By John F. McKenna (McJack): There is some uncertainty as to when Charles “Sonny” Liston was born. Liston himself was not sure of his birth date, but it is believed that it was between the years of 1929 and 1932. Sonny was the 24th of 25 children born to an abusive and alcoholic father in St. Francis County, Arkansas. As was the custom in the south in those days Liston grew up working in the cotton fields with his siblings.

“Sonny” was often beaten savagely by his father, to the extent that the scars from the beatings remained on his back for the rest of his life. Weary of the abuse Sonny left home to live with an aunt in St. Louis, Missouri at the age of 13. Liston, huge and menacing as a youth was six feet tall and weighed over 200 pounds by the time he was 16 years old.

Trouble seemed to naturally follow Liston from a young age. It was rumored that he was a labor goon enforcer. Liston was arrested multiple times before finally winding up in the Missouri State Penitentiary in 1950 where he spent two years for robbery and larceny. Prison was where “Sonny” learned to box. He was introduced to the sport of boxing by the prison athletic directory Father Alois Stevens. Liston also learned to write his name in prison, but did not learn to read.

Liston took on all comers while in prison and gained a reputation that extended outside the prison walls. Local reporters after hearing about Liston’s boxing ability conducted a campaign to have him paroled.

After his parole in 1952 Liston used his God given talent combined with what he had learned in prison to capture the Golden Gloves championship. In just four months Liston became the best amateur heavyweight boxer in the world and signed a contract to box professionally. Liston though not unusually tall for a heavyweight at 6’1”, had a reach of 84”. His 15” fists were the largest of any heavyweight champion in history and it is said that he had difficulty finding gloves he could get his hands into.

After turning pro in 1953 “Sonny” breezed through the competition until he met Marty Marshall. Liston claimed that he was told to “carry” the smaller Marshall for a couple of rounds in order to give the fans a show. Marty broke Liston’s jaw in the match and “Sonny” wound up losing a close eight round decision.

In April 1955 Liston again fought Marshall and in the rematch knocked Marshall down four times, finally scoring a TKO in the sixth round. Although Liston was achieving success in the ring he continued to have legal problems. From 1953 until 1958 “Sonny” was arrested fourteen times. The most serious charge was an assault on a police officer for which Liston served thirty days in jail. Most of the problems Liston got into were related to his heavy drinking. It was also rumored at the time that “Sonny” was the “leg breaker” for the local mob controlled unions.