Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 22, 1988) was an American professional
boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. He is the only fighter to ever hold world championships in three divisions (
featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
,
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing.
Boxing Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...
and
welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
) simultaneously.
Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win titles in three or more different divisions: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. He defended his welterweight title a total of nineteen times.
''The Ring'' magazine named him
Fighter of the Year in 1937. The
Boxing Writers Association of America
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a ...
(BWAA) named him
Fighter of the Year in 1940. He is currently ranked by
BoxRec
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopedia of boxing.
The objective of the site is to document every profess ...
as the 12th-greatest
pound-for-pound
Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, adjusted to compensate for weight class. As fighters in different weight classes do not compete directly, determining the best fighter pound for ...
fighter of all time. In 2007, ''The Ring'' ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of the last 80 years.
Boxing coach and commentator
Teddy Atlas considers Armstrong to be the greatest of all time. Historian
Bert Sugar
Herbert Randolph Sugar (June 7, 1936 – March 25, 2012) was an American sportswriter known for his work covering boxing and baseball. As the author of over 80 books, ''The New York Times'' called Sugar an "accomplished raconteur with a bottom ...
also ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of all time.
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time.
He was posthumously inducted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...
in the inaugural class of 1990. In 2019, the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) ranked him as the second best boxer of all time, pound for pound, as well as the second-best featherweight, third-best welterweight, and fifth-best lightweight of all time.
Early life
He was born Henry Jackson Jr. on December 12, 1912, in
Columbus, Mississippi
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Mississippi, Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the ...
. He was the son of Henry Jackson Sr., a
sharecropper
Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...
of
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
descent and America Jackson, said to be a "full-blooded" Iroquois. As a child, Henry Jr. moved with his family to
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, during the early period of the
Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to industrial cities of the Midwest and North. There he became involved in boxing. He graduated as an honor student from
Vashon High School in St. Louis
Later he took the surname Armstrong as his fighting name.
Early career
Armstrong began his professional career on July 28, 1931, in a fight with Al Iovino, in which Armstrong was knocked out in three rounds. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he lost two four-round decisions in a row to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. Following these two losses, however, he started a streak of 11 wins.
In 1936, Armstrong split his time among Los Angeles, Mexico City and St. Louis. A few notable opponents of that year include Ritchie Fontaine, Baby Arizmendi, former world champion
Juan Zurita, and Mike Belloise.
Early in his career, he fought some fights under the ring name Melody Jackson.
In 1937 alone, Armstrong went 27–0 (26KO). Aldo Spoldi was the only opponent to take him the full 10 rounds. He knocked out Baby Casanova in three rounds, Belloise in four, Joe Rivers in three, former world champion
Frankie Klick in four, and former world champion
Benny Bass in four.
Armstrong was given his first world title fight, for the title in the 126-pound weight class against World
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
Champion
Petey Sarron at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
. Armstrong knocked Sarron out in six rounds, becoming the World Featherweight Champion.
Armstrong's two nicknames were ''Hurricane Henry'' and ''Homicide' Hank''.
In 1938, Armstrong started his season with seven more knockouts in a row, including one over
Chalky Wright, a future world champion. The streak finally ended when Arizmendi lasted ten rounds before losing a decision to Armstrong in their fourth fight. Armstrong's streak of 27 knockout wins in a row qualifies as one of the longest knockout win streaks in the history of boxing, according to ''
The Ring'' magazine.
Later in 1938, Armstrong, still the Featherweight division world champion, challenged
Barney Ross for the title. Later a fellow member of the three division champions' club, Ross was then World
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
Champion. Armstrong, at pounds, beat Ross, at 142 pounds, by unanimous decision, adding the World Welterweight Championship to his belt. Armstrong lost weight in order to compete in the lower weight division, and beat World
Lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing.
Boxing Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...
Champion
Lou Ambers by split decision. Armstrong was the first boxer ever to hold world championships in three different weight divisions at the same time. He decided not to maintain the required 126-pound weight anymore and left the featherweight crown vacant.
Welterweight defenses
Armstrong dedicated the next two years to defending the welterweight crown, beating, among others,
Ceferino Garcia, a future World
Middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...
Champion, and
Bobby Pacho.
Armstrong defended his Lightweight belt in a rematch with Ambers, which he lost on a 15-round decision. After that, he concentrated once again on defending the world Welterweight title. He defended it in eight fights in a row, the last of which was a nine-round knockout win over
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
's
Pedro Montañez.
Armstrong sought to become the first boxer to win world titles in four different categories in a rematch with Garcia, already the World Middleweight Champion, but the fight ended in a ten-round draw. Armstrong's attempt to win a world title in a fourth division was frustrated. According to boxing historian
Bert Sugar
Herbert Randolph Sugar (June 7, 1936 – March 25, 2012) was an American sportswriter known for his work covering boxing and baseball. As the author of over 80 books, ''The New York Times'' called Sugar an "accomplished raconteur with a bottom ...
, many commentators of the time said that Armstrong deserved the decision in this fight.
Returning to the welterweight division, Armstrong successfully defended the title five more times, until
Fritzie Zivic beat him to take the world title in a 15-round decision. This ended Armstrong's reign as Welterweight Champion. Armstrong's eighteen successful title defenses were the most in history in the Welterweight division.
In 1945, Armstrong retired from boxing. His official record was 152 wins, 21 losses and 9 draws, with 101 knockout wins.
After boxing
After retiring from boxing in 1946, Armstrong briefly opened a Harlem nightclub, the Melody Room (named after his first nickname).
He returned to settle again in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
where, apart from the ceremonies and galas that he attended afterward, he led a quiet retirement. He became a
born-again Christian
To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...
and an ordained
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
minister and youth advocate, helping to run the Herbert Hoover Boys Club. He also taught young fighters how to box.
In February 1966, Rev. Armstrong appeared on the TV game show
I've Got a Secret with his simultaneous triple championship as his secret. He died in 1988.
Honors
*1937,
''The Ring'' magazine named him as
Fighter of the Year.
*1940, the
Boxing Writers Association of America
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a ...
(BWAA) named him as
Fighter of the Year.
*In 1954, Armstrong was inducted into
''The Ring'' magazine Boxing Hall of Fame the year it was established.
*In 1987, he was among those inductees from ''The Ring'' list who were absorbed into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...
when it was established.
*In 1995, Armstrong was posthumously honored for his boxing career by being inducted into the
St. Louis Walk of Fame.
*In 2007, ''The Ring'' magazine ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of the last 80 years.
*In 2007,
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time.
Professional boxing record
Titles in boxing
Major world titles
*
NYSAC featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
champion (126 lbs)
*
NBA (WBA) featherweight champion (126 lbs)
* NYSAC
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing.
Boxing Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...
champion (135 lbs)
*
NBA (WBA) lightweight champion (135 lbs)
* NYSAC
welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
champion (147 lbs)
*
NBA (WBA) welterweight champion (147 lbs)
''The Ring'' magazine titles
*
''The Ring'' featherweight champion (126 lbs)
*
''The Ring'' lightweight champion (135 lbs)
*
''The Ring'' welterweight champion (147 lbs)
Regional titles
*
California State featherweight champion (126 lbs)
* California–
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
featherweight champion (126 lbs)
Undisputed titles
*
Undisputed featherweight champion
*
Undisputed lightweight champion
*
Undisputed welterweight champion
See also
*
Lineal championship
*
List of boxing triple champions
References
External links
*
* The story of his life is retold in the 1949 radio drama
The Saga of Melody Jackson, a presentation from ''
Destination Freedom
''Destination Freedom'' was a series of weekly radio programs that was produced by WMAQ in Chicago. The first set ran from 1948 to 1950 and it presented the biographical histories of prominent African Americans such as George Washington Carver ...
'', written by
Richard Durham
The Official Henry Armstrong Web Site
Henry Armstrong Foundation Web Siteon the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) web site
*
National Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1938 – BoxRecNational Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1939 – BoxRecNational Boxing Association's Quarterly Ratings: 1940 – BoxRecThe Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: Lightweight--1930s – BoxRec
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Henry
American male boxers
African-American boxers
Native American boxers
1912 births
1988 deaths
20th-century Native American people
American people of Irish descent
Boxers from Mississippi
Burials at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery
Featherweight boxers
World featherweight boxing champions
World colored welterweight boxing champions
International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Columbus, Mississippi
Boxers from St. Louis
Welterweight boxers
World welterweight boxing champions
Lightweight boxers
World lightweight boxing champions
World boxing champions
African-American Christians
Baptists from Mississippi
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen
20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States
Vashon High School alumni