Two Forgotten Warriors Harry Bobo & Lee Q Murray

Murray was an excellent fighter, a switch-hitter ala' Marvin Hagler and Livingstone Bramble. He was tall, rangy and carried a deadly right hand. He was tossed out of the Louis and Galento camps for flooring both fighters in sparring. Personally, I think he threw the Walcott fight. He put forth no effort at all and there was an official investigation afterward.

I think Murray could have beaten just about anyone in that 1940s HW crowd.

Bobo I have a lot of info on (I'm writing a Pittsburgh boxing history book). Here's a rough draft of some of his entry:

Harry Bobo
Known as “The Peabody Paralyzer”, the 6’4, 210 pound Bobo was one of several leading black heavyweight contenders during the 1940s that never got a crack at champion Joe Louis. He was wildly popular in Pittsburgh among sports fans, beginning when he was a standout athlete at local Peabody High School. As an All-City tackle, his exploits in football (and also track and field) began regularly making it into the local newspapers. Several colleges attempted to recruit him but he instead opted for a fistic career, winning a heavyweight title during a brief run in the amateur ranks.


When he turned professional Bobo signed on with manager Eddie Kapphan, who also had Curtis “Hatchetman” Sheppard in his stable. From his pro debut on, his career was closely followed by local sportswriters and it wasn’t long before he was making headlines. Strong and hard-hitting, Bobo beat many top heavyweights, including Gus Dorazio, Lee Savold, Gunnar Barlund and Buddy Walker. The bout with Lem Franklin pitted two of the division’s most powerful punchers in a wildly entertaining (albeit brief) fight that saw Bobo having to pick himself up off the canvas to score an impressive first round KO. Other top fighters Bobo faced include Melio Bettina, Tony Shucco and Lee Q. Murray.


Bobo was regarded highly enough to be considered “duration champion” by Ohio and Maryland while Joe Louis- the real heavyweight champion- was in the army. But an eye injury suffered in a bout with Gus Dorazio cost him his license to fight in Pennsylvania. He continued to fight out of state but with mixed results, eventually retiring in 1944. He stayed close to the fight game in later years, helping future heavyweight contender Bob Baker to get started in the amateurs and occasionally refereeing fights. He worked as a Sunday school teacher and was deeply religious throughout his life.


Bobo was working as a bartender in Philadelphia when he died suddenly on July 1966, at age 46.

 

Bobo--seems to have been a rather ordinary contender. Had some big wins, but was outpointed twice by Dorazio and Bettina, and was KO'd by Bill Poland.

Murray--seems to have been an in and outer. He looked good in 43 and 44, losing only, I think, to Bivins, but lost in 1945 to the ordinary Johnny Flynn and O'Dell Riley. Coming off losses like that, I wouldn't draw too much of a dive conclusion off his fight with Walcott. He might have just been outclassed and refs DQ'ing fghters for poor performances wasn't that unusual back then.
Murray rallied in 1946 and 1947, including two wins over Bivins, but lost to Bivins in 1947, and then collapsed in 1948 with multiple KO'd by Sid Peaks, Johnny Haynes, and Turkey Thompson.

looking at their entire careers, Bobo and Murray seem to have been second-tier contenders.

 

I would put Murray at his best 43-44 as a first tier contender..he was fighting on even terms with a prime jimmy bivins during this period.

 

Excellent post go do you know so much about Murray?

 

1946-06-10 : Jimmy Bivins 190 lbs lost to Lee Q. Murray 203 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10
Location: Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
"Lee Q. Murray, South Norwalk, Conn., ran his comeback victory string to 12 last night by winning an unanimous 10 round decision over Cleveland's Jimmy Bivins. Murray, 6'4", made good use of his height, weight and reach and had little trouble hitting Bivins, who was a slow moving target compared with his early days. Bivins tried to make it a close-in s****, but for the most part, Murray held him off with a long left while piling rights to the Cleveland lad's face and mid-section. There was nothing resembling a knockdown, but both fighters were shaken several times. Bivins bled at the nose and mouth for the last six rounds." -Associated Press
Scorecards (all for Murray)
Referee Jackie Davis - 6-4
Judge Charley Bill - 6-3-1
Judge Herb Williams - 5-3-2

Unofficial AP scorecard - 7-3 Murray
Attendance - 7,738
Gate - $25,448.00

 

1943-12-01 : Lee Q. Murray 202 lbs lost to Jimmy Bivins 187¼ lbs by UD in round 10 of 10
Location: Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
"Jimmy Bivins, Cleveland, ranked by the NBA as the country's top active heavyweight, was awarded a thunderously booed 10 round decision over Lee Q. Murray of South Norwalk, Conn., at the Arena Wednesday night. The decision of Referee Jackie Davis and Judges Jim Parker and Herb Williams was unanimous, but the record crowd of 14,500 greeted the decision with almost solid disapproval and continued booing for more than 10 minutes after the decision was announced. Bivins' face was a mass of blod at the finish and referee Jackie Davis' shirt was drenched in gore from a deep cut which Murray opened above Bivins' left eye in the 6th stanza." -Associated Press

Unofficial AP scorecard - 6-3-1 Murray

 

Murray would have been a unique fight for Louis. Louis never fought a 6'4 puncher who was a switch hitter. A dangerous fight.

Murray was a consistent top 5 contender during the mid 40s

1943 Joe Louis*, Champion
Jimmy Bivins
Tami Mauriello

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Curtis Sheppard
Gus Dorazio
Joe Baksi
Joey Maxim
Turkey Thompson
Lee Savold
Buddy Scott

1944 Joe Louis*, Champion
Melio Bettina
Tami Mauriello
Curtis Sheppard
Joe Baksi
Lee Oma

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Jack London
Elmer Ray
Al Hart
Buddy Scott


1945 Joe Louis, Champion
Billy Conn
Tami Mauriello
Jimmy Bivins
Elmer Ray
Bruce Wood****
Lee Oma
Freddie Schott
Arturo Godoy
Jersey Joe Walcott
Joe Baksi


1946 Joe Louis, Champion
Tami Mauriello
Elmer Ray
Jersey Joe Walcott
Bruce Wood****

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Curtis Sheppard
Melio Bettina
Joe Baksi
Joe Kahut
Joey Maxim


1947 Joe Louis, Champion
Jersey Joe Walcott
Elmer Ray

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Pat Comiskey
Joe Baksi
Tommy Gomez
Joey Maxim
Turkey Thompson
Bruce Wood****
Phil Muscato

 

Ray Arcel reported that Lee Q. Murray dropped Louis in a sparring session. Shortly afterward, Murray was canned as Louis's sparring partner. Murray also dropped Two Ton Galento in sparring. Once again, Murray was dismissed.

 

"Lee Q Murray is the biggest hitter in the heavyweight division besides Joe Louis." - Ray Arcel 1945

 

DISQUALIFY MURRAY
FOR NOT FIGHTING
Baltimore, Nov. 13 —Lee Q.
Murray, the Norwalk, Conn., battler
who had won 11 straight fights in
Baltimore rings, was disqualified for
stalling in the ninth round of his
scheduled 10-round bout at the
Coliseum last night with Jersey Joe
Walcott.
Walcott, 1B9, Camden, N. J.,
was awarded the decision on the
basis of having taken every round
and the aggressor all the way.
After the main event, Referee
Eddie Leonard gave this explanation:
"It was an unusual decision, but
if the match had been declared no
contest Walcott, who tried to make
a fight of it. would have been penalized
along with Murray. Walcott was
named the winner because he tried."

 

http://static.boxrec.com/c/c1/LeeQMurray.jpg

 

I have an article in which Jersey Joe Walcott says Murray and Curtis Sheppard both hit harder than Louis. He was probably just trying to hype their rematch, but that he chose those two names says a lot.

 

Thanks A few years back I did some newspaper archive and magazine archive searches on Murray for an article I was writing on him (never did finish because I couldn't track down any family members. Any genealogy researchers here?). So I gathered the info and started a file on him, which I still have. Interesting fighter.

I have a Pittsburgh boxing history Facebook page. Lots of pics and info on Bobo, Curtis Sheppard, etc.