CHARLEY BURLEY
By Harry Otty
The mention of the name Charley
Burley will, more often than not, draw a blank expression from the faces of
many so-called boxing buffs. While not totally unknown, Burley has not received
the recognition he deserves. While fans of the sport extol the virtues of such
fighters as Armstrong, Zale, Graziano, LaMotta Conn, and 'Sugar' Ray Robinson,
all of who were his contemporaries, (and all of whom avoided him like the
plague), Charley Burley is largely ignored and forgotten. This Pittsburgher has
the distinction of being one of the finest fighters in the history of the game.
But, like so many other talented black fighters, he will never be remembered as
readily as many of boxings world champion's, simply because he himself was not
a champion.
Often called the greatest fighter ever by such
authorities as Eddie Futch, Ray Arcel and Archie Moore and his trainer Hiawatha
Grey, (who went back to the days of Johnson and Ketchel), Burley fought some of
the best fighters around, beating most of them. Even though he was consistently
rated in the top ten for over a decade in the welterweight and middleweight
divisions he never received a shot at any world title. In a career lasting from
1936 to 1950 he compiled a record of 83-12-2 with 1 no contest and 50
knockouts.
Charles Duane Burley was born in Bessemer, Pa.,
on September 6th 1917. His father was a black coal miner from Virginia, his
mother a feisty white Irish woman from County Cork. Together, the Burley's had
seven children, six girls and one boy; Charles junior was the second youngest
and a real handful for his parents and his sisters. When the mines claimed his
father in 1925 Charley and his family moved to Pittsburgh.
At age 12, Charley joined the Kay Boys Club where
he took up boxing under the watchful eye of local trainers Leonard Payne and
Howard Turner. Charley enjoyed the boxing as much as he enjoyed baseball,
another sport at which he excelled, (he once received an offer to play for the
Homestead Grays), and when he wasn't playing ball or plucking chickens for
pennies, (a skill he learned in Bessemer), he could be found at the gym. City,
State, and National Junior titles were won with comparative ease as he won a
Golden Gloves Junior title at lightweight and a Golden Gloves Senior title at
welterweight. He also contested the 1936 National Senior Championship finals in
Cleveland when he lost to Leo Sweeney at welterweight. In later years, Sweeney,
also from Pittsburgh, became a well-respected cop in the city.
In 1936, Charley was invited to Chicago to attend
the box-offs for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but declined as he objected to the
racial and religious persecution taking place in Germany. Instead he received
an invitation to represent his country at the 'Workers Games' which were being held
in Spain. These games were offered as an alternative to the XIth Olympiad,
which were being held at the same time. Unfortunately politics also became
involved with these games as General Franco staged some fighting of his own and
started the Spanish Civil War. The games were cancelled the day before they
were due to commence. Charley returned home, having never had the chance to
lace on a glove for his country, and turned to the professional ranks.
In his first twelve months as a professional
fighter, from September 1936 to September 1937, Charley was fed the usual diet
of local 'talent' by his manager Phil Goldstein. Matched against boxers,
punchers, tough nuts and glass jaws, he compiled a record of 12 wins with 8
kayos before losing to his 13th opponent, Eddie Dolan. Most of these fights
took place under the auspices of the 'Pittsburgh Fight Club' of which Charley
was one of the most talented members. 1938 saw Charley improve his win tally to
16, with 10 kayos, before he lost on points to local boy Fritzie Zivic, a
veteran of over 70 fights. A rematch just over two months later saw Charley
reverse the decision with a clear points win.
August 1938, saw Charley win the 'Colored'
Welterweight Championship from the experienced and talented Louis 'Cocoa' Kid
over 15 rounds in a thriller at Hickey Park. The 'Kid' was dropped in the
second for a nine count and was in trouble again in the 15th and final round,
but managed to hang on for the bell. The championship belt was commissioned by
New Orleans promoter and former fighter Martin Burke and his partner Lew
Raymond and had initially been contested by Cocoa Kid and the great Holman
Williams. Since Henry Armstrong had won the 'real' welterweight championship in
May 1938, Burley's "title" was redundant and was never contested
again. To close out the year Charley added yet another future world champion to
his list of victims when he beat middleweight Billy Soose over 10 rounds. With
these wins, Burley opened 1939 as the 4th-ranked challenger for Armstrong's title.
The plague of all big punches, hand trouble, came
to visit Charley during, and after, his January 1939 fight with Sonny Jones.
After stopping the Canadian in the seventh round, Charley was forced to rest
for five months after undergoing bone graft surgery. On his return to the ring
he lost over 10 un-eventful rounds to grisly veteran Jimmy Leto at the Millvale
arena, (a loss he later avenged).
By the following month Burley was back in action
for a third and final meeting with Fritzie Zivic, (July 17th 1939). This fight
would see Charley winning by the proverbial mile, prompting one newspaper
reporter to state that 'Zivic was so far behind a telescope would be needed to
see him.' It was Zivic however that went on to contest and win the welterweight
title from Henry Armstrong even though he was ranked behind Charley in the
ratings. In what can only be considered a smart business move Zivic and his
manager Luke Carney took advantage of Burley and Goldsteins strained
relationship and bought out Burley's contract. This not only prevented the two
from meeting again in the ring it effectively froze Charley out of the world
picture.
After 1940, a year when he would lose only once
in nine outings, to Jimmy Bivins on points, Charley was beginning to outgrow
Pittsburgh and the confines of his contract with Zivic and his manager. After
going 8-0 with 6 kayos in 1941, he moved with his wife and daughter to
Minnesota. It was here that his new manager, Bobby Eton, and promoter Tommy
O'Loughlin would attempt to gain Charley universal recognition as a legitimate
title challenger. With a little help from the State Boxing Commission, who gave
Charley special dispensation to compete in any weight division above his own,
he embarked upon the busiest year of his career.
While Charley got 1942 off to a flying start
beating everyone that was put in front of him, fighters that included the Hogue
brothers 'Shorty' and 'Big Boy', the great Holman Williams and the heavyweight
J.D. Turner, his promoter sent legitimate offers to the current champions.
Title challenges to Freddie 'Red' Cochran at welterweight, Tony Zale at
Middleweight all proved fruitless, since those titles were frozen for the
duration of WW II. One proposed offer to Cochran was that Charley would fight
for free, with his percentage going to the war fund, still no deal. Johnny Ray
was offered $10,000 plus a percentage of the gate for Billy Conn, again no
deal. Zale's management had other plans for their man, so again, no deal.
During this busy year Charley, (while weighing no
more than 150 lbs.), was forced to battle the likes of Ezzard Charles, Lloyd
Marshal, (L10), the Hogue brothers, (KO 10 and KO 6), Joe Sutka, (KO 4), Phil
McQuillan, (KO1), and the aforementioned Jay Turner. All genuine middleweights,
light-heavyweights and heavyweights. The giant Texan had a few months previous
been the full 10 rounds with Billy Conn. However, on this occasion a weight
advantage of a staggering 70 lbs. could not prevent him from being bust up and
stopped cold by Burley inside of 6 rounds. The two fights with Ezzard Charles
were held in a five-week period with a points win over Holman Williams six days
before the second fight!
A chance meeting with Ray Robinson in the lobby
of a hotel in New York, when Charley was in town to fight Phil McQuillan,
(April 20, 1942) led to the two meeting on the same bill at the Minneapolis
Armoury. Charley kayoed Sammy Wilson of Detroit in two rounds while Ray beat
Dick Banner in the same number of rounds, (April 30th 1942). Watching from
ringside the 'Sugar Man' told his manager, "I'm too pretty to fight
Charley Burley".
Despite great efforts to make the match the two
would never meet in the ring, although it nearly happened twice and dates were
set. Robinson signed for a May 1946 fight, but raised the price to close to
$25,000 when he wanted an out. Although he wanted to fight Robinson in the
worst possible way Charley was never bitter about the way Sugar Ray avoided him
because he knew that he was the better man and that he would have beaten
Robinson. Though never boastful Charley Burley had the utmost confidence in his
own ability and when he did lose he made no bones about it he could always tell
the truth.
Following a points defeat by Lloyd Marshall, (who
Charley rated as his toughest opponent), Charley was close to exhaustion. He
had covered close to 19,000 miles on the road fighting 17 times with not a soft
touch amongst them. Tommy O'Loughlin, who was now Charlie's manager, decided
that a move to California, which boasted such greats as Jack Chase, Lloyd
Marshall, Eddie Booker, Billy Smith, Archie Moore and Aaron Wade, would be
beneficial to Burley's career. After defeating the likes of Harvey Massey,
'Tiger' Wade and Bobby Birch, Charley received a chance to fight for the
California State Middleweight title which was held by Jack Chase, whom Charley
had previously beaten over 10 rounds, (February 1943). Chase, who had never
been stopped in 55 bouts, was kayoed in the 9th, (April 3rd 1944). Charley
repeated this feat five months later, this time putting Chase away in the 12th.
In between he won four other fights, three of which came via the short route.
The man who stayed the distance in a losing effort was Archie Moore.
Charley took the Moore fight on very short
notice. On the day of the fight he was at work in an aircraft factory in his
(then) hometown of San Diego, (Charley had a burst eardrum and was considered
un-fit for the military). He received news of the opportunity, finished his
shift, got on a bus to Hollywood and bounced Archie off the canvas three times
on the way to an emphatic points victory. A couple of Charlie's friends have
stated that Charley didn't like 'cocky' fighters and that he allowed Moore, and
another boastful fighter Billy Smith, to go the distance. The 'Old Mongoose' often
cites Charley as the greatest fighter he ever fought, calling Burley "as
slick as lard and twice as greasy." Very impressive when you consider the
names on Moore's record.
Charley campaigned from 1943 through 1946 with
only one loss, over 12 rounds to Holman Williams. That meeting between the two,
(July 11th 1945), would be the last of seven meetings, with the final tally
being three wins each with one no contest. Charley scored the only kayo of the
series, winning in the 9th round in 1942. Other victims during this 26-fight
period included, Joe Carter, (W10), Aaron 'Tiger' Wade, (W10), Charley Banks,
(W10), Dave Clark, (KO1), the often-avoided Bert Lytel, (W10), and 'Oakland'
Billy Smith, (W10, W10). Speaking of Smith, the only, near complete, film of a
Charley Burley fight that exists is his second meeting with the
light-heavyweight contender, (April 24th 1946).
From January 1940 up to August 1946 Charley
Burley fought 60 times. He scored 31 stoppages, won 20 times over the distance,
had 2 draws and 1 no-contest. The only fighter close to his own weight to beat
him during this period was Holman Williams, (L15 L12). His other losses were to
Charles, (twice), Jimmy Bivins, and Lloyd Marshall, and we all know how good
they were, even without weight advantages of ten pounds and over!
Despite such good form, the big money and high
profile fights against many of the top rated white fighters of the day still
eluded Charley. Many years later Charley, who read the bible everyday, was
quoted as saying, "I used to get down on my knees and pray for a title
fight". Sadly, it was not to be, and while the so-called world champions
played their games and did their deals and plenty of lesser fighters got their
shot, Charley Burley went to work for the City of Pittsburgh as a garbage
collector.
Eight fights in four years just weren't enough
and the garbage truck eventually became his new career. After beating Pilar
Bastidas in Peru in 1950 Charley travelled to Europe for a series of bouts that
failed to materialize. On his return home Tommy O'Loughlin took him on the road
to earn some extra cash. A 'barnstorming' tour of mid-west tank towns appearing
as 'the masked marvel' almost led to him being lynched on one occasion.
By now Charley had had enough and concentrated on
honest work to keep regular money coming in. He forgot about boxing and, for
many years, boxing forgot about him. Only now, nearly 50 years after his
retirement, has Charley Burley started to receive recognition. In 1983, he was
elected to the Ring Hall of Fame. He was, at long last remembered and honoured
by his peers and by the boxing public. Accolades that were, unfortunately, a
little late as Charley Burley died in 1992, the year of his induction into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame.
The mystery that is Charley Burley's fighting
career has often been explained away as 'not flashy or entertaining enough',
'too many changes in management', (Charley had at least five), or 'too good for
his own good'. One could argue that there is definitely a ring of truth to that
last statement, Charley had beaten some of the best around and feared no man. A
good measure of his gameness and ability is the fact that he was a regular
sparing partner of the Pittsburgh heavyweight Harry Bobo, a contender for Joe
Louis's title. Many people in Pittsburgh felt that Bobo could give Joe Louis a
good fight yet didn't think he could beat Burley in the ring. He had kayoed
Elmer 'Violent' Ray and 'Jersey' Joe Walcott in sparring sessions and forced
middleweight champion Marcel Cerdan out of the gym, (Charley was supposed to be
Cerdan's first opponent in America!).
The real reason why Charley never became champion
of the world may be simply that he was an honest man and an honest
prizefighter. Many fighters with no flash or substance have fought for many
titles over the years. Inept or un-connected management never stopped these
guys. A kind and humble man Charley never trash-talked anyone and he most
definitely knew his own. As with everything else it boils down to 'what is you
price'. The truth is, these guys couldn't afford a class act like Charley
Burley.