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I've always liked this story about Billy Conn taking on a robber in his later years. Who are some other fighters who performed heroic deeds after their careers in the ring were over?
Barney Ross comes immediately to my. He fought at the battle of Guadalcanal in WWII and was wounded in action while saving men in his troop. Here is a small bit from wikipedia.
He was sent to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific, where one night, he and three other comrades were trapped under enemy fire. All three of his fellow Marines were wounded, as was Ross, and he was the only one able to fight. And fight he did. Ross gathered his comrades' rifles and grenades and single-handedly fought nearly two dozen Japanese soldiers over an entire night, killing them all by morning. Two of the Marines with him had died in the battle, but he carried the remaining man on his shoulders to safety; the other man weighed 230 lb (104 kg) compared to Ross' 140 lb (64 kg). Because of his heroism, Ross was awarded America's third highest military honor, the Silver Star as well as a Presidential Citation. As America's greatest "celebrity" war hero he was honored by President Roosevelt in a Rose Garden ceremony.
During his time in Guadalcanal, Ross began a life-long friendship with the famous Father Frederic Gehring, a war-time chaplain who wrote regular correspondences for Reader's Digest magazine. Gehring considered Ross a national treasure who defied logic when it came to bravery and the defense of principle. On Christmas Eve before Barney and his Marines were to go to battle, Gehring asked Ross to take part in what would become one of the most poignant such events of the war. Ross was the only one capable of playing a temperamental organ on the tropical island, so Gehring asked him to learn Silent Night and other Christmas songs for the troops. Barney played these songs and sang with the homesick young men, after which Gehring implored Ross to play a ***ish song. Ross played a melancholy song called "My Yiddishe Momma" about a child's love for his self-sacrificing mother. Many of the Marines knew the melody of the song because Ross always had it played when he entered the ring. But when the Marines heard the heart-rending lyrics, newspaper reports say they were all in tears.
After Ross's single-handed victory in the battle at Guadalcanal, he was viewed as almost superhuman, particularly based on all he had to overcome in his troubled life.
Billy Conn takes on young store robber
by Ken Guggenheim
The Pittsburgh Press
As a robber punched a Squirrel Hill convenience store manager, he probably wasn't paying much attention to the 72-year-old standing by the newspaper stand.
He might have had he known the man was Billy Conn.
Police said Conn, the former light heavyweight boxing champion scuffled with a robber yesterday in the Uni-Mart at 2331 Beechwood Boulevard. Conn tried to hold the robber for police, but the robber ran away with about $80 from the store.
According to police the robber entered the store about 9:45 AM and told manager Tom Dieker, 41, that he had a gun.
Dieker challenged the robber to show him the weapon, and the robber grabbed money from the register. The robber and Dieker began fighting when Conn intervened.
Conn, a Squirrel Hill resident, declined to discuss the incident. But his wife, Mary Louise, said she and her husband had stopped for coffee at the store after going to church at St. Philomena's on Beechwood Boulevard.
She said her husband was standing near the front of the store and she was in the back getting coffee when the robber began hitting Dieker. She said she ran out of the store and told a school crossing guard to call the police.
"My instinct was to get help. Billy's instinct was to fight" she said.
Mrs. Conn didn't see most of the fight, but she said Billy and the robber ended up on the floor, the robber knocking a newspaper rack over Conn's legs.
When the robber ran toward Waldron Street, he left behind a shoe and a sweatshirt. Mrs. Conn said he also left his wallet, but police could not confirm that.
The robber was described as about 24 years old, black with a medium complexion, and 5 feet 11 with a thin build.
As a boxer, Conn won 63, lost 11 and fought one draw from 1935 to 1948 and nearly defeated Joe Louis in the famous 1941 bout for the heavyweight title. Conn was the light heavyweight champion from July 1939 to May 1941 and was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1965.
His son, Billy Jr. said "tough guys" would pick fights with his father in the years after he retired. But he said he doesn't believe his father had thrown a punch in anger for years. Until yesterday.
"I guess even at 72, a former fighter, you throw a few punches," Billy Jr. said.
Name some other heroes.
Barney Ross comes immediately to my. He fought at the battle of Guadalcanal in WWII and was wounded in action while saving men in his troop. Here is a small bit from wikipedia.
He was sent to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific, where one night, he and three other comrades were trapped under enemy fire. All three of his fellow Marines were wounded, as was Ross, and he was the only one able to fight. And fight he did. Ross gathered his comrades' rifles and grenades and single-handedly fought nearly two dozen Japanese soldiers over an entire night, killing them all by morning. Two of the Marines with him had died in the battle, but he carried the remaining man on his shoulders to safety; the other man weighed 230 lb (104 kg) compared to Ross' 140 lb (64 kg). Because of his heroism, Ross was awarded America's third highest military honor, the Silver Star as well as a Presidential Citation. As America's greatest "celebrity" war hero he was honored by President Roosevelt in a Rose Garden ceremony.
During his time in Guadalcanal, Ross began a life-long friendship with the famous Father Frederic Gehring, a war-time chaplain who wrote regular correspondences for Reader's Digest magazine. Gehring considered Ross a national treasure who defied logic when it came to bravery and the defense of principle. On Christmas Eve before Barney and his Marines were to go to battle, Gehring asked Ross to take part in what would become one of the most poignant such events of the war. Ross was the only one capable of playing a temperamental organ on the tropical island, so Gehring asked him to learn Silent Night and other Christmas songs for the troops. Barney played these songs and sang with the homesick young men, after which Gehring implored Ross to play a ***ish song. Ross played a melancholy song called "My Yiddishe Momma" about a child's love for his self-sacrificing mother. Many of the Marines knew the melody of the song because Ross always had it played when he entered the ring. But when the Marines heard the heart-rending lyrics, newspaper reports say they were all in tears.
After Ross's single-handed victory in the battle at Guadalcanal, he was viewed as almost superhuman, particularly based on all he had to overcome in his troubled life.
Billy Conn takes on young store robber
by Ken Guggenheim
The Pittsburgh Press
As a robber punched a Squirrel Hill convenience store manager, he probably wasn't paying much attention to the 72-year-old standing by the newspaper stand.
He might have had he known the man was Billy Conn.
Police said Conn, the former light heavyweight boxing champion scuffled with a robber yesterday in the Uni-Mart at 2331 Beechwood Boulevard. Conn tried to hold the robber for police, but the robber ran away with about $80 from the store.
According to police the robber entered the store about 9:45 AM and told manager Tom Dieker, 41, that he had a gun.
Dieker challenged the robber to show him the weapon, and the robber grabbed money from the register. The robber and Dieker began fighting when Conn intervened.
Conn, a Squirrel Hill resident, declined to discuss the incident. But his wife, Mary Louise, said she and her husband had stopped for coffee at the store after going to church at St. Philomena's on Beechwood Boulevard.
She said her husband was standing near the front of the store and she was in the back getting coffee when the robber began hitting Dieker. She said she ran out of the store and told a school crossing guard to call the police.
"My instinct was to get help. Billy's instinct was to fight" she said.
Mrs. Conn didn't see most of the fight, but she said Billy and the robber ended up on the floor, the robber knocking a newspaper rack over Conn's legs.
When the robber ran toward Waldron Street, he left behind a shoe and a sweatshirt. Mrs. Conn said he also left his wallet, but police could not confirm that.
The robber was described as about 24 years old, black with a medium complexion, and 5 feet 11 with a thin build.
As a boxer, Conn won 63, lost 11 and fought one draw from 1935 to 1948 and nearly defeated Joe Louis in the famous 1941 bout for the heavyweight title. Conn was the light heavyweight champion from July 1939 to May 1941 and was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1965.
His son, Billy Jr. said "tough guys" would pick fights with his father in the years after he retired. But he said he doesn't believe his father had thrown a punch in anger for years. Until yesterday.
"I guess even at 72, a former fighter, you throw a few punches," Billy Jr. said.
Name some other heroes.
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