Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 23, 1990 TAG: 9005230463
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Graziano died of cardio-pulmonary failure at New York Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Diana Goldin. He was hospitalized April 8 after suffering a stroke.
Graziano, who was treated last year for physical and mental exhaustion, had a heart attack last February.
In his 11-year pro career, Graziano managed a 67-16 record with 52 knockouts. He is best remembered for three fights with Tony Zale and it was the middle one of those that gave Graziano his only title.
In retirement, Graziano became as popular as he had been as a fighter.
His life story, "Somebody Up There Likes Me," was a best-selling book that was made into a 1956 movie starring Paul Newman.
Graziano was frequently seen on television as a sidekick to comedienne Martha Raye and on commercials for all manner of products from yogurt and foot powder to dog food and auto mufflers.
He was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1971.
Graziano turned pro in 1942 and by 1946, he was a contender. On Sept. 16 in Yankee Stadium, he fought Zale for the middleweight title and they staged a small war with Graziano going down in the first round and then being knocked out in the sixth. He recalled the knockout punch.
"It was a big left hook and I see it coming, but I can't stop it. It was like the ground exploded up and hit me in the stomach. The lights spin in a circle then dim down to a tiny little spot," he said. "I try to yell but I can't make a sound. I am deaf and I can't talk and I can't lift my arms and I am falling. For the first time in my life, I know what it's like to be KO'd."
The fight was such a crowd-pleaser that 10 months later, on July 16, 1947, Graziano and Zale had a rematch, this time in Chicago. Graziano returned the favor, knocking Zale out in the sixth round to capture the championship.
Graziano held the title for 11 months but in his first defense, Zale took the crown back on June 10, 1948 with a third-round knockout in another bloody battle.
Graziano got one more chance at the championship,but was knocked out in the third round by Sugar Ray Robinson on April 16, 1952. He would fight just once more, losing a 10-round decision to Chuck Davey before announcing his retirement.
Twenty-five years after his last fight, Graziano chortled about his post-boxing popularity.
"This author stuff, TV and the movies - it's a piece of cake, better than ripping off stores. Pays better, too."
Graziano often made himself and his delinquent childhood the butt of jokes. "I quit school in the sixth grade because of pneumonia," he once said. "Not because I had it - but because I couldn't spell it. We stole everything that began with an `a' - a piece of fruit, a bicycle, a watch, anything that was not nailed down.
"It took me nine years to get through the fourth grade. When I got into television commercials, I had to take a crash course in reading. I was 32 years old and I couldn't read the cue cards."
Funeral arrangements were pending.
by CNB