On This Day In Boxing History

1933: Young Stribling,

Dies In Motorcycle Accident!

Young Stribling, born William Lawrence Stribling Jr. in** Bainbridge, Georgia, on December 26, 1904, was a professional boxer in the Heavyweight division. The elder brother of fellow boxer Herbert "Baby" Stribling, he moved to Spokane with his family in 1911, when they joined the Sullivan and Considine Vaudeville Circuit with an acrobatic act called the "Four Novelty Grahams."

Stribling grew up in show business, touring 38 countries as part of his family's vaudeville act before settling in Macon, Georgia. Beyond boxing, known for his "dead shot" accuracy he excelled as a basketball forward at Lanier High School, leading his team to the 1922 state championship and earning recognition as one of the nation's top high school players.

Young Stribling was one of boxing's most remarkable talents, a heavyweight contender whose career achievements and personal character left an indelible mark on the sport during the 1920s and early 1930s.

Turning professional at just 16 in 1921, Stribling, known as "The King of the Canebrakes," compiled an extraordinary record of 286 recorded bouts with only 12 losses. His accomplishments included: Most fights by a heavyweight (286),

most knockouts by a heavyweight (127), most fights in a single year by a heavyweight (55 in 1927), fought more professional rounds by age 23 than any fighter in history, knocked out only once in his entire career (a technical KO)

Stribling's 1925 coast-to-coast bus tour brought boxing to small-town America, with his father offering $10 to anyone who could beat his son. In 1927, he won 57 straight fights with only one draw and one loss. The following year, he won 36 of 38 bouts, once knocking out three different opponents in three cities over four days.

His finest moment—and greatest heartbreak—came on July 3, 1931, when he lost to Max Schmeling by technical knockout in the final 14 seconds of the 15th round, missing his chance at the world heavyweight championship. The bout was the first major fight broadcast live over national radio and was later named Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year.

Champion, Jim Corbett, called Stribling "the best heavyweight fighter for his pounds that ever lived." But Stribling was more than a gifted athlete. Raised by devout parents who trained and managed him, he was known for his clean living, never drinking or smoking and his commitment to "scientific" boxing that emphasized skill over brutality. He taught Sunday School, served as an Air Force Reserve lieutenant, and was an accomplished aviator who often flew his own plane to fights.

In one memorable incident in Atlanta, Stribling threw in the towel from his ringside seat to stop a young boxer's brutal beating, revealing what one reporter called "the instinct of a Christian gentleman who abhorred brutality."

At the height of his success, having earned over a million dollars and married Clara Kinney, with whom he had three children, tragedy struck. On October 1, 1933, while riding his motorcycle to visit his wife and newborn baby in the hospital, Stribling collided with a car outside Macon. Despite his legendary defensive skills that had left him unmarred through 300 bouts, the accident was devastating. He clung to life for two days, his last words to his wife a tender "Hello, baby." He died on October 3, 1933, at age 28.

His body lay in state at Macon's Municipal Auditorium as thousands mourned the loss of a champion who had brought honor to the sport and his community. Stribling was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1965.

1951: Dave Sands vs Bobo Olson

The First Coast-to-Coast Telecast Of A Prize Fight!

1951: CBS-TV presented the first coast-to-coast telecast of a prize fight

Dave Sands vs Bobo Olson at Soldier Field, Chicago. This was the first fight televised coast-to-coast in the United States. Sands mauled and cuffed Olson for nine rounds, and then Olson made a terrific rally in the last round, landing repeatedly with rights to the head that staggered Dave. But Sands was much too far in front for this rally to change the outcome. Sands was the better boxer and more precise hitter. It was a rather slow fight. The gross gate was only $5,832.

October 3rd

1919: Young Corbett III D4 Kid Jeffries

1931: Frankie Genaro W15 Valentin Angelmann

1933: Young Stribling, 28, dies when his motorcycle slams into a car.

1949: Promoter Dan Goosen born in Los Angeles, California

1951: CBS-TV presented the first coast-to-coast telecast of a prize fight Dave Sands vs Bobo Olson at Soldier Field, Chicago

1955: Shigeki Kaneko W10 Flash Elorde

Willie Pastrano W10 Paddy Young

Paddy DeMarco WSD 10 Kenny Lane

Carlos Ortiz KO2 Leroy Graham

1957: Franco Cavicchi KO9 Albert Westphal

1964: Sandro Mazzinghi KO12 Tony Montano

1967: Ki Soo Kim W15 Freddie Little

1972: Koichi Wajima KO3 Matt Donovan

1973: Ricardo Mayorga born in Granada, Nicaragua.

1974: Kuniaki Shibata KO15 Ramiro Bolanos

1976: Miguel Canto W15 Betulio Gonzalez

1981: Mike Weaver W15 James Tillis

Marvin Hagler KO11 Mustafa Hamsho

Alexis Arguello KO14 Ray Mancini

Sergio Palma W15 Vichit Muangroi-et

International Boxing Hall of Famer Fidel LaBarba died of heart failure in Los Angeles, California

1985: Chris Eubank age 19 debuts W4 Tim Brown

1987: Brian Mitchell W15 Daniel Londas

1991: Vinny Pazienza KO12 Gilbert Dele

1992: Nigel Benn KO3 Mauro Galvano

1993: Pichit Sithbangprachan, KO 9 Miguel Martinez

1998: Juan Carlos Gomez KO 3 Alexei Iliin

Floyd Mayweather KO8 Genaro Hernandez

Antonio Cermeno KO4 Genaro Rios

2008: Mateusz Masternak TKO5 Alex Mogylevskyi

Krzysztof Głowacki age 22 debuts W6 Mariusz Radziszewski

Shawn Porter age 21 debuts TKO1 Norman Johnson

2009: Vyacheslav Senchenko W12 Motoki Sasaki

2010: Sasha Yengoyan RTD6 Anderson Clayton        

2015: Viktor Postol KO10 Lucas Martin Matthysse

Adrien Broner TKO12 Khabib Allakhverdiev

Jose Pedraza SD12 Edner Cherry

2017: Can Xu RTD7 Nehomar Cermeño

2020: Jose Zepeda KO5 Ivan Baranchyk

Mark Magsayo WSD10 Rigoberto Hermosillo