Billy Soose

Billy Soose (August 2, 1915 – September 5, 1998) was an American boxer who won the world middleweight championship in 1941.

Billy Soose
1940s Billy Soose Business Card
Statistics
Real nameBilly Soose
Weight(s)Middleweight
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Born(1915-08-02)August 2, 1915
Farrell, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedSeptember 5, 1998(1998-09-05) (aged 83)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights41
Wins34
Wins by KO13
Losses6
Draws1

Biography

Soose was undefeated in his collegiate boxing career at Penn State and was a three-time Golden Gloves winner before turning professional in 1938.[1]

By the end of his first year in the paid ranks he had beaten the former world champion Eddie Babe Risko although he lost a unanimous decision to Charley Burley. In 1940 Soose defeated two future middleweight champions, Ken Overlin and Tony Zale. He began 1941 by defeating future heavyweight and light heavyweight title challenger Tami Mauriello. In May of that year he challenged Overlin for the middleweight title at Madison Square Garden and won by a controversial, but unanimous points decision.[2] He made no defences and in November it was reported that he had relinquished the championship in order to pursue the light-heavyweight title.[3]

After losing a bout to light-heavyweight contender Jimmy Bivins in January 1942 Soose joined the United States Navy and retired from professional boxing at the age of twenty-six.[4]

Soose was featured on the cover of the June 1941 Ring magazine and is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame. He is also the subject of a book, Billy Soose - The Champion Time Forgot.[5] He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009.[6]

Soose was found dead at his home at Tafton, Pennsylvania in 1998.[1]

Professional boxing record
40 fights 33 wins 6 losses
By knockout 13 0
By decision 20 6
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
41 Loss 34–6–1 Jimmy Bivins UD 10 Jan 13, 1942 Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
40 Win 34–5–1 Jimmy Reeves PTS 10 Dec 18, 1941 Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
39 Draw 33–5–1 Ceferino Garcia TD 8 (12) Jul 30, 1941 Gilmore Field, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Bout was halted due to an eye injury suffered by Soose
38 Loss 33–5 Georgie Abrams UD 10 Jul 30, 1941 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
37 Win 33–4 Tony Celli TKO 2 (10) Jul 11, 1941 Sportman's Park, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
36 Win 32–4 Ken Overlin UD 15 May 9, 1941 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Won NYSAC middleweight title
35 Win 31–4 Ernie Vigh PTS 12 Mar 7, 1941 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
34 Win 30–4 Ernie Vigh UD 10 Feb 7, 1941 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
33 Win 29–4 Tami Mauriello SD 10 Jan 3, 1941 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
32 Win 28–4 Jimmy Casino PTS 10 Dec 13, 1940 Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, U.S.
31 Win 27–4 Vince Pimpinella UD 10 Nov 7, 1940 South Main Street Armory, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
30 Win 26–4 Tony Zale UD 10 Aug 21, 1940 Mills Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
29 Win 25–4 Ken Overlin SD 10 Jul 24, 1940 Scranton Stadium, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
28 Win 24–4 Jack Ennis PTS 10 May 30, 1940 Memorial Field, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, U.S.
27 Win 23–4 Ernest Peirce PTS 10 May 15, 1940 Scranton Stadium, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
26 Win 22–4 Frankie Nelson PTS 10 Mar 25, 1940 Rayen-Wood Auditorium, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
25 Win 21–4 Enzo Iannozzi KO 4 (10) Mar 5, 1940 Watres Armory, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
24 Loss 20–4 Georgie Abrams UD 10 Feb 12, 1940 Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
23 Win 20–3 Bud Mignault UD 10 Jan 29, 1940 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
22 Win 19–3 Jimmy Clark TKO 3 (10) Jan 22, 1940 Town Hall, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
21 Win 18–3 Vince Pimpinella PTS 8 Jan 15, 1940 Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
20 Win 17–3 Jimmy Jones TKO 5 (6) Dec 19, 1939 Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
19 Win 16–3 Paul Pirrone PTS 6 Dec 11, 1939 Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
18 Win 15–3 Butch Lynch KO 4 (10) Nov 29, 1939 South Main Street Armory, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
17 Win 14–3 Johnny Duca UD 10 Nov 15, 1939 Watres Armory, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
16 Win 13–3 Jack Munley TKO 5 (10) Oct 18, 1939 Watres Armory, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
15 Loss 12–3 Georgie Abrams UD 8 Sep 25, 1939 Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
14 Win 12–2 Joe Fedz TKO 1 (10) Sep 11, 1939 Rochester, New York, U.S.
13 Win 11–2 Johnny Duca PTS 10 Feb 20, 1939 Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
12 Loss 10–2 Charley Burley UD 10 Nov 21, 1938 Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
11 Loss 10–1 Johnny Duca MD 10 Oct 13, 1938 Maple Grove Field House, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Eddie Babe Risko KO 3 (10) Oct 5, 1938 Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 Charley Weise KO 2 (10) Sep 13, 1938 Farrell High Athletic Field, Farrell, Pennsylvania, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Freddie Lenn UD 10 Aug 29, 1938 Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Eric Lawson TKO 5 (8) Aug 2, 1938 Clearfield Park, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Al Quaill UD 10 Jul 25, 1938 Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Johnny Foster PTS 4 Jun 17, 1938 Gilmore Stadium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Joe Lujan TKO 3 (6) Jun 6, 1938 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Sewell Hipps TKO 4 (4) Apr 5, 1938 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 Jimmy Brent PTS 4 Mar 29, 1938 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Marine Johnny Dean TKO 4 (4) Mar 15, 1938 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.

References
  1. Jennings, Chad (June 14, 2009). "Forgotten champ Boxing great Billy Soose enters Hall of Fame". Scranton Times-Tribune.
  2. "Billy Soose Awarded World Title, But Verdict Over Overlin Surprised". Auckland Star. 7 June 1941. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  3. "Title Resigned". Gisborne Herald. 3 November 1941. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  4. "Billy Soose". www.ibhof.com.
  5. Amato, Jim (December 29, 2005). "Book Review: Billy Soose; The Champion Time Forgot". BoxingScene.com.
  6. "Lewis headlines '09 Hall of Fame induction class". ESPN.com. December 9, 2008.


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