZBA heavyweight title
22	Win	16–3–3	Jim O'Sullivan	KO	9 (15)	26 Dec 1923	Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand	Retained NZBA heavyweight title
21	Win	15–3–3	Jim O'Sullivan	DQ	5 (15)	10 Nov 1923	Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand	Won NZBA heavyweight title
20	Win	14–3–3	Jim Savage	KO	1 (15)	26 Oct 1923	Princess Theatre, Napier, New Zealand
19	Loss	13–3–3	Jim O'Sullivan	PTS	15	26 Sep 1923	Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand	Lost NZBA heavyweight title
18	Win	13–2–3	Brian McCleary	TKO	14 (15)	14 Aug 1923	King Edward Barracks, Christchurch, New Zealand	Won NZBA heavyweight title
17	Win	12–2–3	Jim Flett	TKO	9 (15)	2 Aug 1923	Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
16	Win	11–2–3	Cyril Whitaker	TKO	15 (15)	4 Jun 1923	Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand
15	Win	10–2–3	Jack Complin	TKO	9 (20)	1 Jan 1923	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, Australia
14	Draw	9–2–3	Ern Waddy	PTS	20	18 Dec 1922	Unley Stadium, Adelaide, Australia
13	Draw	9–2–2	Charlie Taylor	PTS	20	12 Aug 1922	Star Theatre, Mackay, Australia
12	Win	9–2–1	Tom Batho	TKO	14 (20)	22 Jul 1922	Theatre Royal, Townsville, Australia
11	Loss	8–2–1	Colin Bell	PTS	20	30 Jun 1922	Olympic Theatre, Mackay, Australia	For Australian heavyweight title
10	Win	8–1–1	Jack Leahy	PTS	20	3 Jun 1922	Olympic Theatre, Mackay, Australia
9	Win	7–1–1	Jim Flett	PTS	15	1 May 1922	Olympic Theatre, Mackay, Australia
8	Loss	6–1–1	Colin Bell	PTS	20	17 Mar 1922	Olympic Theatre, Mackay, Australia	For ANBF Australasian and Australian heavyweight titles
7	Win	6–0–1	Max Gornik	RTD	15 (20)	11 Feb 1922	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, Australia
6	Draw	5–0–1	Colin Bell	PTS	15	27 Oct 1921	Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
5	Win	5–0	Jack Cole	PTS	15	23 Jul 1921	Kaikohu Hall, Te Karaka, New Zealand
4	Win	4–0	Albert Pooley	PTS	15	11 Feb 1921	Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand	Retained NZBA heavyweight title
3	Win	3–0	Albert Pooley	PTS	15	27 Oct 1920	Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand	Won NZBA heavyweight title
2	Win	2–0	George Modrich	PTS	15	8 Jun 1920	Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
1	Win	1–0	Bill Bartlett	TKO	9 (15)	12 Feb 1920	Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand

References[]

   5. Vogt, Anton: 'Tom Heeney in heaven,' New Zealand Listener, 14 October 1960

Further reading[]

• From Poverty Bay to Broadway: The story of Tom Heeney by Lydia Monin (2008)
• Kiwis With Gloves On by Brian F O'Brien, published 1960, Reed.

External links[]

• Boxing record for Tom Heeney from BoxRec