Clip of the Day

Golf was a rich man's game. Strictly country club, and then came Arnold Palmer. Here was a guy just like most of us, rough around the edges. He was a big hitter with a limited short game. Sound familiar. He had that wild swing, and when he missed a shot, we missed. He was almost always coming from behind, making that now famous charge. Arnie was the guy next door. He brought golf in to our living room with the advent of television. He was our hero. When he won, we all won.

Rocky Marciano was born in Brockton, Massachusetts in 1923. He was a typical American kid, playing baseball and football and dreaming of playing one professionally. He didn't take up boxing until he was drafted into the Army at the age of twenty. In 1947, he had a tryout with the Chicago Cubs as a catcher, but was let go because he couldn't make the throw from home plate to second base with accuracy. By the spring of 1949, his boxing skills were developing and he had knocked out his first 16 opponents. In 1951, Marciano knocked out his hero, the former heavyweight champion Joe Louis, in the eighth round, establishing him as one of the marquee fighters in the heavyweight division. In 1952, he got the chance to fight for the title against Jersey Joe Walcott in Philadelphia. Marciano knocked him out in the 13th round giving Marciano the championship belt. On April 27, 1956, Marciano retired from boxing. He had held the heavyweight boxing title for four years and is the only boxing champion to ever retire undefeated.