May 15, 1953 – Legendary boxer Rocky Marciano stepped into the ring in defense of his world heavyweight title for the first time in Chicago Stadium. This real Rocky took on former Champ Jersey Joe Walcott and it was no competition for the belt holder.
Marciano knocked Jersey Joe onto his keister, and the confused Walcott sat there as the referee did the count. The fight was over by Knock Out just after 2:25 in the first round. Many fight experts that witnessed the march said the Champ came out with much faster combinations and more energy than they had seen him in past fights.
Marciano remains the only boxer to have defeated every opponent he ever faced for the world heavyweight title, and holds the highest knockout-to-win ratio in world heavyweight title fights.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network
Sports History On This Day: April 9
April 9, 1912 – The legendary Fenway Park has what many consider the first somewhat
Sports History On This Day: April 8
April 8 NFL Drafts We have had a few NFL Drafts take place on
Sports History On This Day: April 7
April 7, 1946 – In the first Masters Tournament played in over 4 years, American
Pennsylvania High School Football History (A Flash Back In Time)
This week I speak to the founder and primary contributor of PAFBHISTORY.COM, a website dedicated to
Sports History On This Day: April 6
April 6, 1896 – The First modern-era Olympic Games have opening ceremonies not far from
St. Louis Cardinals: My Secret “2nd Favorite Team” Growing Up
Most of us who follow sports have a favorite team. In baseball, my favorite
Sports History On This Day: April 5
April 5, 1927 – American champion swimmer, Johnny Weissmuller set a couple of records in
Sports History On This Day: April 4
April 4, 1937 – At what was just the 4th Masters Golf Tournament, or officially