Tom Heeney

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox boxer

Thomas Heeney (18 May 1898 – 15 June 1984) was a professional heavyweight boxer from New Zealand, best known for unsuccessfully challenging champion Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship of the world in New York City on 26 July 1928.

Biography

Portrait of Heeney in boxing stance

Heeney was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, and worked as a plumber until he left New Zealand.<ref name=dnzb>Template:DNZB</ref> He was a strong swimmer and was awarded a bronze medal by the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand in 1918 for helping rescue two women from the sea off Waikanae Beach, Gisborne. He also retrieved a third woman who did not survive.<ref>Mackay, Joseph Angus. "Tom Heeney's Bid For World Crown" in Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast, N.I., N.Z., 1949.</ref>

He learnt to box from his father and his older brother Jack Heeney, who was the New Zealand amateur welterweight champion in 1914 and middleweight champion from 1919 to 1924. He became a professional boxer when he fought Bill Bartlett in Gisborne in 1920.<ref name=teara>"Expatriates — biographies", An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara — The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 18 September 2007</ref> In October 1920, Heeney became the New Zealand heavyweight champion when he beat Brian McCleary of Dunedin on a technical knockout. Heeney was also a rugby union player and played for the Hawke's Bay — Poverty Bay team against the Springboks in 1921.<ref name=teara/> He boxed in Australia and won the Australian heavyweight champion title in 1922, and fought in England and South Africa in 1924.

Heeney went to the United States in 1926. He beat Jim Maloney, Johnny Risko and Jim Delaney<ref name=teara/> and eventually ranked fourth among the world's heavyweight boxers. After fighting Jack Sharkey, later a heavyweight world champion, in 1928 for the right to fight Tunney, on 26 July 1928, Heeney fought Gene Tunney at Yankee Stadium, New York City, for the world heavyweight championship title. Heeney entered the boxing ring wearing a Māori cloak that was given to him by Heni Materoa, the widow of Sir James Carroll. The referee, Ed Forbes, stopped the scheduled 15 round fight in the 11th round, and Tunney won. It was said of Heeney:

His gritty performance in this fight would have been considered by many observers to have justified his sobriquet of The Hard Rock from Down Under given by renowned writer and journalist, Damon Runyon.Template:Citation needed

A week after his defeat, Tom married Marion Dunn, an American. Heeney became an American citizen and boxed until 1934, accomplishing a fighting record of 70 professional bouts, 38 wins, 22 losses, 8 draws, and 2 no-contest.

After retiring from boxing, he owned a bar in Miami, Florida. He served with the United States Navy Civil Engineer Corps in World War II, and afterward coached boxing and refereed armed forces bouts in the South Pacific. He often fished with his friend, the famous writer Ernest Hemingway. Heeney's wife, Marion, died in 1980. They had no children.<ref name=dnzb/>

Heeney was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Professional boxing record

April 1, 1927 match against Paulino Uzcudun

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec,<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> unless otherwise stated.

Official record

Template:BoxingRecordSummary All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Template:Abbr Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
70 Template:No2Loss Template:Nowrap Stanley Poreda TKO 10 (10), Template:Small Mar 27, 1933 Template:Small
69 Loss 37–21–8 Template:Small Charley Retzlaff NWS 10 Mar 7, 1933 Template:Small
68 Template:No2Loss 37–21–8 Template:Small Patsy Perroni PTS 10 Dec 6, 1932 Template:Small
67 Template:DrawDraw 37–20–8 Template:Small John Schwake PTS 10 Oct 25, 1932 Template:Small
66 Template:Yes2Win 37–20–7 Template:Small Hans Birkie PTS 10 Mar 16, 1932 Template:Small
65 Template:No2Loss 36–20–7 Template:Small Max Baer PTS 10 Feb 22, 1932 Template:Small
64 Template:DrawDraw 36–19–7 Template:Small Giacomo Bergomas PTS 10 Oct 26, 1931 Template:Small
63 Template:DrawDraw 36–19–6 Template:Small Jose Santa PTS 10 Oct 5, 1931 Template:Small
62 Template:Yes2Win 36–19–5 Template:Small Jose Santa PTS 12 Sep 10, 1931 Template:Small
61 Template:No2Loss 35–19–5 Template:Small Jimmy Slattery PTS 6 Apr 20, 1931 Template:Small
60 Template:No2Loss 35–18–5 Template:Small Johnny Risko PTS 10 Apr 6, 1931 Template:Small
59 Template:No2Loss 35–17–5 Template:Small Charley Retzlaff TKO 7 (10) Mar 6, 1931 Template:Small
58 Template:No2Loss 35–16–5 Template:Small Max Baer KO 3 (10) Jan 16, 1931 Template:Small
57 Template:No2Loss 35–15–5 Template:Small Emmett Rocco PTS 10 Oct 13, 1930 Template:Small
56 Template:No2Loss 35–14–5 Template:Small Frank Cawley UD 10 Sep 29, 1930 Template:Small
55 Template:Yes2Win 35–13–5 Template:Small George Panka SD 10 Sep 8, 1930 Template:Small
54 Template:No2Loss 34–13–5 Template:Small Tuffy Griffiths TKO 10 (10) Jul 30, 1930 Template:Small
53 Template:Yes2Win 34–12–5 Template:Small George Hoffman PTS 10 Sep 26, 1929 Template:Small
52 Template:No2Loss 33–12–5 Template:Small Victorio Campolo TKO 9 (10), Template:Small Aug 15, 1929 Template:Small
51 Template:Yes2Win 33–11–5 Template:Small Elzear Rioux DQ 8 (10) May 29, 1929 Template:Small Template:Small
50 Template:No2Loss 32–11–5 Template:Small Otto von Porat UD 10 Mar 12, 1929 Template:Small
49 Template:No2Loss 32–10–5 Template:Small Jim Maloney PTS 10 Mar 1, 1929 Template:Small
48 Template:No2Loss 32–9–5 Template:Small Gene Tunney TKO 11 (15), Template:Small Jul 26, 1928 Template:Small Template:Small
47 Template:Yes2Win 32–8–5 Template:Small Jack Delaney UD 15 Mar 1, 1928 Template:Small
46 Template:DrawDraw 31–8–5 Template:Small Jack Sharkey SD 12 Jan 13, 1928 Template:Small
45 Template:Yes2Win 31–8–4 Template:Small Johnny Risko PTS 10 Oct 26, 1927 Template:Small
44 Template:Yes2Win 30–8–4 Template:Small Jim Maloney KO 1 (12), Template:Small Sep 30, 1927 Template:Small
43 Template:DrawDraw 29–8–4 Template:Small Paulino Uzcudun PTS 15 Sep 8, 1927 Template:Small
42 Template:Yes2Win 29–8–3 Template:Small Bud Gorman DQ 3 (10), Template:Small Aug 4, 1927 Template:Small
41 Template:Yes2Win 28–8–3 Template:Small Jack DeMave PTS 10 Jun 24, 1927 Template:Small
40 Template:No2Loss 27–8–3 Template:Small Paulino Uzcudun PTS 10 Apr 1, 1927 Template:Small
39 Template:Yes2Win 27–7–3 Template:Small Charley Anderson TKO 8 (10) Feb 25, 1927 Template:Small
38 Template:Yes2Win 26–7–3 Template:Small Jack Stanley PTS 15 Oct 25, 1926 Template:Small
37 Template:Yes2Win 25–7–3 Template:Small Bartley Madden PTS 20 Aug 9, 1926 Template:Small
36 Template:No2Loss 24–7–3 Template:Small Phil Scott PTS 10 Jul 10, 1926 Template:Small Template:Small
35 Template:Yes2Win 24–6–3 Template:Small Tom Berry PTS 15 Jul 5, 1926 Template:Small
34 Template:Yes2Win 23–6–3 Template:Small Charley Smith DQ 5 (10) Mar 18, 1926 Template:Small
33 Template:No2Loss 22–6–3 Template:Small George 'Blackie' Miller DQ 5 (20) Nov 14, 1925 Template:Small Template:Small
32 Template:Yes2Win 22–5–3 Template:Small George 'Blackie' Miller DQ 8 (20) Oct 10, 1925 Template:Small Template:Small
31 Template:Yes2Win 21–5–3 Template:Small Vic Morace KO 4 (20) Jul, 1925 Template:Small Template:Small
30 Template:Yes2Win 20–5–3 Template:Small Johnny Squires RTD 18 (20) Jun 15, 1925 Template:Small
29 Template:Yes2Win 19–5–3 Template:Small Johnny Squires PTS 20 Apr 9, 1925 Template:Small
28 Template:No2Loss 18–5–3 Template:Small George Cook PTS 20 Feb 12, 1925 Template:Small
27 Template:Yes2Win 18–4–3 Template:Small Trooper Jim Young KO 4 (15) Jan 19, 1925 Template:Small
26 Template:Abbr 17–4–3 Template:Small Frans Hendrickx NC 6 (15) Nov 3, 1924 Template:Small Template:Small
25 Template:No2Loss 17–4–3 Template:Small Phil Scott PTS 20 Sep 22, 1924 Template:Small Template:Small
24 Template:Yes2Win 17–3–3 Template:Small Ern Young TKO 4 (15) Feb 20, 1924 Template:Small Template:Small
23 Template:Yes2Win 16–3–3 Template:Small Jim O'Sullivan KO 9 (15) Dec 26, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
22 Template:Yes2Win 15–3–3 Template:Small Jim O'Sullivan DQ 5 (15) Nov 10, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
21 Template:Yes2Win 14–3–3 Template:Small Jim Savage KO 1 (15) Oct 26, 1923 Template:Small
20 Template:No2Loss 13–3–3 Template:Small Jim O'Sullivan PTS 15 Sep 26, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
19 Template:Yes2Win 13–2–3 Template:Small Brian McCleary TKO 14 (15) Aug 14, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
18 Template:Yes2Win 12–2–3 Template:Small Jim Flett TKO 9 (15) Aug 2, 1923 Template:Small
17 Template:Yes2Win 11–2–3 Template:Small Cyril Whittaker TKO 15 (15) Jun 4, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
16 Template:Yes2Win 10–2–3 Template:Small Jack Complin TKO 9 (20) Jan 1, 1923 Template:Small
15 Template:DrawDraw 9–2–3 Template:Small Ern Waddy PTS 20 Dec 18, 1922 Template:Small
14 Template:DrawDraw 9–2–2 Template:Small Charlie Taylor PTS 20 Aug 12, 1922 Template:Small
13 Template:Yes2Win 9–2–1 Template:Small Tom Batho TKO 14 (20) Jul 22, 1922 Template:Small
12 Template:No2Loss 8–2–1 Template:Small Colin Bell PTS 20 Jun 30, 1922 Template:Small Template:Small
11 Template:Yes2Win 8–1–1 Template:Small Jack Leahy PTS 20 Jun 3, 1922 Template:Small
10 Template:Yes2Win 7–1–1 Template:Small Jim Flett PTS 15 May 1, 1922 Template:Small
9 Template:No2Loss 6–1–1 Template:Small Colin Bell PTS 20 Mar 17, 1922 Template:Small Template:Small
8 Template:Yes2Win 6–0–1 Template:Small Max Gornik RTD 15 (20) Feb 11, 1922 Template:Small
7 Template:DrawDraw 5–0–1 Template:Small Colin Bell PTS 15 Oct 27, 1921 Template:Small
6 Template:Yes2Win 5–0 Template:Small Jack Cole PTS 15 Jul 23, 1921 Template:Small
5 Template:Yes2Win 4–0 Template:Small Albert Pooley PTS 15 Feb 11, 1921 Template:Small Template:Small
4 Template:Yes2Win 3–0 Template:Small Albert Pooley PTS 15 Oct 27, 1920 Template:Small Template:Small
3 Template:Abbr 2–0 Template:Small Frank Gribben ND 3 Aug 27, 1920 Template:Small
2 Template:Yes2Win 2–0 George Modrich PTS 15 Jun 8, 1920 Template:Small
1 Template:Yes2Win 1–0 Bill Bartlett TKO 9 (15) Feb 12, 1920 Template:Small

Unofficial record

Template:BoxingRecordSummary Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.

Template:Abbr Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
70 Template:No2Loss Template:Nowrap Stanley Poreda TKO 10 (10), Template:Small Mar 27, 1933 Template:Small
69 Template:No2Loss 37–22–8 Template:Small Charley Retzlaff NWS 10 Mar 7, 1933 Template:Small
68 Template:No2Loss 37–21–8 Template:Small Patsy Perroni PTS 10 Dec 6, 1932 Template:Small
67 Template:DrawDraw 37–20–8 Template:Small John Schwake PTS 10 Oct 25, 1932 Template:Small
66 Template:Yes2Win 37–20–7 Template:Small Hans Birkie PTS 10 Mar 16, 1932 Template:Small
65 Template:No2Loss 36–20–7 Template:Small Max Baer PTS 10 Feb 22, 1932 Template:Small
64 Template:DrawDraw 36–19–7 Template:Small Giacomo Bergomas PTS 10 Oct 26, 1931 Template:Small
63 Template:DrawDraw 36–19–6 Template:Small Jose Santa PTS 10 Oct 5, 1931 Template:Small
62 Template:Yes2Win 36–19–5 Template:Small Jose Santa PTS 12 Sep 10, 1931 Template:Small
61 Template:No2Loss 35–19–5 Template:Small Jimmy Slattery PTS 6 Apr 20, 1931 Template:Small
60 Template:No2Loss 35–18–5 Template:Small Johnny Risko PTS 10 Apr 6, 1931 Template:Small
59 Template:No2Loss 35–17–5 Template:Small Charley Retzlaff TKO 7 (10) Mar 6, 1931 Template:Small
58 Template:No2Loss 35–16–5 Template:Small Max Baer KO 3 (10) Jan 16, 1931 Template:Small
57 Template:No2Loss 35–15–5 Template:Small Emmett Rocco PTS 10 Oct 13, 1930 Template:Small
56 Template:No2Loss 35–14–5 Template:Small Frank Cawley UD 10 Sep 29, 1930 Template:Small
55 Template:Yes2Win 35–13–5 Template:Small George Panka SD 10 Sep 8, 1930 Template:Small
54 Template:No2Loss 34–13–5 Template:Small Tuffy Griffiths TKO 10 (10) Jul 30, 1930 Template:Small
53 Template:Yes2Win 34–12–5 Template:Small George Hoffman PTS 10 Sep 26, 1929 Template:Small
52 Template:No2Loss 33–12–5 Template:Small Victorio Campolo TKO 9 (10), Template:Small Aug 15, 1929 Template:Small
51 Template:Yes2Win 33–11–5 Template:Small Elzear Rioux DQ 8 (10) May 29, 1929 Template:Small Template:Small
50 Template:No2Loss 32–11–5 Template:Small Otto von Porat UD 10 Mar 12, 1929 Template:Small
49 Template:No2Loss 32–10–5 Template:Small Jim Maloney PTS 10 Mar 1, 1929 Template:Small
48 Template:No2Loss 32–9–5 Template:Small Gene Tunney TKO 11 (15), Template:Small Jul 26, 1928 Template:Small Template:Small
47 Template:Yes2Win 32–8–5 Template:Small Jack Delaney UD 15 Mar 1, 1928 Template:Small
46 Template:DrawDraw 31–8–5 Template:Small Jack Sharkey SD 12 Jan 13, 1928 Template:Small
45 Template:Yes2Win 31–8–4 Template:Small Johnny Risko PTS 10 Oct 26, 1927 Template:Small
44 Template:Yes2Win 30–8–4 Template:Small Jim Maloney KO 1 (12), Template:Small Sep 30, 1927 Template:Small
43 Template:DrawDraw 29–8–4 Template:Small Paulino Uzcudun PTS 15 Sep 8, 1927 Template:Small
42 Template:Yes2Win 29–8–3 Template:Small Bud Gorman DQ 3 (10), Template:Small Aug 4, 1927 Template:Small
41 Template:Yes2Win 28–8–3 Template:Small Jack DeMave PTS 10 Jun 24, 1927 Template:Small
40 Template:No2Loss 27–8–3 Template:Small Paulino Uzcudun PTS 10 Apr 1, 1927 Template:Small
39 Template:Yes2Win 27–7–3 Template:Small Charley Anderson TKO 8 (10) Feb 25, 1927 Template:Small
38 Template:Yes2Win 26–7–3 Template:Small Jack Stanley PTS 15 Oct 25, 1926 Template:Small
37 Template:Yes2Win 25–7–3 Template:Small Bartley Madden PTS 20 Aug 9, 1926 Template:Small
36 Template:No2Loss 24–7–3 Template:Small Phil Scott PTS 10 Jul 10, 1926 Template:Small Template:Small
35 Template:Yes2Win 24–6–3 Template:Small Tom Berry PTS 15 Jul 5, 1926 Template:Small
34 Template:Yes2Win 23–6–3 Template:Small Charley Smith DQ 5 (10) Mar 18, 1926 Template:Small
33 Template:No2Loss 22–6–3 Template:Small George 'Blackie' Miller DQ 5 (20) Nov 14, 1925 Template:Small Template:Small
32 Template:Yes2Win 22–5–3 Template:Small George 'Blackie' Miller DQ 8 (20) Oct 10, 1925 Template:Small Template:Small
31 Template:Yes2Win 21–5–3 Template:Small Vic Morace KO 4 (20) Jul, 1925 Template:Small Template:Small
30 Template:Yes2Win 20–5–3 Template:Small Johnny Squires RTD 18 (20) Jun 15, 1925 Template:Small
29 Template:Yes2Win 19–5–3 Template:Small Johnny Squires PTS 20 Apr 9, 1925 Template:Small
28 Template:No2Loss 18–5–3 Template:Small George Cook PTS 20 Feb 12, 1925 Template:Small
27 Template:Yes2Win 18–4–3 Template:Small Trooper Jim Young KO 4 (15) Jan 19, 1925 Template:Small
26 Template:Abbr 17–4–3 Template:Small Frans Hendrickx NC 6 (15) Nov 3, 1924 Template:Small Template:Small
25 Template:No2Loss 17–4–3 Template:Small Phil Scott PTS 20 Sep 22, 1924 Template:Small Template:Small
24 Template:Yes2Win 17–3–3 Template:Small Ern Young TKO 4 (15) Feb 20, 1924 Template:Small Template:Small
23 Template:Yes2Win 16–3–3 Template:Small Jim O'Sullivan KO 9 (15) Dec 26, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
22 Template:Yes2Win 15–3–3 Template:Small Jim O'Sullivan DQ 5 (15) Nov 10, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
21 Template:Yes2Win 14–3–3 Template:Small Jim Savage KO 1 (15) Oct 26, 1923 Template:Small
20 Template:No2Loss 13–3–3 Template:Small Jim O'Sullivan PTS 15 Sep 26, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
19 Template:Yes2Win 13–2–3 Template:Small Brian McCleary TKO 14 (15) Aug 14, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
18 Template:Yes2Win 12–2–3 Template:Small Jim Flett TKO 9 (15) Aug 2, 1923 Template:Small
17 Template:Yes2Win 11–2–3 Template:Small Cyril Whittaker TKO 15 (15) Jun 4, 1923 Template:Small Template:Small
16 Template:Yes2Win 10–2–3 Template:Small Jack Complin TKO 9 (20) Jan 1, 1923 Template:Small
15 Template:DrawDraw 9–2–3 Template:Small Ern Waddy PTS 20 Dec 18, 1922 Template:Small
14 Template:DrawDraw 9–2–2 Template:Small Charlie Taylor PTS 20 Aug 12, 1922 Template:Small
13 Template:Yes2Win 9–2–1 Template:Small Tom Batho TKO 14 (20) Jul 22, 1922 Template:Small
12 Template:No2Loss 8–2–1 Template:Small Colin Bell PTS 20 Jun 30, 1922 Template:Small Template:Small
11 Template:Yes2Win 8–1–1 Template:Small Jack Leahy PTS 20 Jun 3, 1922 Template:Small
10 Template:Yes2Win 7–1–1 Template:Small Jim Flett PTS 15 May 1, 1922 Template:Small
9 Template:No2Loss 6–1–1 Template:Small Colin Bell PTS 20 Mar 17, 1922 Template:Small Template:Small
8 Template:Yes2Win 6–0–1 Template:Small Max Gornik RTD 15 (20) Feb 11, 1922 Template:Small
7 Template:DrawDraw 5–0–1 Template:Small Colin Bell PTS 15 Oct 27, 1921 Template:Small
6 Template:Yes2Win 5–0 Template:Small Jack Cole PTS 15 Jul 23, 1921 Template:Small
5 Template:Yes2Win 4–0 Template:Small Albert Pooley PTS 15 Feb 11, 1921 Template:Small Template:Small
4 Template:Yes2Win 3–0 Template:Small Albert Pooley PTS 15 Oct 27, 1920 Template:Small Template:Small
3 Template:Abbr 2–0 Template:Small Frank Gribben ND 3 Aug 27, 1920 Template:Small
2 Template:Yes2Win 2–0 George Modrich PTS 15 Jun 8, 1920 Template:Small
1 Template:Yes2Win 1–0 Bill Bartlett TKO 9 (15) Feb 12, 1920 Template:Small

References

Template:Reflist 

   5. Vogt, Anton: 'Tom Heeney in heaven,' New Zealand Listener, 14 October 1960

Further reading

  • From Poverty Bay to Broadway: The story of Tom Heeney by Lydia Monin (2008)
  • Kiwis With Gloves On by Brian F O'Brien, published 1960, Reed.

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Tom_Heeney&oldid=172433"