Posted on 05/12/2023 5:55:45 PM PDT by fugazi
The upcoming heavyweight title fight between Billy Conn and Joe Louis has been postponed after Conn broke his hand fighting with his father-in-law (see page 12). "Greenfield" Jimmy Smith was a former major league ball player who was better known for his mouth than his bat. During the 1919 World Series Cincinnati made Smith a base coach and his job was to get in Chicago second baseman Eddie Collins' head. It worked, because soon the players were scrapping, but to what degree we don't know as several White Sox players had been paid to throw the Series.
Smith really liked Conn until he realized the famous boxer was in love with his teenage daughter. The old man was a rumbler, both during his career and after, and did all he could to keep Conn from marrying his daughter. He was successful for a while, but the two secretly tied the knot where Smith couldn't stop them. He was fightin' mad over the couple's choice for names for his grandson. "Champion or no champion," Smith said, "I’ll punch hell out of that fellow and he’d probably be the first one to say I could do it. I hope he wins, but I want him to stay away from my family."
Kind of like triple plays in baseball, the chance of a fight breaking out at your baby's christening ceremony is very low.
But it is possible.
Smith took the first swing then Conn countered with a left to the head, which broke the boxer's hand and cost him a fortune in lost revenue. After the family pulled them apart the old cuss walked away without a scratch.
Now, every father with a daughter has their strategy for how best to set the tone when meeting the new boyfriend. The old cleaning-the-shotgun trick is so cliche that it probably only worked once, and that was long ago. So you've got to hand it to Smith: how many of us would get in the face of the daughter's boyfriend if he gave up being Light Heavyweight champion of the world to fight Joe Louis, and then almost beat him?
Maybe Billy Conn was a real nice guy, but dad said "she's too young for you" and meant it. Right or wrong, Jimmy Smith, you had the guts to call your shot, then took a swing at the champ and came out on top.
I’m no expert on boxing history, so I wonder if Conn would have had a shot at beating Louis if he didn’t break his hand. Both of their careers were interrupted by the war, so who knows.
Billy Conn was a helluva good fighter. But, of course, so was Joe Louis.
This all happened in 2023? Those dudes must live healthy lifestyles!
Conn was a great fighter but he couldn't beat Louis. Conn was upset when WW II was over... because he knew he would have to fight Louis again!
Joe Louis was incredible. I’ve seen old films of some of his fights: To say he was formidable would be an understatement.
Quick hands and a hell of a punch.
The quickest hands I ever saw were Floyd Patterson’s. The problem with Patterson was he couldn’t take a punch; that’s why he was often called “The China Chin” (china as in flatware).
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