A Great Sports Story Of Western Pa. GRIT…

75 years ago last week, a Pittsburgh boxer fought for the heavyweight championship of the world.

The Pittsburgh boxer who threw caution into the wind went for a knockout against the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

It is a story worth retelling.
His name was Billy Conn. The Pittsburgh kid.

Know who he was fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world?
A fellow named Joe Louis.
Joe Louis was probably the only boxer ever who could’ve beaten Muhammed Ali in Ali’s PRIME.

Louis was that good.
On top of all of that, Billy Conn was a middleweight.

That means Conn was giving away about 30 pounds to the undisputed boxing heavyweight champion of the world at the time Joe Louis.

A champion who held the title for 12 years.

Think about that.

So what happened?

Pittsburgh wrongful death, medical malpractice, car accident and criminal defense attorney Bernie Tully thinks it is important for younger readers to hear.

Because incredibly, Conn was beating Louis after 12 Rounds.

Yes he was winning the Heavyweight Championship boxing match against Louis.

All the scorecards had him in the lead against a guy who was considered unbeatable in the ring.

Then the 13th round happened….

Before he went out for the 13th round, Conn was told by his corner that he was ahead on points in the fight. .
His trainers and personnel all said the same thing to him before he went out there in the 13th round.
Be conservative and don’t take chances.
All you have to do is finish the rest of the fight and you’ll be the new heavyweight champion of the world.

So what did the Pittsburgh kid do?

You got it.
He threw caution into the wind and went for the knockout.
Western PA grit at its finest.
Or some people might say at its worst.

If you ever saw a picture of the fight you could see this skinny Pittsburgh guy having to reach up to try to hit the champ’s chin.

So Billy went for knockout.

Of course this opened himself up to a counterpunch by Louis.

And of course he was knocked out in the 13th round by Joe Louis.

It would have been a bigger upset then Clay/Ali knocking out Sonny Liston in 1964.
It was really that huge.

The point of all this is that being conservative and going for the tie is just not in the Western Pa. sports psyche.

Billy Conn was a riverboat gambler type.
He made a conscious decision to go for the win.

It was a gamble that did not pay off.

I guess the same thing can be said regarding personal injury cases.

You are told what the offer is.
You are told whether we think the offer is fair or not. You’re told that you could do better at trial.
But you’re also told that you could get a zero verdict by the jury.

Then you have to make a choice.
Sometimes it’ll work out and sometimes it will not.

But at least it will be your decision.
Just like it was for the Pittsburgh kid Billy Conn.

Thanks for reading.

Bernie the Attorney.