Rocky Marciano

Early life

Born Rocco Francis Marchegiano on September 1, 1923, Rocky was raised on the south side of Brockton, Massachusetts. His parents, Pierino Marchegiano and Pasqualina Picciuto, were both immigrants from Italy. His father was from Ripa Teatina, Abruzzo, while his mother was from San Bartolomeo in Galdo, Campania. Marciano had two brothers, Louis (aka Sonny) and Peter, and three sisters, Alice, Concetta, and Elizabeth. When he was about 18 months old, Marciano contracted pneumonia, from which he almost died.In his youth, he worked out on homemade weightlifting equipment (later in his life, Marciano was also a client of Charles Atlas) and used a stuffed mailbag that hung from a tree in his back yard as a heavy bag. At Brockton High School, he participated on both the football and baseball teams, but he was removed from the baseball squad after joining a church league, which violated a policy against playing for outside teams. He dropped out after the 10th grade to help support his struggling family during the Great Depression. Among his various early jobs, he worked as a ditch digger, gardener, and leather tanner at the same shoe factory where his father was employed. He also worked as a "chute man" on delivery trucks for the Brockton Ice & Coal Company (for which he earned $10 per week).

During the Second World War, Marciano enlisted in the US Army in March 1943 and was assigned to the 150th Combat Engineers, serving for three years. Stationed in Swansea, Wales, he helped ferry supplies across the English Channel to Normandy. In August 1945, his battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation for outstanding performance of duty against the enemy from February 7–13, 1945, on the Sauer and Our Rivers in Luxembourg and Germany. After the war ended, he completed his service in March 1946 at Fort Lewis, Washington, where he received an honorable discharge from the Army with the rank of Private First Class.

Amateur career

Marciano was introduced to boxing by an uncle, and fought during his stint in the Army during World War II, mostly because he wanted to avoid KP and other lousy details. He didn't think he would make boxing his career. But after his discharge from the Army in 1946, he began training.

On March 17, 1947, at the Valley Arena Gardens in Holyoke, Massachusetts, fighting under the assumed name Rocky Mack to protect his amateur status, he had his first fight as a pro, registering a third-round knockout and receiving $35. That spring, Marciano's dream of becoming a major league catcher finally ended when he failed in his tryout with a Chicago Cubs' minor league affiliate in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Returning to boxing, Marciano began to make a name for himself on the amateur circuit, winning the Golden Gloves Tournament in Lowell, Massachusetts and the New England Golden Gloves, which earned him a spot in the Golden Gloves All-East Championship Tournament in March 1948. He was controversially beaten by Coley Wallace. Marciano rebounded by capturing the New England AAU heavyweight title in late March 1948, defeating George McInnis before 4,749 fans at the Boston Arena. After the tournament, doctors discovered that his left thumb was broken. The injury robbed him a shot at capturing the National AAU title in April, which carried with it an automatic berth on the U.S. Olympic team to compete in London that summer. Marciano's amateur record was 8–4.

Professional career

Given his physical dimensions, Marciano did not fit the mold of a typical heavyweight boxer. He stood just over 5-foot-10 and generally weighed in the mid-180-pound range. With a reach measuring only 68 inches, he was considerably shorter in wingspan than most heavyweight champions. Yet, under trainer Charley Goldman, Marciano turned what appeared to be disadvantages into strengths. He developed a crouching style that reduced his target area and suited his power at close range. From that low stance, his jab could rise upward carrying notable power. Marciano once remarked that his approach worked to his benefit because many opponents "ended up punching down at me," which reduced the force of their blows. By contrast, punches thrown upward tend to generate greater impact. It may help explain why the only two fighters to drop Marciano—Walcott and Moore—were roughly comparable to him in size. Marciano himself noted that their similar stature neutralized the edge he typically enjoyed in the ring. Trainer Angelo Dundee later described Goldman's method as teaching Marciano that “if you are short, you make yourself smaller.”

Marciano returned to the professional ranks on July 12, 1948, and quickly made an impact. He won each of his first 16 professional fights by knockout—all of them ending before the fifth round, with nine concluding in the opening round alone. Early in his career, Marciano adopted a new surname at the urging of his manager, Al Weill, after a ring announcer in Providence, Rhode Island, struggled to pronounce Marchegiano. By the middle of 1949, he began facing stronger competition. On May 23, 1949, Don Mogard became the first opponent to last the full distance against Marciano, though Marciano secured a unanimous decision victory. He went on defeating every subsequent challenger—most by knockout—earning the moniker "The Rock from Brockton."

Marciano's punching power was vividly demonstrated on December 30, 1949, at Madison Square Garden, where he met Carmine Vingo. Entering the bout on a 12-fight unbeaten streak, Vingo was quickly overwhelmed. Marciano floored him twice for nine-counts—first in the opening round and again in the second. The punishing match concluded in the sixth round when Marciano delivered a devastating right hand that rendered Vingo unconscious. Vingo was taken immediately to a hospital and underwent surgery to treat a brain hemorrhage. He was administered the last rites by a priest. Deeply shaken by the incident, Marciano reportedly vowed he would retire from boxing if Vingo did not survive. Although Vingo recovered, he was left partially paralyzed. In the aftermath, Marciano offered financial assistance for some of Vingo's medical expenses, and the two men eventually formed a friendship.

Heavyweight championship fights

On September 23, 1952, at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia, Marciano challenged champion Jersey Joe Walcott for his first opportunity at the heavyweight title. The bout turned into a punishing ordeal. In the opening round, Marciano was knocked down for the first time in his professional career by one of Walcott's left hooks. Rather than remain on the canvas, he sprang to his feet, visibly angered, and shouted at a startled Walcott. Even so, Marciano struggled to seize control as the fight wore on. Walcott opened cuts between his eyes and across his forehead, and round after round slipped away from the challenger. By the conclusion of the 12th, Walcott appeared firmly ahead on the scorecards. Marciano later admitted that for several rounds he had been fighting with impaired vision.

Entering the 13th round, Marciano knew a knockout was his only path to victory. Just half a minute into the round, he fired a compact overhand right that crashed into Walcott's chin with tremendous force. Walcott dropped to one knee, draped his left arm over the middle rope, and slumped forward onto the canvas. He was counted out, and Marciano emerged as the new heavyweight champion. Marciano became the first heavyweight champion from Massachusetts since John L. Sullivan 62 years earlier.

Marciano met Walcott again in a rematch on May 15, 1953, at Chicago Stadium, and this time the outcome was swift. He stopped Walcott with a knockout just 2 minutes and 25 seconds into the opening round. Walcott threw a jab and Marciano countered with a left hook and a right uppercut that sent the off-balance Walcott sprawling on his back, his feet flying high above him. The challenger pulled himself up to a sitting position, one hand on the ropes, and appeared unhurt. He then sat there and let the referee count him out. Once the fatal ten was reached, Walcott hoisted himself to his feet and complained that he had received a fast count.

His next defense was held on September 24, 1953, at New York's Polo Grounds, in what would be a rematch with his old rival, Roland La Starza. The bout remained competitive through the first six rounds, but La Starza began to fade as the fight progressed. By the 11th round, referee Ruby Goldstein halted the contest after La Starza had been relentlessly battered and knocked through the ropes. He was taken to the hospital with a broken arm, multiple blood clots, and required surgery.

Boxing style

Marciano was known for his punches, especially his right hand Susie Q punch, and lead hook, which both had knockout potential. He would load up his shots bending his knees, and by using exaggerated head movement and putting his entire body weight into every punch. He also used a "gazelle punch" for his hook, springing up from a deep crouch to add power and cover distance.

His footwork included a shuffle step. He would move his back foot to his front foot to cover distance and generate more power. He also used a full-on shift into a southpaw stance to chase opponents. Marciano also used a backwards leaning advance keeping his head back and to the side off of centerline. When setting up his overhand, Marciano would lean back while shuffling into an exchange, allowing him to advance while remaining defensively responsible. If an opponent threw a punch, he could lean back to reduce the impact. He would also use crab style blocks including a rear cross block and a lead reverse elbow block.

At close range, he would drive his head into his opponent's hips or shoulders immediately after a punch to stay safe or after weaving to unbalance his competitors. He also used his head to manipulate his opponent's movement. When in close, he would use his shorter frame to unleash a barrage of short, tight punches.

With a relatively short reach of 68 inches and limited hand speed, Marciano was not known for relying on his jab. He used it sparingly, as it was not a key part of his strategy or a frequent setup for his powerful right hand. Instead, Marciano had other ways of landing his signature punches. One tactic he often used was timing his opponent's jab and responding with a right hook, aimed either at the body or the head. Upon developing his left hook, Marciano was able to use the punch to set up his right hand as well.

His trademark approach was a relentless forward pressure crowding opponents, cutting off the ring, and forcing exchanges. Marciano was renowned for his granite chin, relentless stamina, and tireless work ethic, maintaining a punishing pace that often broke opponents down both physically and mentally. Marciano was also known as an extremely resilient and determined boxer.

Marciano's aggression was limited to the ring; once the fight was over, he was quick to show respect to his opponents being known as one of the nicest people in the sport of boxing. His style was built to entertain, characterized by relentless pressure, constant exchanges, and a refusal to back down as he kept pressing forward.

Training routine

Marciano was known for his intense training routine which included tons of cardio work. With Marciano running at least 5 miles per day, often uphill, and included running back downhill backwards. His regular gym routine included the basics such as hundreds of hours of sparring, heavy‐bag and speed‐bag work, along with tons of push-ups and sit-ups, and many medicine-ball "thumps to the gut" for core conditioning. It has also been reported that he would go to his local YMCA during fight camps, where he would shadowbox underwater for hours to build up his power. During his camp Marciano would follow a strict diet that was set by his trainer Alie Colombo, he also refrained from night life and went to bed at 9:30pm every night. Marciano's brother Peter later commented on his training stating "Rocky lived like a monk. He was always in incredible condition. He was devoted to training, and he could always throw more punches than he faced. He's never been given full credit for his conditioning."

Life after boxing

In 1957 Marciano released a book titled Rocky Marcianos Book Of Boxing And Bodybuilding which he co wrote alongside his trainer Charley Goodman. The book focused on detailed exercises and boxing moves with drawings and photos of Marciano.

Marciano considered a comeback in 1959 when Ingemar Johansson won the Heavyweight Championship from Floyd Patterson on June 26, 1959. After only a month of training in nearly four years, Marciano decided against it and never seriously considered a comeback again.

After his retirement, Marciano entered the world of television and film, he made his acting debut, playing a small role in the 1957 film The Delicate Delinquent. 3 years later he appeared on the big screen once again as he played the deputy sheriff in College Confidentiall. In 1961 he began hosting a weekly boxing show on TV titled Main Event and later appearing in the Combat! episode "Masquerade" in 1963. Due to his celebrity status Marciano also made numerous appearances on late night talk shows and games show such as The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Merv Griffin Show,The Tonight Show Starting Johnny Carson along with making other minor acting appearances. For a brief period, he worked as a troubleshooting referee in wrestling (Marciano was a good wrestler in high school). He continued as a referee and boxing commentator in boxing matches for many years. He was also active in business as a partner and vice president of Papa Luigi Spaghetti Dens, a San Francisco-based franchise company formed by Joe Kearns and James Braly.

Marciano had two children—a daughter, Mary Anne (born 1952), who died on June 3, 2011, of complications from a respiratory illness and a son, Rocco Kevin (born 1968). Mary Anne had several run-ins with the law in Florida in the 1980s and 1990s, getting arrested and charged with assault and armed robbery after previously serving jail time for cocaine possession. Joey Marciano, a professional baseball player, is a cousin twice removed.

In late July 1969, shortly before his death, Marciano participated in the filming of The Superfight: Marciano vs. Ali. The two boxers were filmed sparring, then the film was edited to match a computer simulation of a hypothetical fight between them, each in his prime. It aired on January 20, 1970, with one version having Marciano winning and the second version having Ali winning.

Personal life

In 1947, Marciano met Barbra Cousins, daughter of a Brockton police sergeant. The two were married on December 31, 1950. They had a daughter, Mary Ann, and later adopted a son, Rocco Junior.

Marciano was a devout Catholic and often attended mass during training and before a fight. He once stated "the biggest thrill I can think of would be an audience with the Pope".

Marciano ended up befriending his former opponent that he sent to the hospital, Carmine Vingo. Marciano ended up paying for his medical expenses and Vingo even attended Marciano's wedding. Marciano later stated "Carmine is my friend. He forgave me. If he hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to carry on." Marciano was also friends with many other prominent figures of his era including Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

Death

On August 31, 1969 (the day before his 46th birthday), Marciano was a passenger in a small private plane, a Cessna 172 heading to Des Moines, Iowa, from Chicago Midway. It was night and bad weather had set in. The pilot, Glenn Belz, had only 231 total hours of flying time, 35 of them at night, and had no instrument rating. Belz tried to land the plane at a small airfield outside Newton, Iowa, but the aircraft hit a tree two miles short of the runway. Flying with Marciano in the back seat was Frankie Farrell, 28, the oldest son of organized crime figure Lew Farrell. Marciano, Belz, and Farrell were killed on impact.

The National Transportation Safety Board report said, "The pilot attempted an operation exceeding his experience and ability level, continued visual flight rules under adverse weather conditions and experienced spatial disorientation in the last moments of the flight." Marciano was on his way to give a speech to support his friend's son and there was a surprise birthday celebration waiting for him. He had hoped to return in the early morning for his 46th birthday celebration with his wife. He was coming from a dinner in Chicago at STP CEO Andy Granatelli's home.

Marciano is interred in a crypt at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His wife died five years later of lung cancer at age 46, and is entombed next to him.

Legacy

Marciano holds the record with heavyweight Brian Nielsen for the longest undefeated streak by a heavyweight. He is also the only world heavyweight champion to go undefeated throughout his professional career. Although heavyweight champion Gene Tunney never suffered a defeat at heavyweight and retired as champion, he lost one career fight at light heavyweight, and his longest win streak was 32, with his overall record being 82-1-4(D)-1(NC). Marciano also has the highest knockout percentage of any heavyweight champion in history (over the period of a career) with 87.76%. In his professional career, he was only knocked down twice. The first occurred in his first title fight against Jersey Joe Walcott, and the second occurred against Archie Moore.

Despite his perfect record and retiring as champion, Marciano has sometimes been criticized for the allegedly low quality of opposition he faced during his career. At the time of his first fight with Roland La Starza, some experts believed it was La Starza and not Marciano who deserved the decision.

These criticisms notwithstanding, over the decades Marciano has been ranked highly in several all-time boxing lists. In December 1962, a Ring poll of 40 boxing experts placed Marciano as the seventh-best heavyweight of all time. Boxing historian Charlie Rose rated Marciano as the eight-best heavyweight of all time in 1968, while John McCallum's survey of boxing historians and writers listed him as the ninth-best all-timer in the division. In 1971, Nat Fleischer, a boxing historian and founder of The Ring, named Marciano as the 10th all-time greatest heavyweight champion.

In 1998, The Ring named Marciano as the sixth greatest heavyweight champion ever. In 2002, The Ring placed him at number 12 on the list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years. In 2003, The Ring rated Marciano number 14 on the list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. In 2005, he was named the fifth greatest heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organization. In 2007, on ESPN.com's list of the 50 Greatest Boxers of All Time, Marciano was ranked number 14, and was the 5th highest ranked heavyweight, behind (in order) Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson, and Jack Dempsey. The Boston Globe ranked Marciano fifth in a list of Top 100 New England sports figures of the 20th century. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named him the greatest sports figure from Massachusetts.

In popular culture

Marciano has had two films made on his remarkable rise to the top of the boxing world. The first one titled Marciano came out in 1979 where he was portrayed by Tony Lo Bianco. In 1999, the film titled Rocky Marciano came out where he is portrayed by Jon Favreau.

Marciano's fighting style and name inspired the Rocky Balboa character from the Rocky franchise.

Video games

Marciano appears as a playable character in the following video games.

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

NYSAC heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

NBA (WBA) heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

The Ring magazine titles

The Ring heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

Undisputed titles

Undisputed heavyweight champion

Awards

Awarded Packy McFarland Memorial Trophy by an association of Chicago boxing writers: 1951, 1954 (first two-time winner)

Hickok Belt (Athlete of the Year): 1952

Awarded Edward J. Neil Memorial Plaque by the Boxing Writers Association of New York: 1952

The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year: 1952, 1954 and 1955

The Ring magazine Fight of the Year: 1952 vs. Jersey Joe Walcott I, 1953 vs. Roland La Starza II, 1954 vs. Ezzard Charles II

Awarded Graham McNamee Memorial Award in 1953 for outstanding contribution to the general welfare of sports.

Halls of fame

Inaugural member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990

Inaugural member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1980

Inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1976

Member of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

Filmography