Gene Tunney

Gene Tunney
Tunney c. 1925
Personal details
Born	(1897-05-25)May 25, 1897 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	November 7, 1978(1978-11-07) (aged 81) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Nationality	American

James Joseph "Gene" Tunney (May 25, 1897 – November 7, 1978) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1915 to 1928. He held the world heavyweight title from 1926 to 1928, and the American light heavyweight title twice between 1922 and 1923. A highly technical boxer, Tunney had a five-fight rivalry with Harry Greb in which he won three, drew once, and lost once. He also knocked out Georges Carpentier and defeated Jack Dempsey twice; first in 1926 and again in 1927. Tunney's successful title defense against Dempsey remains one of the most famous bouts in boxing history and is known as The Long Count Fight. He retired undefeated as a heavyweight after his victory over Tom Heeney in 1928, after which Tunney was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine.

Biography

Mary Lydon from Culleen House, Gorthgarve, Kiltimagh, County Mayo, Ireland, emigrated to the United States after the Great Famine. She settled in New York City where she met John Tunney, also from Cill Aodain, Kiltimagh. They married after a short courtship. The Tunneys had seven children; one son was murdered around 1920, another was a NYPD Detective from 1924 to 1951, dying in 1971, while Gene would become famous as a World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

Tunney fought some 68 official professional fights, losing only one, to Harry Greb, while fighting as a light heavyweight. Tunney fought many other fights whose scoring was unofficial, judged by newspaper reporters. He also lost none of these "newspaper decisions." He reported that he lost a second fight during World War I, a 10-round decision, to Tommy Loughran, as a Marine before he began his professional boxing career. Tunney was regarded as an extremely skillful boxer who excelled in defense. In addition to beating Dempsey, the most famous fighter of his era, Tunney defeated Tommy Gibbons, Georges Carpentier and many other fine boxers.

Already the U.S. Expeditionary Forces champion, Tunney spent the winter of 1921 as a lumberjack in northern Ontario for the J. R. Booth Company of Ottawa, without revealing he was a champion boxer. He explained this as "wanting the solitude and the strenuous labors of the woods to help condition himself for the career that appeared before him."

Tunney also had a brief acting career, starring in the movie The Fighting Marine in 1926. Unfortunately, no prints of this film are known to exist.

He was elected as Ring Magazine's first-ever Fighter of the Year in 1928 and later elected to the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1980, the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990 and the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

Tunney in Marine uniform

In 1928, Tunney married a wealthy socialite, the former Mary "Polly" Lauder (1907 – April 19, 2008). The couple lived in Stamford, Connecticut and had four children. Among them is John V. Tunney (born 1934), who was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from California from 1971 until 1977. The others are Jonathan "Jay" Tunney of Stamford, Connecticut; Gene L. Tunney who became a lawyer and served as District Attorney for Sonoma County, California for 20 years, and Joan Tunney Cook of Omaha in Boone County in northwestern Arkansas. Tunney's daughter Joan was committed to a mental hospital on June 6, 1970 after she murdered her husband.

Mrs. Tunney's grandfather was George Lauder, Sr., a first cousin and business partner of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, founder and head of Carnegie Steel Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father, George Lauder, Jr., was a philanthropist and yachtsman whose 136-foot (41 m) schooner once held the record for the fastest trans-Atlantic yacht passage ever made. According to a 2007 biography, Tunney promised Polly that he would quit boxing and defended his title only one more time after the second Dempsey fight, against Tom Heeney of New Zealand.

The Tunney Cup

In 1928, the U.S. Marine Corps presented – as a sign of friendship – a challenge cup to the Corps of Royal Marines, in the hope it might be competed for by Royal Marines association football teams. The Royal Marines named the trophy the "Tunney Cup," in honor of then–USMC Captain Tunney, who, with Sergeant Major Charles R. Francis, presented the trophy on behalf of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Death

Upon his death at the age of eighty-one, Tunney was interred at Long Ridge Union Cemetery in Stamford, Connecticut. He died at the Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut and had been suffering from a circulation ailment.

Fighting style

Tunney at Trinity College Dublin, 1928

Tunney was a thinking fighter who preferred to make a boxing match into a game of chess, which was not popular during the times when such sluggers as Jack Dempsey, Harry Greb and Mickey Walker were commanding center stage. Tunney's style was influenced by other noted boxing thinkers such as James J. Corbett and Benny Leonard. Nevertheless, it is incorrect to think of Tunney as a stick-and-move fighter in the Ali style. While Tunney's heavyweight fights against Gibbons, Carpentier, and Dempsey featured his fleet-footed movement and rapid-fire jabbing, his earlier bouts, especially the five against Harry Greb, demonstrated his vicious body punching and willingness to fight toe-to-toe. It was Benny Leonard who advised Tunney that the only way to beat Harry "The Human Windmill" Greb was to aim his punches at Greb's body rather than his head.

Always moving and boxing behind an excellent left jab, Tunney would study his opponents from the first bell. He generally preferred to stay outside and nullify any attacks, while using quick counters to keep the opponent off balance. Although not a big puncher, Tunney could still hit with power, especially after hurting his opponents and mastering their styles. A sportswriter of the era said that The Tunney-Heeney fight was the most difficult fight to publicise due to the widespread opinion that Tunney would win easily. Tunney hired Steve Hannagan, the super publicist, to build the crowd for the fight but even he could not drag in people to watch what turned out to be a dud that Tunney won with a TKO. In his fights against Jack Dempsey, today's viewer can see Tunney's style: hands held low for greater power, fast footwork that adjusts to every move his opponent makes and quick and accurate one-two style counter-punches with the left and right.

Tunney was never knocked out, while only ever being knocked down once, that in his second fight with Dempsey in the infamous Long Count. This makes him one of only five Heavyweight champions, alongside Rocky Marciano, Riddick Bowe, Sultan Ibragimov and Nicolai Valuev to retire without ever suffering a stoppage defeat. Tunney, along with Marciano, Lewis and Vitali Klitschko is one of four Heavyweight champions to have retired as champion and to have ended their career with a win in a world title fight. Having avenged his only defeat to Harry Greb with whom he also drew), Tunney joins Ingemar Johansson, Rocky Marciano, Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe as the only five heavyweight champions to have retired while holding a victory over every opponent he faced as a professional (barring no-contests).

Publications

In 1932, Tunney published a book called A Man Must Fight, in which he gave comments on his career and boxing techniques.

Cultural references

Stamp honoring Tunney

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had a comedy routine in which Lewis (in boxing shorts and gear) states he's fight'n Gene Tierney (the actress). Martin corrects Lewis and suggests that he must mean "Gene Tunney." Lewis then quips "You fight who you wanna fight, I'm fight'n who I wanna fight, I'm fight'n Gene Tierney."

In the song She Twists the Knife Again from Richard Thompson's 1985 album Across a Crowded Room, describing the mismatched intensity in a strife-ladened relationship, Thompson writes: "I'm in a fist fight/She thinks she's Gene Tunney!"

He's also mentioned in Act 1 of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: Willy tells his sons he has a punching bag with Tunney's signature on it.

Mentioned in A Whistle in the Dark (Act 1, p31) by Tom Murphy : 'in the words of the great Gene Tunney, a man must fight back. His father was a Mayoman too'.

Mentioned in the short story "Fallon" by JD Luther, when imprisoned character Tyson Wayne Vance recalls his abusive father, "Was more than one night momma'd look like she went fifteen rounds with Gene Tunney...",

In the 1932 boxing film Winner Take All, James Cagney's character Jimmy Kane—a has-been former champion trying to get educated—laments that William Shakespeare was "the one who ruined Gene Tunney."

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary
85 fights	65 wins	1 loss
By knockout	48	0
By decision	17	1
Draws	1
No contests	1
Newspaper decisions/draws	17

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
85	Win	65–1–1 (1)	Tom Heeney	TKO	11 (15), 2:52	Jul 26, 1928	Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York, U.S.	Retained NBA, The Ring, and world heavyweight titles
84	Win	64–1–1 (1)	Jack Dempsey	UD	10	Sep 22, 1927	Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Retained NBA, The Ring, and world heavyweight titles
83	Win	63–1–1 (1)	Jack Dempsey	UD	10	Sep 23, 1926	Sesquicentennial Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	Won NBA, The Ring, and world heavyweight titles
82	Win	62–1–1 (1)	Dan O'Dowd	KO	2 (10), 0:31	Dec 29, 1925	Waterfront Park, Saint Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
81	Win	N/A	Johnny Risko	NWS	12	Nov 18, 1925	Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
80	Win	61–1–1 (1)	Bartley Madden	KO	3 (10)	Sep 25, 1925	Indoor Hockey Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
79	Win	60–1–1 (1)	Italian Jack Herman	KO	2 (10)	Jul 3, 1925	Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
78	Win	59–1–1 (1)	Tommy Gibbons	KO	12 (15)	Jun 5, 1925	Polo Grounds, New York City, New York, U.S.
77	Win	N/A	Harry Greb	NWS	10	Mar 27, 1925	Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
76	Win	N/A	Jeff Smith	NWS	15	Dec 8, 1924	Coliseum Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
75	Win	58–1–1 (1)	Buddy McHale	TKO	2 (8)	Nov 10, 1924	Southern AC, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
74	Win	57–1–1 (1)	Harry Foley	TKO	1 (8), 2:05	Oct 27, 1924	Auditorium, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
73	Win	56–1–1 (1)	Ray Neuman	PTS	10	Sep 27, 1924	Cambria County Fairgrounds, Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
72	Draw	N/A	Harry Greb	NWS	10	Sep 17, 1924	Olympic Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
71	Win	55–1–1 (1)	Joe Lohman	TKO	8 (12)	Aug 18, 1924	Fairmont Arena, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
70	Win	54–1–1 (1)	Georges Carpentier	TKO	15 (15), 0:14	Jul 24, 1924	Polo Grounds, New York City, New York, U.S.
69	Win	53–1–1 (1)	Erminio Spalla	TKO	7 (12)	Jun 26, 1924	Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York, U.S.
68	Win	N/A	Jimmy Delaney	NWS	10	Mar 17, 1924	Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
67	Win	52–1–1 (1)	Martin Burke	PTS	15	Feb 15, 1924	Coliseum Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
66	Win	51–1–1 (1)	Ray Thompson	KO	2 (10)	Jan 24, 1924	Legion Arena, West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
65	Win	N/A	Harry Foley	NWS	10	Jan 15, 1924	Coliseum, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
64	Win	50–1–1 (1)	Harry Greb	UD	15	Dec 10, 1923	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Retained American light heavyweight title
63	Win	49–1–1 (1)	Dan O'Dowd	PTS	12	Jul 31, 1923	Queensboro Stadium, New York City, New York, U.S.
62	Win	N/A	Jimmy Delaney	NWS	10	May 16, 1923	Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
61	Win	48–1–1 (1)	Jack Clifford	TKO	8 (10)	May 7, 1923	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
60	Win	47–1–1 (1)	Harry Greb	SD	15	Feb 23, 1923	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Won American light heavyweight title
59	Win	46–1–1 (1)	Chuck Wiggins	PTS	12	Feb 3, 1923	Commonwealth Sporting Club, New York City, New York, U.S.
58	NC	45–1–1 (1)	Jack Renault	NC	4 (8)	Jan 29, 1923	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	NC after the referee deemed both boxers to be too inactive
57	Win	45–1–1	Charley Weinert	KO	4 (15)	Nov 29, 1922	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
56	Win	44–1–1	Jack Hanlon	KO	1 (12), 1:22	Nov 3, 1922	Clermont Avenue Rink, New York City, New York, U.S.
55	Win	43–1–1	Chuck Wiggins	PTS	10	Oct 27, 1922	Commercial AC, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
54	Draw	N/A	Tommy Loughran	NWS	8	Aug 24, 1922	Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
53	Win	N/A	Charley Weinert	NWS	12	Aug 17, 1922	Broad AC, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
52	Win	42–1–1	Ray Thompson	KO	3 (10)	Aug 4, 1922	Ocean Park Casino, Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S.
51	Win	41–1–1	Fay Keiser	PTS	12	Jul 7, 1922	Rockaway Beach Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
50	Loss	40–1–1	Harry Greb	UD	15	May 23, 1922	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Lost American light heavyweight title
49	Win	40–0–1	Jack Burke	TKO	9 (10)	Apr 10, 1922	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
48	Win	N/A	Fay Keiser	NWS	10	Mar 3, 1922	Armory, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
47	Win	39–0–1	Whitey Wenzel	TKO	4 (8)	Feb 14, 1922	Ice Palace and Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
46	Win	38–0–1	Jack Clifford	TKO	6 (12), 2:50	Feb 11, 1922	Clermont Avenue Rink, New York City, New York, U.S.
45	Win	37–0–1	Battling Levinsky	PTS	12	Jan 13, 1922	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Won American light heavyweight title
44	Win	36–0–1	Eddie O'Hare	KO	6 (8)	Dec 22, 1921	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
43	Win	35–0–1	Wolf Larsen	TKO	7 (12), 1:35	Oct 25, 1921	Pioneer Sporting Club, New York City, New York, U.S.
42	Win	34–0–1	Jack Burke	TKO	3 (8)	Oct 14, 1921	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
41	Win	33–0–1	Herbert Crossley	PTS	7	Sep 26, 1921	Dyckman Oval, New York City, New York, U.S.
40	Win	32–0–1	Eddie Josephs	PTS	12	Aug 18, 1921	Sisco Park, New York City, New York, U.S.
39	Win	31–0–1	Martin Burke	PTS	10	Aug 4, 1921	Dyckman Oval, New York City, New York, U.S.
38	Win	30–0–1	Soldier Jones	TKO	7 (8)	Jul 2, 1921	Boyle's Thirty Acres, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
37	Win	29–0–1	Johnny Ambrose	KO	1 (12), 2:45	Jun 28, 1921	Pioneer Sporting Club, New York City, New York, U.S.
36	Win	N/A	Leo Houck	NWS	10	Dec 7, 1920	4th Regiment Armory, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
35	Win	N/A	Leo Houck	NWS	6	Nov 25, 1920	Olympia AC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
34	Win	N/A	Paul Samson Koerner	NWS	10	Oct 25, 1920	6th Regiment Armory, Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
33	Win	28–0–1	Sgt. Ray Smith	TKO	2 (8)	Oct 22, 1920	Sportsman's Club, Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
32	Win	27–0–1	Ole Anderson	TKO	3 (10), 0:40	Jun 28, 1920	4th Regiment Armory, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
31	Win	26–0–1	Jeff Madden	TKO	2 (12)	Jun 7, 1920	4th Regiment Armory, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
30	Win	25–0–1	Jack Clifford	KO	3 (10)	Apr 9, 1920	Community Hall, Johnson City, New York, U.S.
29	Win	24–0–1	K.O. Sullivan	KO	1 (8), 2:15	Apr 5, 1920	1st Regiment Armory, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
28	Win	23–0–1	Ed Kinley	KO	5 (8)	Mar 4, 1920	Grand View Auditorium, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
27	Win	22–0–1	Al Roberts	KO	8 (8), 1:06	Feb 2, 1920	1st Regiment Armory, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
26	Win	21–0–1	Jim Monahan	TKO	1 (8), 2:50	Jan 26, 1920	4th Regiment Armory, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
25	Win	20–0–1	Bud Nelson	KO	1 (8)	Jan 20, 1920	Schuetzen Park, Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.
24	Win	19–0–1	Whitey Allen	KO	2 (8)	Jan 1, 1920	Schuetzen Park, Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.
23	Win	18–0–1	Bob Pearce	KO	2 (8)	Dec 29, 1919	4th Regiment Armory, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
22	Win	N/A	Dan O'Dowd	NWS	8	Dec 16, 1919	Schuetzen Park, Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.
21	Win	17–0–1	Ted Jamieson	PTS	10	Apr 26, 1919	Cirque, Paris, France
20	Win	16–0–1	K.O. Sullivan	PTS	10	Apr 14, 1919	Paris, France
19	Win	15–0–1	Dare Lewis	KO	3	Mar 31, 1919	Tours, France
18	Win	14–0–1	Bob Martin	PTS	4	Jan 27, 1919	Paris, France
17	Win	13–0–1	Victor Marchand	KO	2	Jan 10, 1919	Paris, France
16	Draw	12–0–1	Tommy Gavigan	PTS	10	Dec 20, 1918	Romorantin-Lanthenay, France
15	Win	12–0	Howard Morrow	KO	6	Dec 10, 1918	Romorantin-Lanthenay, France
14	Win	11–0	Johnny Newton	KO	6	Nov 20, 1918	Romorantin-Lanthenay, France
13	Win	10–0	Hank Werhl	KO	6	Nov 1, 1918	Romorantin-Lanthenay, France
12	Win	9–0	Young Guerini	KO	1 (8)	Jul 8, 1918	4th Regiment Armory, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
11	Win	8–0	Hugh Weir	KO	2 (10)	Jan 15, 1918	Pioneer Sporting Club, New York City, New York, U.S.
10	Win	7–0	Joe Borrell	KO	2 (10)	Dec 28, 1917	New Polo AC, New York City, New York, U.S.
9	Win	6–0	Sailor Wolfe	KO	2 (10)	Dec 29, 1916	Miners 8th St Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.
8	Win	N/A	George Leahy	NWS	6	Dec 22, 1916	Miners 8th St Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.
7	Win	5–0	Young Sharkey	KO	6 (10)	Dec 15, 1916	Miners 8th St Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.
6	Win	4–0	Young Guerini	TKO	8 (10)	Dec 8, 1916	Miners 8th St Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.
5	Draw	N/A	KO Jaffe	NWS	10	Jul 21, 1916	New Polo AC, New York City, New York, U.S.
4	Win	N/A	Billy Rowe	NWS	6	Dec 1, 1915	Fairmont AC, New York City, New York, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	George Leahy	KO	2 (6)	Aug 28, 1915	Fairmont AC, New York City, New York, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Battling Genrimo	KO	3 (10)	Aug 6, 1915	Bowery Theatre, New York City, New York, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Bobby Dawson	TKO	8 (10)	Jul 3, 1915	Sharkey AC, New York City, New York, U.S.	Professional debut }} References External links Works by Gene Tunney on Open Library at the Internet Archive Professional boxing record for G from BoxRec Gene Tunney at Find a Grave Gene Tunney profile at Cyber Boxing Zone