Charley Burley was an American boxer who competed in 1930's and 40's. As a member of informal "Murderers' Row" group he was one of the most elite and avoided fighters of his generation. Burley held the World Colored Welterweight and then Middleweight Championship, never receiving a shot at real World title due to racial and conspiratorial matters. He is considered to be perhaps the greatest boxer to never win a title.
Background
Ethnicity:
Charley's father was a black coal miner and his mother a white Irish immigrant from County Cork.
Charles Duane Burley was born in Bessemer, United States, on September 6th 1917. When the hard, physical labour of the mines claimed his father in 1925 Charley and his family moved to Pittsburgh.
At age 12, Charley joined the Kay Boys Club where he took up boxing under the watchful eye of local trainers Leonard Payne and Howard Turner. Charley enjoyed the boxing as much as he enjoyed baseball, another sport at which he excelled, (it has been said that he once received an offer to play for the Homestead Grays), and when he wasn't playing ball or plucking chickens for pennies, (a skill he learned in Bessemer), he could be found at the gym.
Education
Like many great boxers in history, Burley did not receive a proper education. He came from a poor family, and his only ticket to life was to concentrate on boxing, which he did from a young age.
Career
Burley began boxing at the age of 12 at a Boys Club and, as a lightweight, won city, state and national junior boxing titles and a Golden Gloves junior title. He also contested the 1936 National Senior Championship finals in Cleveland when he lost to Leo Sweeney at welterweight.
In 1936, Charley was invited to Chicago to attend the box-offs for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but declined as he objected to the racial and religious persecution taking place in Germany. Instead he received an invitation to represent his country at the 'Workers Games' which were being held in Spain. These games were offered as an alternative to the XIth Olympiad, which were being held at the same time. Unfortunately the games were cancelled because of Spanish Civil War, the day before they were due to commence. Charley returned home, having never had the chance to lace on a glove for his country, and turned to the professional ranks.
In his first twelve months as a professional fighter, from September 1936 to September 1937, Charley was fed the usual diet of local 'talent' by his manager Phil Goldstein. Matched against boxers, punchers, tough nuts and glass jaws, he compiled a record of 12 wins with 8 kayos before losing to his 13th opponent, Eddie Dolan.
Many of these fights took place under the auspices of the 'Pittsburgh Fight Club' of which Charley was one of the most talented members. 1938 saw Charley improve his win tally to 16, with 10 kayos, before he lost on points to local boy Fritzie Zivic, a veteran of over 70 fights. A rematch just over two months later saw Charley reverse the decision with a clear points win. August 1938, saw Charley win the 'Colored' Welterweight Championship from the experienced and talented Louis 'Cocoa' Kid over 15 rounds in a thriller at Hickey Park. The 'Kid' was dropped in the second for a nine count and was in trouble again in the 15th and final round, but managed to hang on for the bell.
Since Henry Armstrong had won the 'real' welterweight championship in May 1938, Burley's "title" was redundant and was never contested again. To close out the year Charley added yet another future world champion to his list of victims when he beat middleweight Billy Soose over 10 rounds. With these wins, Burley opened 1939 as the 4th-ranked challenger for Armstrong's title. The plague of all big punches, hand trouble, came to visit Charley during, and after, his January 1939 fight with Sonny Jones. After stopping the Canadian in the seventh round, Charley was forced to rest for five months after undergoing bone graft surgery. On his return to the ring he lost over 10 un-eventful rounds to grizzled veteran Jimmy Leto at the Millvale arena (a loss he later avenged).
By the following month Burley was back in action for a third and final meeting with Fritzie Zivic, (July 17th 1939). This fight would see Charley winning by the proverbial mile, prompting one newspaper reporter to state that 'Zivic was so far behind a telescope would be needed to see him.' It was Zivic however that went on to contest and win the welterweight title from Henry Armstrong even though he was ranked behind Charley in the ratings. In what can only be considered a smart business move Zivic and his manager Luke Carney took advantage of Burley and Goldsteins strained relationship and bought out Burley's contract. This not only prevented the two from meeting again in the ring it effectively froze Charley out of the world picture.
After 1940, a year when he would lose only once in nine outings, a close decision to future top LHW fighter Jimmy Bivins, Charley was beginning to outgrow Pittsburgh and the confines of his contract with Zivic and his manager.
After going 8-0 with 6 kayos in 1941, he moved with his wife and daughter to Minnesota. It was here that his new manager, Bobby Eton, and promoter Tommy O'Loughlin would attempt to gain Charley universal recognition as a legitimate title challenger. With a little help from the State Boxing Commission, who gave Charley special dispensation to compete in any weight division above his own, he embarked upon the busiest year of his career.
Charley got 1942 off to a flying start beating everyone that was put in front of him; fighters that included the Hogue brothers ('Shorty' and 'Big Boy') the great Holman Williams and the heavyweight J.D. Turner, his promoter sent legitimate offers to the current champions. Title challenges to Freddie 'Red' Cochran at welterweight, Tony Zale at Middleweight all proved fruitless since those titles were frozen for the duration of WW II. One proposed offer to Cochran was that Charley would fight for free with his percentage going to the war fund; still no deal. Johnny Ray was offered $10,000 plus a percentage of the gate for Billy Conn, again no deal. Zale's management had other plans for their man so, again, no deal.
During this busy year Charley battled the likes of Ezzard Charles, (L10, L10), Lloyd Marshall (L10), the Hogue brothers (KO 10 and KO 6), Joe Sutka, (KO 4), Phil McQuillan, (KO1), and the aforementioned Jay Turner. All genuine middleweights, light-heavyweights and heavyweights. The giant Texan had a few months previous been the full 10 rounds with Billy Conn. For the meeting with Charley Burley Turner had a weight advantage of a staggering 70 lbs., but even this could not prevent him from being bust up, dropped and stopped by Burley inside of 6 rounds. The two fights with Ezzard Charles were held in a five-week period with a points win over Holman Williams six days before the second fight.
A chance meeting with Ray Robinson in the lobby of a hotel in New York, when Charley was in town to fight Phil McQuillan, (April 20, 1942) led to the two meeting on the same bill at the Minneapolis Armoury. Charley kayoed Sammy Wilson of Detroit in two while Ray beat Dick Banner in the same number of rounds, (April 30th 1942). Watching from ringside the 'Sugar Man' told his manager, "I'm too pretty to fight Charley Burley".
Following a close points defeat by Lloyd Marshall, (who Charley rated as his toughest opponent), Charley was close to exhaustion. He had covered many thousands of miles on the road fighting 17 times in all; with not a soft touch amongst them. Tommy O'Loughlin, who was now Charley's manager, decided that a move to California, which boasted such greats as Jack Chase, Lloyd Marshall, Eddie Booker, Billy Smith, Archie Moore and Aaron Wade, would be beneficial to Burley's career. After defeating the likes of Harvey Massey, 'Tiger' Wade and Bobby Birch, Charley received a chance to fight for the California State Middleweight title which was held by Jack Chase, whom Charley had previously beaten over 10 rounds (February 1943). Chase, who had never been stopped in 55 bouts, was kayoed in the 9th (April 3rd 1944). Charley repeated this feat five months later, this time putting Chase away in the 12th. In between he won four other fights, three of which came via the short route. The man who stayed the distance in a losing effort was Archie Moore. Charley bounced Moore off the canvas three times on the way to an emphatic points victory. The 'Old Mongoose' often cites Charley as the greatest fighter he ever fought, calling Burley "as slick as lard and twice as greasy."
Charley campaigned from 1943 through 1946 with only one loss, over 12 rounds to old foe Holman Williams. That meeting between the two (July 11th 1945) would be the last of seven meetings; with the final tally being three wins each with one no contest. Charley scored the only kayo of the series, winning in the 9th round in 1942. Other victims during this 26-fight period included, Joe Carter, (W10), Aaron 'Tiger' Wade, (W10), Charley Banks, (W10), Dave Clark, (KO1), the often-avoided Bert Lytel, (W10), and 'Oakland' Billy Smith, (W10, W10). Speaking of Smith, the only, near complete, film of a Charley Burley fight that exists is his second meeting with the light-heavyweight contender, (April 24th 1946).
In May 1946 Robinson finally signed a fight contract, but later raised the price to close to $25,000 when he wanted an out. Despite great efforts to make the match the two would never meet in the ring, although it nearly happened twice and dates were set.
From January 1940 up to August 1946 Charley Burley fought 60 times. He scored 31 stoppages, won 20 times over the distance, had 2 draws and 1 no-contest.
Despite such good form, the big money and high profile fights against many of the top rated white fighters of the day still eluded Charley. Many years later Charley, who read the bible everyday, was quoted as saying, "I used to get down on my knees and pray for a title fight". Sadly, it was not to be, and while the so-called world champions played their games and did their deals and plenty of lesser fighters got their shot, Charley Burley went to work for the City of Pittsburgh as a garbage collector.
Eight fights in four years just weren't enough and the garbage truck eventually became his new career. After beating Pilar Bastidas in Peru in 1950 Charley travelled to Europe for a series of bouts that failed to materialize. On his return home Tommy O'Loughlin took him on the road to earn some extra cash. A 'barnstorming' tour of mid-west tank towns appearing as 'the masked marvel' almost led to him being lynched on one occasion.
Religion
Charley Burley was known to be religious and read the bible everyday. He was quoted as saying "I used to get down on my knees and pray for a title fight".
Politics
Charles Burley had no interest in politics. However he was affected by American politics of that era, being denied the possibility to fight for a Championship title partly because of his - then condemned - skin color.
Membership
Charley was a member of informal group of welterweight and middleweight boxing contenders called Murderers' Row - “the most exclusive men’s club the ring has ever known. They were so good and so feared that they had to have their own tournament”.
Personality
Burley was reported to be a deeply religious, extremely soft-spoken, and honest man.
Physical Characteristics:
Charley Burley was 5'9" (175cm) tall with 75" (191cm) reach and weighed at 147-160 pounds.
Quotes from others about the person
The great trainer Eddie Futch, who saw many of the greatest fighters of the 20th century, said: “People ask me … give me the best fighter you ever saw. It would be Charley Burley. Charley Burley was an exception. Charley Burley is a legend in boxing but the public doesn’t know him because he never got the press.”
Connections
His parents had seven children, six girls and one boy; Charles junior was the second youngest.