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William David Conn (October 8, 1917 – May 29, 1993) was an American professional and Light Heavyweight Champion famed for his fights with . He had a professional boxing record of 63 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 14 wins by knockout. His nickname, throughout most of his career, was "The Pittsburgh Kid." He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.

Early career
Conn debuted as a professional boxer winning on July 20, 1934, against Johnny Lewis, via a in round three.

Conn built a record of 47 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw (tie), with 7 knockouts, before challenging for the world Light Heavyweight title. Along the way, he beat former or future world champions , and , as well as and Young Corbett III.

On July 13, 1939, he won the world light heavyweight championship by outpointing in New York. Conn defended his title against Bettina and twice against another World Light Heavyweight Champion, , winning each in 15-round decisions. Conn also beat former World Champion Al McCoy and , , Gunnar Barlund and Buddy Knox in non-title bouts during his run as World Light Heavyweight Champion.

Joe Louis Era
In May 1941, Conn gave up his World Light Heavyweight title to challenge World Heavyweight Champion . Conn attempted to become the first World Light Heavyweight Champion in boxing history to win the World Heavyweight Championship when he and Louis met on June 18 of that year, and incredibly, to do so without going up in weight. The fight became part of boxing's lore because Conn held a secure lead on the scorecards leading to round 13. According to many experts and fans who watched the fight, Conn was outmaneuvering Louis up to that point. In a move that Conn would regret for the rest of his life, he tried to go for the knockout in round 13, and instead wound up losing the fight by knockout in that same round himself. Ten minutes after the fight, Conn told reporters, "I lost my head and a million bucks."Current Biography 1941 pp165-166 When asked by a reporter why he went for the knockout, Conn replied famously, "What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick i.e.?" In his long account in Sports Illustrated of the life and boxing career of Conn, wrote that afterwards Conn would joke, "I told Joe later, 'Hey, Joe, why didn't you just let me have the title for six months?' All I ever wanted was to be able to go around the corner where the guys are loafing and say, 'Hey, I'm the heavyweight champeen of the world.' "And you know what Joe said back to me? He said, 'I let you have it for twelve rounds, and you couldn't keep it. How could I let you have it for six months?'"

In 1942, Conn beat and had an exhibition with Louis. World War II was at one of its most important moments, however, and both Conn and Louis were called to serve in the Army. Conn went to war and was away from the ring until 1946.

By then, the public was clamoring for a rematch between him and the still World Heavyweight Champion Louis. This happened, and on June 19, 1946, Conn returned into the ring, straight into a World Heavyweight Championship bout. Before that fight, it was suggested to Louis that Conn might outpoint him because of his hand and foot speed. In a line that would be long-remembered, Louis replied: "He can run, but he can't hide." The fight, at Yankee Stadium, was the first World Heavyweight Championship bout ever, and 146,000 people watched it on TV, also setting a record for the most seen world heavyweight bout in history. Most people who saw it agreed that both Conn and Louis' abilities had eroded with their time spent serving in the armed forces, but Louis was able to retain the crown by a knockout in round eight. Conn's career was basically over after this fight, but he still fought two more fights, winning both by knockout in round nine. On December 10, 1948, he and Louis met inside a ring for the last time, this time for a public exhibition in Chicago. Conn would never climb into a ring as a fighter again.

Personal life
Billy married Mary Louise Smith, also from Pittsburgh. Billy did not get along with Mary's father, former major league baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds, Jimmy "Greenfield Jimmie" Smith. A fight broke out between them and Conn punched his father-in-law in the head and broke his hand, resulting in postponing the fight with Joe Louis. Frank Deford wrote colorfully about the kitchen brawl in his Sports Illustrated story "The Boxer and the Blonde".

Retirement
Conn appeared in a 1941 movie called The Pittsburgh Kid Https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-11-sp-578-story.html< /ref> Conn took a swing at the robber and ended up on the floor of the store, scuffling with him. "You always go with your best punch—straight left," Conn told television station WTAE afterward. "I think I interrupted his plans." The robber managed to get away, but not before Conn pulled off his coat, which contained his name and address, making the arrest an easy one. His wife said jumping into the fray was typical of her husband. "My instinct was to get help," she said at the time. "Billy's instinct was to fight."

Conn was a great friend of Pittsburgh Steelers owner .

As he became an older citizen, he participated in a number of documentaries for HBO and was frequently seen at boxing-related activities until his death in 1993, at the age of 75.

Conn was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.

In April 2017 Mary Louise Conn died, at 94.

In popular culture
  • A portion of North Craig Street in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh is named Billy Conn Boulevard.
  • Billy Conn is mentioned in the classic movie On the Waterfront. In the famous scene in the back of the cab—"I could have been a contender." (playing 's brother) reflects on Brando's character Terry's early promise as a boxer with the words "You could have been another Billy Conn."
  • Billy Conn is also mentioned in the 1966 and classic comedy movie The Fortune Cookie. In the apartment scene where Lemmon asks Boom Boom () "Where'd you learn that? Don't tell me, your father was a Pullman porter", for which Boom Boom replies "He was a fighter, light heavyweight. Once went rounds with Billy Conn."
  • Conn played a character named Billy Conn in the 1941 film The Pittsburgh Kid, although it was not a biography.

Professional boxing record
76Win64–11–1Jackie LyonsKO9 (10)Nov 25, 1948
75Win63–11–1Mike O'DowdTKO9 (10)Nov 15, 1948
74Loss62–11–1KO8 (15)Jun 19, 1946
73Win62–10–1UD12Feb 13, 1942
72Win61–10–1Jay D TurnerUD10Jan 28, 1942
71Win60–10–1Henry CooperUD12Jan 12, 1942
70Loss59–10–1KO13 (15)Jun 18, 1941
69Win59–9–1Buddy KnoxTKO8 (10)May 26, 1941
68Win58–9–1Gunnar BärlundTKO8 (10)April 4, 1941
67Win57–9–1Danny HassettKO5 (15)Mar 5, 1941
66Win56–9–1Ira HughesTKO4 (10)Feb 27, 1941
65Win55–9–1UD10Nov 29, 1940
64Win54–9–1Al McCoyUD10Oct 18, 1940
63Win53–9–1KO13 (15)Sep 6, 1940
62Win52–9–1UD15Jun 5, 1940
61Win51–9–1Henry CooperUD12Jan 10, 1940
60Win50–9–1UD15Nov 17, 1939
59Win49–9–1UD15Sep 25, 1939
58Win48–9–1Gus DorazioTKO8 (10)Aug 14, 1939
57Win47–9–1UD15Jul 15, 1939
56Win46–9–1UD12May 12, 1939
55Win45–9–1UD15Feb 10, 1939
54Win44–9–1UD10Jan 6, 1939
53Win43–9–1UD12Nov 28, 1938
52Win42–9–1Honeyboy JonesPTS10Oct 27, 1938
51Win41–9–1Ray ActisTKO8 (10)Sep 14, 1938
50Loss40–9–1UD12Jul 25, 1938
49Win40–8–1MD10May 10, 1938
48Win39–8–1Domenico CeccarelliPTS10April 4, 1938
47Win38–8–1Honeyboy JonesPTS12Jan 24, 1938
46Loss37–8–1UD12Dec 16, 1937
45Win37–7–1Young Corbett IIIUD10Nov 8, 1937
44Win36–7–1SD15Sep 30, 1937
43Loss35–7–1Young Corbett IIIPTS10Aug 13, 1937
42Win35–6–1Ralph ChongRTD5 (10)Aug 3, 1937
41Win34–6–1SD12Jun 30, 1937
40Win33–6–1Oscar RankinsSD10May 27, 1937
39Win32–6–1UD10May 3, 1937
38Win31–6–1Eddie Babe RiskoUD10Mar 11, 1937
37Win30–6–1SD10Dec 28, 1936
36Win29–6–1Jimmy BrownTKO9 (10)Dec 2, 1936
35Win28–6–1Ralph ChongUD8Oct 22, 1936
34Win27–6–1Charley WeiseUD10Oct 19, 1936
33Win26–6–1Roscoe ManningTKO5 (10)Sep 21, 1936
32Win25–6–1Honeyboy JonesSD10Sep 8, 1936
31Win24–6–1Teddy MovanUD8Aug 10, 1936
30Win23–6–1Teddy MovanUD8Jul 30, 1936
29Win22–6–1General BurrowsUD8Jun 15, 1936
28Win21–6–1Honeyboy JonesPTS10Jun 3, 1936
27Win20–6–1Honeyboy JonesUD8May 27, 1936
26Win19–6–1Dick AmbroseSD6May 19, 1936
25Win18–6–1General BurrowsPTS6April 27, 1936
24Win17–6–1Steve NickleashUD6April 13, 1936
23Win16–6–1Steve NickleashUD6Mar 16, 1936
22Win15–6–1Louis CookUD8Feb 17, 1936
21Win14–6–1Louis CookUD6Feb 3, 1936
20Win13–6–1Johnny YurciniTKO4 (6)Jan 27, 1936
19Win12–6–1Steve WaltersPTS6Nov 18, 1935
18Draw11–6–1Teddy MovanPTS6Oct 14, 1935
17Win11–6Johnny YurciniPTS6Oct 7, 1935
16Win10–6Johnny YurciniPTS6Sep 10, 1935
15Win9–6George LigginsUD4Sep 9, 1935
14Loss8–6Teddy MovanSD4Aug 19, 1935
13Win8–5Ray EberleUD5Jul 29, 1935
12Loss7–5Teddy MovanPTS4Jul 9, 1935
11Loss7–4Ralph GizzyPTS6Jun 10, 1935
10Win7–3Ray EberleSD6Jun 3, 1935
9Loss6–3Ralph GizzyUD4April 25, 1935
8Win6–2George SchlieKO2 (6)April 8, 1935
7Win5–2Stanley NagyPTS4Mar 13, 1935
6Loss4–2Ray EberlePTS6Feb 25, 1935
5Win4–1Johnny BirekSD6Jan 29, 1935
4Loss3–1Pete LeoneRTD3 (6)Nov 12, 1934
3Win3–0Paddy GrayPTS4Sep 27, 1934
2Win2–0Bob DormanPTS6Aug 30, 1934
1Win1–0Johnny LewisKO3 (6)Jul 20, 1934

Titles in boxing
Major world titles
  • NYSAC light heavyweight champion (175 lbs)
  • NBA (WBA) light heavyweight champion (175 lbs)

The Ring magazine titles
  • The Ring light heavyweight champion (175 lbs)

Undisputed titles
  • Undisputed light heavyweight champion

See also
  • List of light heavyweight boxing champions

External links

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