Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson, born on January 4, 1935, in Waco, North Carolina, was a prominent American boxer who became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at the age of 21. His early life was marked by poverty and struggles, leading him to initially run with street gangs in Brooklyn, New York, after his family moved there. However, his trajectory changed when he attended the Wiltwyck School for Boys, where supportive educators introduced him to boxing, igniting his passion for the sport. Patterson achieved significant milestones, including winning a gold medal at the 1952 Olympics and regaining the heavyweight title in 1960 after a brief loss to Ingemar Johansson.
Despite facing challenges including low self-esteem and severe criticism regarding his fighting style, Patterson demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout his boxing career. He fought notable opponents, including Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston, and continued to compete for years after his championship reign. Post-retirement, Patterson dedicated his time to mentoring young boxers and found personal happiness while living on a farm. His legacy lies not only in his athletic achievements but also in his ability to overcome personal adversities, ultimately passing away in 2006 after battling prostate cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Floyd Patterson is remembered as a determined and influential figure in the world of boxing.
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Subject Terms
Floyd Patterson
Boxer
- Born: January 4, 1935
- Birthplace: Waco, North Carolina
- Died: May 11, 2006
- Place of death: New Paltz, New York
Sport: Boxing
Early Life
Born on January 4, 1935, in Waco, North Carolina, Floyd Patterson was the third of nine sons in a family of thirteen. In 1936, the family moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York, in an attempt to escape the misery of rural poverty.
The Pattersons found life in the ghetto a difficult struggle. Floyd, who started running with street gangs, stole things he felt his family needed, such as dresses for his mother and milk for the family. One day in 1945, a police officer caught him stealing a case of soda. The judge, after consulting with his mother, placed him in the Wiltwyck School for Boys in Esopus, New York.
Floyd loved the green, sprawling countryside surrounding Wiltwyck. He rode horses, studied nature, and acquired a fondness for snakes. He also met a gentle teacher named Vivian Costen, who helped him overcome his extreme shyness and lack of confidence. Walter Johnson, Wiltwyck’s sports director, introduced Floyd to boxing. Together, the two teachers changed the young boy’s life forever.
When Floyd returned to New York, he enrolled at Public School 614, a special facility for children who needed additional assistance. There he met Charles Schwerfel, one of the school’s patrons, who employed Floyd in his Gramercy Park Hotel and persuaded him to try boxing as a professional career. Schwerfel and Frank LaVelle, a U.S. Customs employee who trained young boxers, induced Floyd to make the short walk up the steps to Gus D’Amato’s gymnasium.
The Road to Excellence
D’Amato served as a father figure to Floyd during the early days when the young man amused boxing experts by jumping around the ring like “a cricket on a hot skillet.” Where others saw awkwardness, D’Amato saw a brilliant quickness that enabled Floyd, at the age of fifteen, to capture the New York City Golden Gloves title in the 147-pound category.
As Floyd grew, so did his credentials. At the age of seventeen, he won a gold medal at the Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, by devastating four opponents in less than eighteen minutes of fighting. Following the Olympics, Floyd turned professional, winning his first thirteen bouts before losing a controversial decision to former light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim. A second streak of eighteen victories culminated with his fifth-round knockout of Archie Moore on November 30, 1956. At the age of twenty-one, Floyd became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history to that time.
The Emerging Champion
Throughout his career, Floyd struggled to overcome some severe psychological handicaps. The insecure new champion suffered from low self-esteem. Too embarrassed to ride in parades or accept other honors befitting the heavyweight champion, Floyd found it difficult to defend himself against critics who mocked his “glass chin” and suggested he had had no difficult opponents. Successful defenses against questionable opponents like Pete Rademacher, Roy Harris, and Brian London seemed to prove the critics’ case. Then, on June 26, 1959, when Ingemar Johansson knocked Floyd down seven times in three rounds, taking his title away, his career seemed to be over.
Floyd defied his critics. Bitterly ashamed over losing the crown, he went into seclusion for a year before returning to the ring against Johansson on June 20, 1960. In that fight, Floyd vindicated himself by knocking out the Swede with a vicious left hook. The first fighter ever to regain the heavyweight championship, Floyd enjoyed his finest hour.
Floyd began a second championship reign. After knocking out Johansson a second time and crushing Tom McNeeley, he came up against a massive ex-convict named Charles “Sonny” Liston. Liston, who outweighed Floyd by nearly 20 pounds, took the crown in a first-round knockout on September 25, 1962. Adding insult to injury, Liston duplicated this feat in a July 22, 1963, rematch.
Two consecutive one-round knockouts would have finished most fighters, but not Floyd. Rather than quitting, he staged yet another comeback, defeating five consecutive opponents, including the highly ranked Eddie Machen, before losing a twelve-round bid to regain the championship against Muhammad Ali on November 22, 1965.
Continuing the Story
Floyd’s durability during his post-championship career amazed his critics. He fought another seven years, beating reputable contenders like Oscar Bonavena, and nearly won the crown a third time on August 14, 1968, when ring officials gave Jimmy Ellis the World Boxing Association title in a controversial fifteen-round decision. Nine consecutive victories between 1968 and 1972 produced a second bout with Ali. It would be Floyd’s last fight.
The two world champions met in New York on September 20, 1972. Unlike the first fight, the second was vicious as Ali mercilessly pummeled a thirty-seven-year-old Floyd. Finally, the referee stopped the fight at the end of the seventh round. Afterward, Floyd announced his retirement.
The years after Floyd’s retirement were good ones. He devoted much time to teaching young men how to box in his Huguenot Boxing Club in New Paltz, New York. He lived on a thirty-five-acre farm that reminded him of the rural bliss he first encountered at Wiltwyck. Floyd overcame his emotional problems. “I have a wonderful family,” he stated. “I am a happy man.” In 2006, he died at home after battling prostate cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Summary
Shy and insecure, Floyd Patterson turned away from childhood behaviors that pointed to a life of crime. A kindhearted teacher and a fatherly boxing manager turned his life in a positive direction. Floyd was not the greatest heavyweight champion in the world, but he may have been the most durable.
Bibliography
Liebling, A. J. The Sweet Science. Reprint. New York: North Point, 2004.
Mullan, Harry, and Bob Mee. The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Boxing. London: Carlton, 2007.
Newcombe, Jack. Floyd Patterson, Heavyweight King. New York: Bartholomew House, 1961.
Patterson, Floyd, and Bert Randolph Sugar. The International Boxing Hall of Fame’s Basic Boxing Skills: A Step-by-Step Illustrated Introduction to the Sweet Science. New York: Skyhorse, 2007.
Remnick, David. Life Stories: Profiles from The New Yorker. New York: Random House, 2000.
Schulman, Arlene. The Prize Fighters: An Intimate Look at Champions and Contenders. New York: Lyons and Burford, 1994.