Johnny Coulon
Encyclopedia
John Frederic Coulon was the bantamweight
boxing champion of the world from 6 March 1910, when he wrested the crown from England's Jim Kendrick
, until 1914, when he was defeated by Kid Williams
.
to American parents Emile Eugene Coulon (1857–1911) and Sarah Loretta Waltzinger (1857–1923), Coulon grew up in turn-of-the-century Chicago
, where, as a prelim fighter, he became known as "The Cherry Picker from Logan Square." He turned pro at 16 and was champion at 21. His career, managed by his father, Eugene "Pop" Coulon, stretched from 1905 to 1920. The hall-of-famer is listed as losing only four times in 97 fights, but he claimed to have fought over 300 pro fights.
Coulon won his first 26 bouts before losing a 10-round decision to Kid Murphy. In a rematch with Murphy in 1908, Coulon reversed the decision and earned recognition as the American bantamweight champion.
After capturing the world title against Kendrick in 19 rounds, he defended the title against Earl Denning, Frankie Conley
, Frankie Burns
, and Kid Williams
. He finally lost the crown in 1914 when Williams stopped him in the third round. He also faced Harry Forbes during his career. Coulon met three Hall-of-Famers in his career: Kid Williams, Pete Herman
, and Charley Goldman
, who is best known for training Rocky Marciano
.
Coulon served in the United States Army
during World War I
, often instructing soldiers on how to fight. He boxed twice after his service stint and retired from the ring in 1920 with a record of 56 wins, 4 draws, and 32 no-contests.
After retirement, he began public performances with a stupendous stage act. He would appear stripped to the waist and challenge anyone in the audience to try to lift him off his feet. It seemed an empty challenge since at five feet and barely 110 pounds, he was smaller than many schoolboys. But each who took up the challenge soon left the stage baffled and frustrated. Coulon himself never made any extravagant claims that he could violate natural laws. He was content to make a living by presenting a baffling stage act. The trick was that Coulon would feign a struggle, grabbing the opponent by the neck and applying pressure to a nerve there.
In 1921, Coulon married Marie Maloney (1892–1984). She never saw him fight professionally, but together they opened Coulon's Gymnasium on the South Side of Chicago. Marie was the business manager. "His professional career was over when we met, but together we saw oh so many of the great ones train at our gym down thru the years — men like Jack Dempsey
, Gene Tunney
, Jim Braddock
, Joe Louis
, Sugar Ray Robinson
, and Muhammad Ali
." Ali would often use the gym to keep himself toned during his exile years. Coulon managed junior welterweight champion Eddie Perkins
(74-20-4) and light-heavyweight contender Allen Thomas.
Ernest Hemingway
visited Coulon's and insisted on sparring with the local pugs. LeRoy Neiman
sketched boxers working out. A cult movie of the sixties, Medium Cool
, filmed scenes at the gym, where Coulon briefly appeared, a tiny old man captured forever on celluloid.
Coulon was not only a topnotch trainer, but living boxing history. He was a close friend of Jack Johnson
, had frequented Johnson's restaurant, the "Café de Champion," and had even been a pallbearer at the great champion's funeral. He had known every heavyweight champion since the Great John L. Sullivan
, had been bantamweight champion of the world, had trained hundreds of fighters and was a revered celebrity in Chicago during the 1960s. At 76 he could leave a ring by jumping over a top rope, landing softly on his feet. He celebrated a birthday by walking the length of the gym on his hands. He died at 84 in 1973 in Chicago and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Coulon was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
in 1955 (Sport: Boxing; Theme: Strength & Science), was installed in the Catholic Youth Organization
's Club of Champions for his contributions to amateur boxing in 1971, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
in 1999.
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
boxing champion of the world from 6 March 1910, when he wrested the crown from England's Jim Kendrick
Jim Kendrick
James Marcellus Kendrick was a professional football player during the early years of the National Football League with the Toledo Maroons, Canton Bulldogs, Louisville Brecks, Chicago Bears, Hammond Pros, Buffalo Bisons, Rochester Jeffersons, Rock Island Independents, Buffalo Rangers and the New...
, until 1914, when he was defeated by Kid Williams
Kid Williams
John Gutenko who boxed under the name Kidd Williams, was a boxer from Denmark.-Biography:Williams was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He traveled with his parents to the United States in 1904 where they ended up in Baltimore, Maryland...
.
Biography
Born in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
to American parents Emile Eugene Coulon (1857–1911) and Sarah Loretta Waltzinger (1857–1923), Coulon grew up in turn-of-the-century Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where, as a prelim fighter, he became known as "The Cherry Picker from Logan Square." He turned pro at 16 and was champion at 21. His career, managed by his father, Eugene "Pop" Coulon, stretched from 1905 to 1920. The hall-of-famer is listed as losing only four times in 97 fights, but he claimed to have fought over 300 pro fights.
Coulon won his first 26 bouts before losing a 10-round decision to Kid Murphy. In a rematch with Murphy in 1908, Coulon reversed the decision and earned recognition as the American bantamweight champion.
After capturing the world title against Kendrick in 19 rounds, he defended the title against Earl Denning, Frankie Conley
Frankie Conley
Frankie Conley of Kenosha, Wisconsin was a bantamweight boxing champion.-Biography:He became the bantamweight boxing champion of the world when he knocked out Monte Attell in 42 rounds on February 22, 1910. In 1912 he was knocked out by Mexican Joe Rivers. He died on August 21, 1952.-References:...
, Frankie Burns
Frankie Burns
Frankie Burns is an American boxer from New Jersey. Burns was undefeated in his first 12 fights with a record of 4-0-1-7.Burns fought Johnny Coulon twice in New York. The first fight Burns won by decision. The second fight was for the Paperweight World Championship...
, and Kid Williams
Kid Williams
John Gutenko who boxed under the name Kidd Williams, was a boxer from Denmark.-Biography:Williams was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He traveled with his parents to the United States in 1904 where they ended up in Baltimore, Maryland...
. He finally lost the crown in 1914 when Williams stopped him in the third round. He also faced Harry Forbes during his career. Coulon met three Hall-of-Famers in his career: Kid Williams, Pete Herman
Pete Herman
Pete Herman was one of the all time great bantamweight world champions. An Italian-American, Herman was born Peter Gulotta in New Orleans, Louisiana, and fought from 1912 until 1922...
, and Charley Goldman
Charley Goldman
Charley Goldman was a famed boxing trainer who trained five world champions. Goldman's most famous pupil was the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky Marciano....
, who is best known for training Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano , born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was an American boxer and the heavyweight champion of the world from September 23, 1952, to April 27, 1956. Marciano is the only champion to hold the heavyweight title and go undefeated throughout his career. Marciano defended his title six times...
.
Coulon served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, often instructing soldiers on how to fight. He boxed twice after his service stint and retired from the ring in 1920 with a record of 56 wins, 4 draws, and 32 no-contests.
After retirement, he began public performances with a stupendous stage act. He would appear stripped to the waist and challenge anyone in the audience to try to lift him off his feet. It seemed an empty challenge since at five feet and barely 110 pounds, he was smaller than many schoolboys. But each who took up the challenge soon left the stage baffled and frustrated. Coulon himself never made any extravagant claims that he could violate natural laws. He was content to make a living by presenting a baffling stage act. The trick was that Coulon would feign a struggle, grabbing the opponent by the neck and applying pressure to a nerve there.
In 1921, Coulon married Marie Maloney (1892–1984). She never saw him fight professionally, but together they opened Coulon's Gymnasium on the South Side of Chicago. Marie was the business manager. "His professional career was over when we met, but together we saw oh so many of the great ones train at our gym down thru the years — men like Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
, Gene Tunney
Gene Tunney
James Joseph "Gene" Tunney was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1926-1928 who defeated Jack Dempsey twice, first in 1926 and then in 1927. Tunney's successful title defense against Dempsey is one of the most famous bouts in boxing history and is known as The Long Count Fight...
, Jim Braddock
James J. Braddock
James Walter "The Cinderella Man" Braddock was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937....
, Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
, Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
, and Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
." Ali would often use the gym to keep himself toned during his exile years. Coulon managed junior welterweight champion Eddie Perkins
Eddie Perkins
Eddie Perkins was an American light welterweight boxer.-Professional career:Perkins turned professional in 1956 and captured the World Boxing Association light welterweight title with a decision win over Duilio Loi in 1962, but lost the belt in a rematch later that year...
(74-20-4) and light-heavyweight contender Allen Thomas.
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
visited Coulon's and insisted on sparring with the local pugs. LeRoy Neiman
LeRoy Neiman
LeRoy Neiman is an American artist known for his brilliantly colored, pseudo-expressionist paintings and screen prints of athletes and sporting events.- Early years :...
sketched boxers working out. A cult movie of the sixties, Medium Cool
Medium Cool
Medium Cool is an American film written and directed by Haskell Wexler and starring Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz, Marianna Hill and Harold Blankenship. It takes place in Chicago in the summer of 1968...
, filmed scenes at the gym, where Coulon briefly appeared, a tiny old man captured forever on celluloid.
Coulon was not only a topnotch trainer, but living boxing history. He was a close friend of Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (boxer)
John Arthur Johnson , nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion...
, had frequented Johnson's restaurant, the "Café de Champion," and had even been a pallbearer at the great champion's funeral. He had known every heavyweight champion since the Great John L. Sullivan
John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan , also known as the Boston Strong Boy, was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1881 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules...
, had been bantamweight champion of the world, had trained hundreds of fighters and was a revered celebrity in Chicago during the 1960s. At 76 he could leave a ring by jumping over a top rope, landing softly on his feet. He celebrated a birthday by walking the length of the gym on his hands. He died at 84 in 1973 in Chicago and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Coulon was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
in 1955 (Sport: Boxing; Theme: Strength & Science), was installed in the Catholic Youth Organization
Catholic Youth Organization
A Catholic Youth Organization is an organization for young Catholics. Usually each group uses the church for meeting and gathering, although some have their own premises. It was initiated by Bishop Bernard J...
's Club of Champions for his contributions to amateur boxing in 1971, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
in 1999.