Billy Soose

Billy Soose (August 2, 1915 – September 5, 1998) was an American boxer who won the world middleweight championship in 1941.

Billy Soose
1940s Billy Soose Business Card
Born	Billy Soose (1915-08-02)August 2, 1915 Farrell, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	September 5, 1998(1998-09-05) (aged 83)
Statistics
Weight(s)	Middleweight
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	41
Wins	34
Wins by KO	13
Losses	6
Draws	1

Biography

Soose was undefeated in his collegiate boxing career at Penn State and was a three-time Golden Gloves winner before turning professional in 1938.^[1]

By the end of his first year in the paid ranks he had beaten the former world champion Eddie Babe Risko although he lost a unanimous decision to Charley Burley. In 1940 Soose defeated two future middleweight champions, Ken Overlin and Tony Zale. He began 1941 by defeating future heavyweight and light heavyweight title challenger Tami Mauriello. In May of that year he challenged Overlin for the middleweight title at Madison Square Garden and won by a controversial, but unanimous points decision.^[2] He made no defences and in November it was reported that he had relinquished the championship in order to pursue the light-heavyweight title.^[3]

After losing a bout to light-heavyweight contender Jimmy Bivins in January 1942 Soose joined the United States Navy and retired from professional boxing at the age of twenty-six.^[4]

Soose was featured on the cover of the June 1941 Ring magazine and is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame. He is also the subject of a book, Billy Soose - The Champion Time Forgot.^[5] He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009.^[6]

Soose was found dead at his home at Tafton, Pennsylvania in 1998.^[1]

Professional boxing record

40 fights	33 wins	6 losses
By knockout	13	0
By decision	20	6
Draws	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
41	Loss	34–6–1	Jimmy Bivins	UD	10	Jan 13, 1942	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
40	Win	34–5–1	Jimmy Reeves	PTS	10	Dec 18, 1941	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
39	Draw	33–5–1	Ceferino Garcia	TD	8 (12)	Jul 30, 1941	Gilmore Field, Los Angeles, California, U.S.	Bout was halted due to an eye injury suffered by Soose
38	Loss	33–5	Georgie Abrams	UD	10	Jul 30, 1941	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
37	Win	33–4	Tony Celli	TKO	2 (10)	Jul 11, 1941	Sportman's Park, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
36	Win	32–4	Ken Overlin	UD	15	May 9, 1941	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Won NYSAC middleweight title
35	Win	31–4	Ernie Vigh	PTS	12	Mar 7, 1941	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
34	Win	30–4	Ernie Vigh	UD	10	Feb 7, 1941	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
33	Win	29–4	Tami Mauriello	SD	10	Jan 3, 1941	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
32	Win	28–4	Jimmy Casino	PTS	10	Dec 13, 1940	Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, U.S.
31	Win	27–4	Vince Pimpinella	UD	10	Nov 7, 1940	South Main Street Armory, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
30	Win	26–4	Tony Zale	UD	10	Aug 21, 1940	Mills Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
29	Win	25–4	Ken Overlin	SD	10	Jul 24, 1940	Scranton Stadium, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
28	Win	24–4	Jack Ennis	PTS	10	May 30, 1940	Memorial Field, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, U.S.
27	Win	23–4	Ernest Peirce	PTS	10	May 15, 1940	Scranton Stadium, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
26	Win	22–4	Frankie Nelson	PTS	10	Mar 25, 1940	Rayen-Wood Auditorium, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
25	Win	21–4	Enzo Iannozzi	KO	4 (10)	Mar 5, 1940	Watres Armory, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
24	Loss	20–4	Georgie Abrams	UD	10	Feb 12, 1940	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
23	Win	20–3	Bud Mignault	UD	10	Jan 29, 1940	Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
22	Win	19–3	Jimmy Clark	TKO	3 (10)	Jan 22, 1940	Town Hall, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
21	Win	18–3	Vince Pimpinella	PTS	8	Jan 15, 1940	Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
20	Win	17–3	Jimmy Jones	TKO	5 (6)	Dec 19, 1939	Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
19	Win	16–3	Paul Pirrone	PTS	6	Dec 11, 1939	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
18	Win	15–3	Butch Lynch	KO	4 (10)	Nov 29, 1939	South Main Street Armory, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
17	Win	14–3	Johnny Duca	UD	10	Nov 15, 1939	Watres Armory, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
16	Win	13–3	Jack Munley	TKO	5 (10)	Oct 18, 1939	Watres Armory, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
15	Loss	12–3	Georgie Abrams	UD	8	Sep 25, 1939	Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
14	Win	12–2	Joe Fedz	TKO	1 (10)	Sep 11, 1939	Rochester, New York, U.S.
13	Win	11–2	Johnny Duca	PTS	10	Feb 20, 1939	Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
12	Loss	10–2	Charley Burley	UD	10	Nov 21, 1938	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
11	Loss	10–1	Johnny Duca	MD	10	Oct 13, 1938	Maple Grove Field House, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
10	Win	10–0	Eddie Babe Risko	KO	3 (10)	Oct 5, 1938	Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
9	Win	9–0	Charley Weise	KO	2 (10)	Sep 13, 1938	Farrell High Athletic Field, Farrell, Pennsylvania, U.S.
8	Win	8–0	Freddie Lenn	UD	10	Aug 29, 1938	Hickey Park, Millvale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
7	Win	7–0	Eric Lawson	TKO	5 (8)	Aug 2, 1938	Clearfield Park, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, U.S.
6	Win	6–0	Al Quaill	UD	10	Jul 25, 1938	Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Johnny Foster	PTS	4	Jun 17, 1938	Gilmore Stadium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
4	Win	4–0	Joe Lujan	TKO	3 (6)	Jun 6, 1938	Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Sewell Hipps	TKO	4 (4)	Apr 5, 1938	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Jimmy Brent	PTS	4	Mar 29, 1938	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Marine Johnny Dean	TKO	4 (4)	Mar 15, 1938	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.

External links

• Biography portal

• Boxing record for Billy Soose from BoxRec (registration required)
• Billy Soose at Find a Grave

References

1. Jennings, Chad (June 14, 2009). "Forgotten champ Boxing great Billy Soose enters Hall of Fame". Scranton Times-Tribune.
2. "Billy Soose Awarded World Title, But Verdict Over Overlin Surprised". Auckland Star. 7 June 1941. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
3. "Title Resigned". Gisborne Herald. 3 November 1941. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
4. "Billy Soose". www.ibhof.com.
5. Amato, Jim (December 29, 2005). "Book Review: Billy Soose; The Champion Time Forgot". BoxingScene.com.
6. "Lewis headlines '09 Hall of Fame induction class". ESPN.com. December 9, 2008.