WTF was Sonny Liston born?

This is interesting.

Not to necessarily challenge Father Alois Stevens claim but like the many who believed that Liston was older, the chaplain simply stated “we knew” without providing exactly how/why they knew Liston’s true age.

I’ve read that, in the early 50s (52/53?) Liston completed a stat dec or something similar to officially register his YOB as 1932 - the details being self- sourced but based on his mother’s advice I believe.

I’ve assumed without knowing for sure that Liston did this in order to become eligible (=‘requiring a birth certificate or official dec of YOB) for the Golden Gloves…unless Sonny required same for some other reason around that time.

If that’s correct, the chaplain’s reasoning that they wouldn’t have let Liston in the Golden Gloves IF Sonny was older is circular since it was Liston’s own declaration of YOB that would’ve got him in - not based on some other “secretly” sourced knowledge that seems to be the basis for many simply “knowing” what Liston’s true age was.

The 3 censuses, 1930, 1940 and 1950 do not corroborate one another - but the 1940 and 1950 suggest that Liston was at least born earlier than 1932. The 1930 simply didn’t mention Liston altogether.

Someone mentioned Galento having claimed to have sparred Liston but I believe it was you yourself Solomon that identified the confusion there -

- Galento merely claimed that he believed that Liston was older - it was Ezz Charles who actually sparred Liston and made specific reference to same.

Of course it doesn’t constitute as evidence but it’s at least interesting to note that Sonny’s wife Geraldine was the age that many guessed Liston to roughly be - and, ironically, Geraldine herself appeared to hold her age well as at around that time.

Like many, I believe the earliest YOB to probably be 1928 but Liston’s prematurely aged appearance likely lent to a degree of over estimation re his true age.

Suffice to say, the arrest photo/mug shot of Liston in 1950 vs his appearance in 1964 might suggest that he at least did age more than one might expect during the intervening 14 years.

IF Liston was 36 yo as at Miami, of course that would be somewhat of a game changer in terms of how he is perceived.

Liston looked light years better in 1960 (at an estimated correlating age of 32 yo) than he did in and after 1964.

The life and times of Sonny provide for one of the more or even the most mysterious stories in boxing.

However that story is sliced, Sonny was undoubtedly a great fighter imo.

 

Liston might be described as boxing’s
very own Jack Benny - and to allay any possible confusion, no, I’m not saying that Sonny played the violin - and, if he did, it would’ve have to have been custom made for those freakish hands of his.