Coley Wallace (April 5, 1927 – January 30, 2005) was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

boxer who once outpointed

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and re ...

in a very close split decision three-round amateur fight. Although Wallace, a

Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

native, had a respectable record as a professional (20-7-0), his claim to fame came in 1948 when, as an amateur, he once defeated in a very close split decision future

champion

in the finals of the

New York Golden Gloves The New York Golden Gloves is an amateur boxing tournament. It has long been considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Chicago Golden Gloves. Named for the small golden Boxing glove, gloves ...

Tournament. The decision was not welcomed by crowd and many considered it drawn. Wallace fought

Ezzard Charles Ezzard Mack Charles (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1959. Known as "the Cincinnati Cobra", Charles was respected for his slick defense and precision, and is often regarded as the gre ...

in his professional career, among others. Wallace's contract was "owned" under the table by the notorious Frank "Blinky" Palermo, a member of the

Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Bruno–Scarfo crime family,< ...

. Palermo was imprisoned in 1961 for conspiracy and extortion for the covert ownership of prizefighters. After boxing career, Wallace acted in four movies, twice portraying the boxer

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

. Wallace died on January 30, 2005, of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Filmography

*'' The Joe Louis Story'' (1953) - Joe Louis *'' Carib Gold'' (1957) - Ryan *'' Marciano'' (1979 TV movie) - Joe Louis *''

Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Theresa Saldana, Frank Vincent and Nicholas Colasanto (in his final film role). The film ...

'' (1980) - Joe Louis - Cerdan Fight *'' Rooftops'' (1989) - Lester (final film role)

References

External links

* * 1927 births 2005 deaths Male actors from Florida Boxers from Florida Heavyweight boxers National Golden Gloves champions Sportspeople from Jacksonville, Florida Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers American male boxers Rocky Marciano {{US-boxing-bio-stub