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Henry Armstrong

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Boxer

The Resume

    (December 12, 1912-October 22, 1988)
    Born in Columbus, Mississippi
    Birth name was Henry Jackson, Jr.
    Was world champion as a featherweight (1937-38), welterweight (1938-40) and lightweight (1938-39)
    150 wins (101 by knockout), 21 losses, 10 draws
    ’Ring’ magazine Fighter of the Year (1938)
    Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (1990)
    Nicknamed Homicide Hank, Hurricane Hank and Hammerin’ Hank

Why he might be annoying:

    He originally fought under the name Melody Jackson.
    After losing his first two pro fights, he took ‘Armstrong’ as a last name and returned to the amateur ranks.
    He failed to make the cut for the 1932 Olympic team and went back to the pros.
    His tenure as a champ in three different weight classes lasted less than a month before he gave up the featherweight title due to the difficulties in staying under the 126-pound weight limit.
    His purses totaled over $500,000, but he lost all the money within a few years of retiring from the ring.
    He is only the second-most famous Hammerin’ Hank in sports.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His mother died when he was five and he was raised by his grandmother.
    In 1937, he fought 27 bouts and won all of them – 26 by knockout.
    He was the first boxer to hold titles in three weight classes simultaneously.
    He managed that feat when there were only eight weight divisions. (By 2015, the number of divisions had more than doubled, to 17.)
    He was named the second-greatest fighter of all time (behind Sugar Ray Robinson) by both ‘The Ring’ magazine and boxing expert Bert Sugar.
    He became an ordained Baptist minister (1951).
    He founded the Henry Armstrong Youth Foundation and ran the Boys Club in St. Louis.
    He is the most famous Homicide Hank and Hurricane Hank in sports. (And two out of three ain’t bad.)

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 22.22% Annoying