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Name:    Liston, Sonny
Profession:  Athlete
Category:  African-American Experience
Born/Started:    1932
Died/Ended:    1970
Description:    Sonny Liston was born in Arkansas but moved to St. Louis as a child. When he was 18 years old, he robbed a service station and was imprisoned in the Missouri State Penitentiary, where he learned to box. Liston won the 1952 Golden Gloves award and defeated Floyd Patterson twice for the world heavyweight championship. However, Muhammad Ali later won the title from Liston in two controversial bouts.



Reference
Discovering African-American St. Louis
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