He had an incredible amount of fights all the way up to heavyweight, yet you don't hear much about him.
I was actually going to start a thread on Stribling a few months back but never got around to it. Stribling died at only the age of 29 or thereabouts, and yet he had accumulated nearly 300 fights by that point. Stribling was a very talented basketball player in his youth, but was forced to quit his team due to his involvment in boxing. As for his name not being mentioned much, I can only say that while he acheived a great deal, he managed to lose in his best efforts to Schmeling, Sharkey and Carnera to name a few.
Hi Chris - I'm posting these for the benefit of the causal reader - not because I think you don't know where they are or haven't already read them... From the Masonic site (he was a 32 degree I'm told) http://www.srmason-sj.org/council/journal/feb00/bryant.html International Boxing Hall Of Fame http://www.ibhof.com/stribling.htm Georgia Sports Hall of fame (he was from Macon, Ga) This article expresses the view that Stribling was handicapped rather than helped by his manager father and trainer mother - a view I tend to share. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1992 And Eastside's own Time Tunnel has him as part of a good article on ALMOST Champions http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news/bearden2009.php Only he, Langford and Carpentier fought in every weight class from Welter on up to heavy- and got a title shot (that I know of ) My personal take is that he was a great athelete who shouldn't have been a boxer - being pushed to into it from a young age. Having been fed a steady diet of inferior opposition he developed some bad habits that cost him dearly when he stepped up to championship level. In particular I don't like his "Kronk Gym" low lead left baiting tactic. Against a fast right lead he would catch it with the right glove crossing in front and that works against a lower level fighter very well and gave Stribling good countering shots after they miss. However a class guy throws a left hook over the top after the right and you get hit unless you have the rest of the Kronk system drilled into you by the trainers that developed it. Stribling didn't have that 'what happens next' reflex and it hurt him, again this is IMO. I also think he was FAR better as a lightheavy and should have stayed there. He has some great wins over very good boxers but strangely always seemed to falter in his biggest fights. Having said that there are some real zingers in his record also... His 1-1 both by DQ's with Carnera look to me to be VERY fishy. His parents comming from a vaudville background also makes me take note of the suspicious number of what I call 'name-a-likes' that he fought. People with great boxing LAST names in the 20's but not THE famous person. Now while in a list of 200+ fighters there will be some of that this seems to me to be a very large number. In an age before TV or the internet how many people bought tickets thinking that they were seeing someone "else"? A great gate builder but shady as hell. 3 Fitzsimmoms - but not BOB Tommy Burns - but not the HW champ Dillon but not Jack Ross but Benny NOT Barney Delaney but Jimmy not JACK Britton but again not Jack The list goes on but these really stuck out for me. What should be his lasting memorial of 125 KO's (surpassed only by archie Moore if memory serves me) is tainted in my mind. The reason I say that is one of the few memories I have of my Grandfather and boxing is this story... My Grandfather was AT the Feb 23 1928 Joe Cleary - Young Stribling fight in Montgomery Alabama and said he never before or since witnessed such a farce. The record book at least partly bears him out for it says KO time of :10 second round (my grandpa said FIRST round) giving Stribling less than a second to cross the ring and KO old Joe in what Boxrec says was his first and ONLY fight. If that was what his record was built on I'm not surprised he wilted against the Champions... I'm much more surprised he beat the guys he did! I'm afraid with all the associated DQ's and boxing commision enquries ( the French suspended him for 3 months ) his family 'showmanship' history and management practices, his "Octopus" reputation (AKA Willie-the-clutch) his place in history will always be problematic.
I have no source to point to but I remember old Ring Magazine stories covering Stribling that were unflattering. He certainly had talent and was a legitimate top contender, but his record was apparently puffed up with pushovers and outright frauds. He was called the "King of the Canebreaks" and apparently had a roadshow going in the backwater South. A member of his troup, passing himself off as a hated Yankee, would go ahead and beat up a couple of stooges to rile up the locals. Stribling would then show up to beat the "Yankee" and redeem the honor of Dixie. As a serious contender, Stribling was known as an excellent boxer who was the best feinter of his era, but one who generally came up short in his big matches. He was not considered a big puncher against good opposition.
This is a good topic, a very under-discussed fighter in the HOF with a top notch KO record... I am glad to have a chance to add something that I hope is of value to the discussion... BTW sir, I have always appreciated how we can disagree (Marciano vs Dempsey) without becoming disagreable. That is very rare in this day and age. Now if I can just win you over to the dark - er I mean Dempsey side - LOL Take Care
