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Thomas Rocco Barbella (January 1, 1919Alternative birth dates have been cited; however his gravestone states January 1, 1919, and his widow confirmed that this as the correct date – May 22, 1990), better known as Rocky Graziano, was an American professional boxer and actor who held the World Middleweight title. Graziano is considered one of the greatest knockout artists in boxing history, often displaying the capacity to take his opponent out with a single punch. He was ranked 23rd on The Ring magazine list of the greatest punchers of all time. He fought many of the best middleweights of the era including Sugar Ray Robinson. He was the subject of the 1956 film, Somebody Up There Likes Me, based on his 1955 autobiography, starring Paul Newman as Graziano.
Graziano heard from a couple of his friends about a tournament going on with a gold medal for the winner. He fought four matches and ended up winning the New York Metropolitan Amateur Athletic Union Boxing Competition (1939). He sold the gold medal for $15 and decided that boxing was a good way to make cash.
In 1940, just weeks into his amateur fighting career, Graziano was arrested for stealing from a school. He went to Coxsackie Correctional Facility, where he spent three weeks with boyhood friend Jake LaMotta, and then he went on to the New York City Reformatory, where he spent five months. After he got out of the reformatory, he headed back to the gym to earn money, and while there met Eddie Cocco who started his professional career. He entered the ring under the name Robert Barber. A couple of weeks later, Graziano was charged with a probation violation and sent back to reform school where he was charged with starting a minor riot. He was then sent to Rikers Island.
When Graziano got out of jail, he enlisted in the military but went AWOL after punching a captain. He escaped from Fort Dix in New Jersey and started his real boxing career under the name of "Rocky Graziano." He won his first couple of bouts. After gaining popularity under the name of Graziano, he was found by the military. After his fourth bout, he was called into a manager's office to speak with a couple of military personnel. Expecting to be prosecuted and sent back to the military or jail, he fled. He returned to the military a week later. In 1941, he turned himself in, was court-martialed and dishonorably discharged from the Army, then sent to the Federal Penitentiary (nicknamed the "Big Top" for its dome), founded in 1875 as a military prison (now known as USP Leavenworth). Fort Leavenworth is where Rocky Graziano started his boxing career while housed at the FCP (minimum/low) building adjacent to the main facility.
Ultimately he was pardoned and given the opportunity to fight under the Army's aegis.
In March 1945 at Madison Square Garden in New York City Graziano scored a major upset over Billy Arnold, whose style was similar to that of Sugar Ray Robinson: he was a slick boxer with lightning-fast combinations and a knockout punch. The Ring magazine and various newspapers across the United States touted Arnold as the next Joe Louis or Sugar Ray Robinson. Arnold was a heavy favorite to defeat Graziano and to then fight for the world title. Graziano absorbed a beating in the early going, before going on to batter and knock Arnold out in the third round of the scheduled eight-round bout. Following his loss to Graziano, Arnold was never the same.
Graziano fought three middleweight title bouts against Tony Zale, losing the first before capturing then surrendering the championship.
In their first match (September 27, 1946), after flooring Graziano in the first round, Zale took a savage beating from him and was on the verge of losing the fight by TKO. However, Zale rallied and knocked him out in the sixth round to retain his title.
The rematch, a year later in Chicago (July 16, 1947), was a mirror image of their first fight. The referee almost stopped the second fight in the third round because of a severe cut over Graziano's left eye, but Graziano's cutman, Morris ("Whitey") Bimstein, was able to stop the bleeding. Battered around the ring, his eye closed and appearing ready to lose by a knockout, Graziano rallied to knock Zale out in the sixth, earning the title.
Their last fight was held in New Jersey June 10, 1948. Zale regained his crown, winning the match by a knockout in the third round. The knockout blows consisted of a perfect combination of a right to Graziano's body, then a left hook to his jaw, knocking him unconscious.
Graziano's last shot at the middleweight title came against Sugar Ray Robinson in April 1952. He dropped Robinson to his knee with a right in the third round. Less than a minute later, Robinson KO'd him with a right to the jaw.
Graziano retired after losing his very next fight, a 10-round decision to Chuck Davey.
In the 1960s, Graziano opened a pizza restaurant, Rocky Graziano's Pizza Ring, on Second Avenue in Kips Bay, Manhattan, creating a modest franchise for the restaurant in the New York City area. He briefly operated a bowling alley in North Babylon, New York.
Professional career
Around the time he absconded from military service, Barbella began boxing under the management of Irving Cohen, a relationship that would endure for the remainder of his professional career. Cohen arranged a debut bout and billed the young fighter under his grandfather's surname as Rocky Graziano. Despite his notoriously lax approach to training, Graziano leveraged his untutored, brawling style and powerful punching ability to win by knockout. Cohen scheduled fights against increasingly challenging opponents with the apparent goal of overmatching Graziano to teach him the value of conditioning. He even demanded a match against Sugar Ray Robinson.
Suspensions
In 1946, Graziano was suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) for failure to report a bribe attempt. In 1948 Graziano was suspended for "running out" on a scheduled December 1 bout with Ruben Shank. Abe Green, then-National Boxing Association's President, announced that they were indefinitely suspending him in all parts of the world under NBA supervision, following similar action by the California State Athletic Commission. The suspension covered all of the American States, Great Britain, the European Boxing Federation, Cuba, Mexico, and Canada. Boxing promoter Ralph Tribuani got him a license to box in Delaware, which led to his reinstatement by both the NBA and NYSAC and Rocky's return to the ring.
Post-boxing career
After his retirement from boxing, Graziano cohosted a short-lived series, The Henny and Rocky Show (1955) with famous comedian Henny Youngman. He was a semi-regular on The Martha Raye Show, as Martha Raye boyfriend. He appeared as a regular on the United Artists TV series Miami Undercover for its entire run, and appeared in several series and shows, including The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, Car 54, Where Are You?, I've Got a Secret, and Naked City. He portrayed Packy, an ex-boxer, in the 1967 film Tony Rome.
Personal life
Graziano married Norma Unger, of German-Jewish descent, on August 10, 1943. By all accounts, the two had a very happy marriage, and they remained together until his death from cardiopulmonary failure on May 22, 1990, in New York City at age 71. According to his biographer, Graziano remained faithful to his wife during the entirety of their marriage, something which was not particularly common among celebrities. They had two children, both of whom married and had children. Graziano's funeral was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral. SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Leave Your Worry on The Doorstep, The New York Times, May 26, 1990. He is interred at the Locust Valley Cemetery along with his wife, who died in 2009.
Legacy
Professional boxing record
83 Loss Chuck Davey UD 10 September 17, 1952 82 Loss 67–9–6 Sugar Ray Robinson KO 3 (15), April 16, 1952 81 Win 67–8–6 Roy Wouters TKO 1 (10), March 27, 1952 80 Win 66–8–6 Eddie O'Neill TKO 4 (10), February 18, 1952 79 Win 65–8–6 Tony Janiro TKO 10 (10), September 19, 1951 78 Win 64–8–6 Chuck Hunter DQ 2 (10) August 6, 1951 77 Win 63–8–6 Cecil Hudson TKO 3 (10) July 10, 1951 76 Win 62–8–6 Freddie Lott KO 5 (10), June 18, 1951 75 Win 61–8–6 Johnny Greco KO 3 (10), May 21, 1951 74 Win 60–8–6 Reuben Jones KO 3 (10), March 19, 1951 73 Win 59–8–6 Honeychile Johnson KO 4 (10), November 27, 1950 72 Win 58–8–6 Tony Janiro UD 10 October 27, 1950 71 Win 57–8–6 Pete Mead KO 3 (10) October 16, 1950 70 Win 56–8–6 Gene Burton KO 7 (10), October 4, 1950 69 Win 55–8–6 Henry Brimm KO 4 (10), May 16, 1950 68 Win 54–8–6 Vinnie Cidone TKO 3 (10), May 9, 1950 67 Win 53–8–6 Danny Williams KO 3 (10), April 24, 1950 66 Draw 52–8–6 Tony Janiro SD 10 March 31, 1950 65 Win 52–8–5 Joe Curcio KO 1 (10), March 6, 1950 64 Win 51–8–5 Sonny Horne MD 10 December 6, 1949 63 Win 50–8–5 Charley Fusari TKO 10 (10), September 14, 1949 62 Win 49–8–5 Joe Agosta KO 2 (10), July 18, 1949 61 Win 48–8–5 Bobby Claus KO 2 (10), June 21, 1949 60 Loss 47–8–5 Tony Zale KO 3 (15), June 10, 1948 59 Win 47–7–5 Sonny Horne UD 10 April 5, 1948 58 Win 46–7–5 Tony Zale TKO 6 (15), July 17, 1947 57 Win 45–7–5 Jerry Fiorello TKO 5 (10), June 16, 1947 56 Win 44–7–5 Eddie Finazzo TKO 1 (10), June 10, 1947 55 Loss 43–7–5 Tony Zale KO 6 (15), September 27, 1946 54 Win 43–6–5 Marty Servo TKO 2 (10), March 29, 1946 53 Win 42–6–5 Sonny Horne UD 10 January 18, 1946 52 Win 41–6–5 Harold Green KO 3 (10), September 28, 1945 51 Win 40–6–5 Freddie 'Red' Cochrane KO 10 (10), August 24, 1945 50 Win 39–6–5 Freddie 'Red' Cochrane KO 10 (10), June 29, 1945 49 Win 38–6–5 Al 'Bummy' Davis TKO 4 (10), May 25, 1945 48 Win 37–6–5 Solomon Stewart KO 4 (10) April 17, 1945 47 Win 36–6–5 Billy Arnold TKO 3 (8) March 9, 1945 46 Loss 35–6–5 Harold Green MD 10 December 22, 1944 45 Loss 35–5–5 Harold Green UD 10 November 3, 1944 44 Win 35–4–5 Bernie Miller KO 2 (8), October 24, 1944 43 Draw 34–4–5 Danny Kapilow PTS 10 October 6, 1944 42 Draw 34–4–4 Frankie Terry PTS 8 September 15, 1944 41 Win 34–4–3 Jerry Fiorello SD 8 August 14, 1944 40 Win 33–4–3 Tony Reno UD 8 July 21, 1944 39 Win 32–4–3 Frankie Terry TKO 6 (8) June 27, 1944 38 Win 31–4–3 Larney Moore TKO 2 (8) June 7, 1944 37 Win 30–4–3 Tommy Mollis TKO 7 (10) May 29, 1944 36 Win 29–4–3 Freddie Graham KO 3 (8) May 9, 1944 35 Win 28–4–3 Bobby Brown KO 5 (10) April 10, 1944 34 Win 27–4–3 Ray Rovelli PTS 8 March 14, 1944 33 Win 26–4–3 Harold Gary PTS 6 March 8, 1944 32 Win 25–4–3 Leon Anthony KO 1 (8) March 4, 1944 31 Win 24–4–3 Nick Calder KO 4 (6) February 24, 1944 30 Loss 23–4–3 Steve Riggio PTS 6 February 9, 1944 29 Win 23–3–3 Phil Enzenga TKO 5 (8) January 18, 1944 28 Win 22–3–3 Jerry Pittro TKO 1 (6) January 7, 1944 27 Win 21–3–3 Harold Gary PTS 8 January 4, 1944 26 Win 20–3–3 Milo Theodorescu TKO 1 (8) December 27, 1943 25 Win 19–3–3 Charley McPherson PTS 6 December 6, 1943 24 Win 18–3–3 Freddie Graham PTS 8 November 30, 1943 23 Loss 17–3–3 Steve Riggio PTS 6 November 12, 1943 22 Draw 17–2–3 Charley McPherson PTS 6 October 27, 1943 21 Win 17–2–2 Jimmy Williams TKO 2 (6) October 13, 1943 20 Win 16–2–2 Freddie Graham KO 1 (8) October 5, 1943 19 Win 15–2–2 George Wilson PTS 8 September 21, 1943 18 Loss 14–2–2 Joe Agosta PTS 6 September 10, 1943 17 Win 14–1–2 Tony Grey KO 6 (6) August 24, 1943 16 Win 13–1–2 Ted Apostoli PTS 4 August 20, 1943 15 Win 12–1–2 Charley McPherson PTS 6 August 12, 1943 14 Win 11–1–2 Randy Drew KO 1 (6) July 27, 1943 13 Win 10–1–2 George Stevens KO 1 (6) July 22, 1943 12 Win 9–1–2 Johnny Atteley RTD 2 (6) July 8, 1943 11 Win 8–1–2 Frankie Falco KO 5 (6) June 24, 1943 10 Win 7–1–2 Joe Curcio TKO 4 (6) June 16, 1943 9 Win 6–1–2 Gilberto Ramirez Vasquez KO 1 (6) June 11, 1943 8 Draw 5–1–2 Lou Miller PTS 6 May 25, 1942 7 Win 5–1–1 Godfrey Howell TKO 4 (4) May 12, 1942 6 Win 4–1–1 Eddie Lee KO 4 (4) May 4, 1942 5 Loss 3–1–1 Charles Ferguson PTS 4 April 28, 1942 4 Draw 3–0–1 Godfrey Howell PTS 4 April 20, 1942 3 Win 3–0 Kenny Blackmar KO 1 (4), April 14, 1942 2 Win 2–0 Mike Mastandrea KO 3 (4), April 6, 1942 1 Win 1–0 Curtis Hightower TKO 2 (4), March 31, 1942
See also
External links
Categories: 1919 Births, 1990 Deaths, 20th-century American Sportsmen, American Male Boxers, American People Of Italian Descent, Boxers From Brooklyn, Burials At Locust Valley Cemetery, Deaths From Respiratory Failure, International Boxing Hall Of Fame Inductees, Middleweight Boxers, People From The Lower East Side, People Pardoned By Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sportspeople From Long Beach, New York
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