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There is no record of Liston's
birth, he once gave an age compatible with his being born in 1928
but is said to be absent from the
1930 United States Census
it has been suggested he may not have known what year he was born.
Liston settled on a date of birth of May 8, 1932 for official
purposes but by the time he won the world title an aged appearance
added credence to rumors that he was several years older than
claimed. Charles "Sonny" Liston was
born into a
sharecropping
family who farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson
Township,
St. Francis County,
Arkansas. His
father, Tobe Liston, had been a widower in his fifties who had
already fathered twelve children with his first wife when he and 16
year old Helen Baskin moved to Arkansas from
Mississippi
in 1916, they had 13 children together. Sonny is believed to have
been the penultimate child and youngest son.
Liston's father inflicted whippings so severe that the scars were
still visible decades later. Helen
Baskin moved to
St. Louis
with some of her children, leaving Sonny - aged around 13, according
to his later reckonings - in Arkansas with his father. Soon
afterward Sonny rose early, thrashed the pecans from his
brother-in-law's tree and sold them in (Forrest
City). With the proceeds he
traveled to St. Louis and reunited with his mother and siblings.
Liston tried going to school but quickly left after jeers about his
illiteracy, the only employment he could obtain was sporadic and
exploitative.
He turned to crime and led a gang of toughs
who carried out muggings and robberies, often wearing a favorite
shirt, and he became known to St. Louis PD as the "Yellow Shirt
Bandit". In January 1950, he was caught after a gratuitously violent
robbery he was convicted and, in June
1950, sentenced to five years in
Missouri State Penitentiary.
He gave his age as 20 years old, the
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
said he was 22.
Liston never complained about prison,
saying he was guaranteed three meals every day. The athletic
director at
Missouri State Penitentiary,
Father Alois Stevens, suggested to Liston he try boxing and his
obvious aptitude, along with an endorsement from the priest, aided
Liston in getting an early parole. Father Stevens organized a
sparring session with a former pro light-heavyweight to showcase
Liston's potential. After 2 rounds the ex-pro had taken enough.
"Better get me out of this ring, he is going to kill me!" he
exclaimed. On
Halloween
night in 1952, Liston was paroled. Much was later made of his being
controlled by criminals. However, according to the priest who
interested him in boxing, underworld figures became his management
simply because they were the only ones willing to put up the
necessary money. |
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